The 9000ha plantation pine forest is on steep land prone to erosion and has streams running through it.
It is part of Aratu’s 27,000ha of radiata pine plantation it manages on 35,000ha of land.
Aratu chief executive Neil Woods said in a statement that the firm was pleased to have reached a settlement with the council which builds on its work to minimise the risks of woody debris and sediment.
By Tuesday, the council had applied for another enforcement order application for another of Aratu’s forests - Wakaroa - which is 1700ha and located 38km north of Gisborne in the Waimata Valley.
In both cases, the council ordered the firm to stop discharging woody debris or sediment where it may enter water or beyond the boundary of the forests.
An enforcement order is used to require a person or business to cease doing something that breaches a plan, resource consent, regulation, or the Resource Management Act.
The agreed conditions for Te Marunga Forest are included in the council’s new enforcement order application for Wakaroa Forest.
Speaking with Local Democracy Reporting, Woods said the firm was still investigating the implications of the new application, which sought an enforcement order against Aratu and its director and chair Matthew Charles Crapp.
“Some of the timeframes proposed will be difficult to manage alongside the work we are already doing in Te Marunga Forest,” Woods said. “So dates need to be achievable and sustainable to ensure the safety of our hard-working team of local staff and contractors.”
Gisborne District Council was approached for comment but said it does not comment on court proceedings.
Te Marunga Forest conditions
Aratu’s agreed conditions include engaging a qualified person (approved by the council) to prepare risk assessments of all areas where woody debris and slash have accumulated in waterways and areas where it is at high risk of collapse, and where sediment is at risk of collapsing and entering the water, according to the decision document.
Aratu Forest will then have to identify and rank the risk of sediment and woody debris discharges from infrastructure (roads and landings).
It will need to remove all woody debris and forestry slash from high-risk locations and dispose of the material, or move it to safe areas. This must be completed no later than five months after approval of the reports unless the council agrees it is safer to leave the material.
Aratu previously stated that its plans to install slash catchers in its forests, including Te Marunga and Wakaroa, had nothing to do with its pending enforcement order.
The instalment of slash debris catchers is a requirement in the agreed order for Te Marunga and in the new application for Wakaroa.
The agreed enforcement order requires Aratu to develop a network plan of engineered debris nets and apply for consent to establish these within Te Marunga.
Woods has previously said these debris nets cost more than $500,000 each.
The network must be installed within 12 months of resource consent being granted and, in any event, not later than August 31, 2026, according to the agreement.
If Aratu fails to comply with the terms of the enforcement order, under the Resource Management Act, the council could “enter upon any land or enter any structure” and “sell or otherwise dispose of any structure or materials salvaged in complying with the order” and recover the costs and expenses of doing so.
Opposition to council’s enforcement order
On July 4, the council sought enforcement orders against Aratu, director Matthew Wakelin and three other directors, all relating to the discharge of woody debris and sediment.
However, the decision report states that the company opposed the council’s order as the majority of the plantation was harvested from 2010 to 2018, when it was owned by Aratu’s previous owners, Hikurangi Forest Farms.
It also opposed the order because the size and intensity of cyclones Hale and Gabrielle meant the extensive remedial work was overwhelmed, causing landslips and bedrock failures which were unrelated to harvesting, the decision report said.
Following the cyclones, the firm believed it “had completed considerable further remedial work ... to remove woody debris” and considered that it had effectively complied with an abatement notice issued by the council in November 2023, according to the report.
Woods said in a statement released on Wednesday: “The cyclones were extreme events that inflicted significant damage unrelated to our harvesting activities. However, they were also a reminder that we needed to further enhance our efforts around woody debris management.
“We look forward to continuing to work with the council to ensure we play our part in better managing the impacts of woody debris in Tairāwhiti.”
As a party to the proceedings of the agreed enforcement order of Te Marunga, environmental advocacy group Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti spokesman Manu Caddie said it was dismayed but not surprised that another Aratu property was facing another enforcement order application.
“It is pleasing to see council using the powers they have to protect our communities and the environment,” Caddie said.
“I hope it gives ratepayers confidence we now have a regulator that is paying attention and trying to get this industry to obey the law.”
Caddie said it was positive an agreement had been reached without a costly court hearing.
“The industry has clearly learnt how seriously the Environment Court is treating these cases.”
