Also on hand will be partners from Maritime NZ, Genesis Energy and iwi.
Council staff will deploy a range of equipment including two types of booms, oil skimmers and oil holding tanks. The bright orange rapid deployment booms, for example, are rolled out, filled with water and air and used to contain or deflect oil. They can protect sensitive areas and help with the recovery of spilt oil.
“The equipment is large and bulky and requires specialist training, so it’s essential to have regular training which maintains the capabilities of our staff,” Hartley said.
“The equipment is designed for the coastal marine environment but the advantage of training on a lake on occasion is that the more benign environmental conditions allow us to focus on the deployment of the equipment.”
The impact of a marine oil spill could vary depending on factors such as location, tide and weather conditions, and the type and quantity of oil involved, he said.
“Our aim in any marine oil spill response is to minimise the impact on the environment, including flora and fauna, and sensitive industries such as marine farming.”
Regional councils are responsible for tier 2 oil spills, which are within 12 nautical miles (22 kilometres) of the coastline and/or have the likelihood of associated costs of not more than $250,000 for the response and cleanup.
Councils deliver marine oil spill responses on behalf of Maritime NZ, which covers the cost of training exercises, while costs associated with marine oil spill responses will fall to the person or organisation responsible for the spill.
Lake Puketirini is a newly formed lake that has been developed from a disused coal mine pit and is now part of Puketirini, a Waikato District Council-owned park. It is used for kayaking, waka ama, boating and water-skiing.
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