Rotorua timber processing plants have cleaned up their acts.
Just months after getting the word from Environment Bay of Plenty, the companies have substantially improved their environmental performance, according to the regional council.
Last August three Rotorua timber processing plants - Lakeland Timber Processors, McAlpine Rotorua and Mamaku Sawmill - were told to upgrade their stormwater disposal systems after copper and other solids were found to be flowing into the stormwater drains and then into Lake Rotorua. But now they've flown through the compliance tests, going from being the worst performers to among the best.
Regulation and monitoring committee chairman Ian Noble said the improvements were significant.
He acknowledged that much of the contamination was from historic sources and the upgrade work could be costly - especially in the older plants.
However, he said, it had to be done because the city's stormwater flowed into Lake Rotorua. "We must make sure local industries do not continue to put pressure on the lake."
Environmental compliance officer John Holst said last August that three of the timber treatment sites received a poor rating due to the high quantity of suspended solids and copper intheir stormwater.
- DAILY POST
Timber sites slash output of pollutants
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