Farmers Ken and Pauline McIntyre have been granted resource consents to continue running their Morrinsville piggery for two years – subject to strict conditions relating to odour discharges – to give them time to relocate the business to a new site.
Independent commissioners acting for Environment Waikato (EW) and Thames-Coromandel District Council (TCDC) have granted consents allowing the building of a 95-berth marina at Paku Bay, Tairua on the Coromandel coast.
Environment Waikato’s navigation safety team is concerned about an increasing number of boats using the region’s waterways without lights at night.
Lifejackets will have to be worn in boats under six metres from this July in the Waikato region, unless the skipper decides they do not need to be worn at that time.
The Waikato Expressway’s standing as the region’s number one transport priority has been reaffirmed today as the 2009-19 Regional Land Transport Programme (RLTP) was recommended for approval by the Regional Transport Committee.
Environment Waikato’s Whitianga harbour master Gary Vincent says a growing number of boaties are using unlit vessels at night, which could result in someone being seriously injured or killed.
Environment Waikato’s council has finalised its 10-year plan and budgets after deliberating on public submissions and balancing community expectations against affordability in the current tough economic climate.
An expansion to Hamilton bus services next financial year has been endorsed by Environment Waikato councillors during deliberations over the draft 2009-2019 Long-Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP).
Environment Waikato councillors have agreed to a proposed new local rate at Whangamata to pay for removal of mangroves from the local harbour and coastal area.
A project driven by community desire to protect the ‘specialness’ of the Kawhia and Aotea harbours has reached a significant milestone. The agencies involved in the Shore Futures project have just released the Draft Preferred Futures Report for public feedback.
A property development company has been fined nearly $60,000 after almost 10 tonnes of extra sediment is estimated to have flowed into Te Kowhai stream and the harbour at Raglan due to a failure to comply with resource consents.
Sustainable farming is the primary focus of multi-million dollar research and development efforts by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, regional council Environment Waikato and Crown Research Institute AgResearch.
Regional council Environment Waikato has been working closely with farmers to help them be more profitable while protecting the environment better by reducing nutrient leaching and run-off to waterways.
Testing the nutrient content of farm effluent and applying the data gained is a key way to help the dairy industry hit productivity targets, says regional council Environment Waikato.
Environment Waikato’s environment committee has asked for more information on a proposal to buy a native bush block between Hamilton and Raglan. The information will be presented to the full council later this month for a decision on the purchase.
New technology is helping Environment Waikato and Thames-Coromandel District Council with ongoing work to protect Whitianga and the wider Coromandel community from tsunami risk.
The Waikato Regional Energy Forum Trust was commended at the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (ECCA)’s 2009 awards in Auckland recently.