THE DECISION by Affco to turn its back on the new wastewater treatment plant has put the cat among the pigeons for the proposed $42 million project.
The Chronicle has not been alone in suggesting that agreement with the major "wet" industries, which contribute 80 per cent of the load in our wastewater system, was needed before final decisions were made on the plant. However, the pressure of the required Horizons Regional Council consent to continue discharging into the sea meant Whanganui District Council had painted itself into a corner, as councillor Rangi Wills said back in March when the controversial decision to proceed with the new plant was made.
The council would have liked all its ducks in a row before giving the green light, but Mayor Annette Main said in Friday's Chronicle that the loss of any industries from the scheme would not see council alter its course.
It is understood a contract will be signed shortly with Hawkins Construction for the building of the new facility, well before any council workshop will decide just how and when an inquiry into the failed original plant might proceed; well before any pigeons alarmed at the "wet" industries stance will have settled back down. But even at this stage and with the decision already taken, council might be prompted to reflect on the direction it is heading.
Affco boss Troy Lambly's comments, reported on today's front page, are pretty blunt. He regards the scheme as "both senseless and reckless" and says that his company and other trade waste users are in a state of "disbelief" that council is pressing ahead. Affco is battling in a competitive market and it says the costs are unaffordable. Council chief executive Kym Fell has decided to front-foot the issue after the trade waste advisory group has apparently spent two years sinking deeper into the sludge.
