NPIL Resource Consent renewed

‘Very good news’ is how Environment Engineer Philip Wilson describes the granting of our resource consent from the Tasman District Council, without any of the submitters opting to appeal.

The consent covers discharge to air, stormwater and the storage of hazardous substances, and has been granted for 25 years, with several conditions that we are required to meet.

“It’s tighter than our previous consent and there are going to be considerable costs in meeting some of the conditions, but that is the nature of the way the world is today with increasing awareness of environmental issues,” Phil says. “Overall it’s a very good outcome for us, and reflects our record of compliance and the efforts we’ve made to work closely with our neighbours, the TDC and with environmental groups. We’ve worked pro-actively, or if it’s been reactive then we have worked quickly and this has stood us in good stead.”

Lab technician Bruce Mercer takes a reading from the high volume air sampler, used to measure PM10 (smoke particulate).

Key Outcomes:

Formaldehyde emissions allowed from the press vents come down from 10kg/hr to 5kg/hr.
We are not required to monitor the drier cyclones, which would be difficult and potentially unsafe.
Every five years we have to monitor for volatile wood gasses from the press vents. Data from other plants suggests these levels will be well within health guidelines.
Monthly monitoring of formaldehyde at two locations, rather than quarterly for five locations, plus quarterly monitoring in the NE quadrant where the maximum ambient formaldehyde level is predicted.
PM10 (smoke particulate) monitoring is to be done five times per month, spread out evenly throughout the month, in two locations. This reflects Council concern about air quality standards and may require a new monitoring device.
Estuary monitoring drops back to once every three years, which is sensible given the consistency of results.
We need to set up a sampler and flow measuring device on the pond overflow and test overflows from the pond and report the result to the TDC.
Monitoring equipment is to be set up in the bag houses to detect a blown bag.
In 2021 and 2029 we have to get an expert to undertake a review of best practice for emission control for MDF and LVL.