Council Addressing Erosion at Hampden Closed Landfill

Council is continuing to take steps to address problems at the Hampden Closed Landfill, where rubbish has become exposed at the beach as a result of erosion that has worsened with recent high seas.

The closed landfill, which is located on Department of Conservation land at the beach end of Stafford Street, is managed by Council with consent from Otago Regional Council. The landfill was created at the site more than 70 years ago and has been closed for more than 10 years.

Council is awaiting a new resource consent for the site from Otago Regional Council. If granted, the new consent will allow for the use of rocks as additional support to a clay bund, which will be placed at the toe of the landfill to protect it from further erosion. This type of bund was recommended in a recent coastal engineer’s report. The consent application is being considered as a ‘high priority’ by the Regional Council.

The current resource consent held by Council only allows for the placement of a clay bund, without rocks, which would offer minimal protection from the sea and would cost Council around $100,000. The coastal engineer’s report indicated that this type of bund would not have survived the recent high seas.

Other options have been suggested and considered for dealing with the problem, including removal of the waste to another location. Council’s solid waste officer, Gerry O’Neill, said that at this stage these other options are not affordable.

“We have considered the possibility of removing the waste from the site, however, the cost of doing so would be extremely high. In addition to this, the Waitaki District has no sites available which can accept this material, as both Oamaru and Palmerston Landfills are already close to capacity,” he said.

Mr O’Neill wanted to assure local residents and the community that Council continually monitors the site as part of its consent conditions. Monitoring results have confirmed that the leachate emitted from the site as a result of the erosion does not pose a public health risk.

While Council intends to pursue the current consent, which will temporarily stop the coastal erosion at the site, it acknowledges that financial assistance from the Government may allow it to consider a more permanent solution.