Hazardous Activities and Industries List (HAIL)
What is the HAIL?
There are a number of activities that can contaminate land. The Ministry for the Environment has a Hazardous Activities and Industries List (HAIL) to help identify potentially contaminated sites. This is a list of activities and land uses that can potentially cause contamination from hazardous substance use, storage or disposal.
The fact that an activity or industry appears on the HAIL does not mean that hazardous substances were used or stored on all sites occupied by that activity or industry, nor that a site of this sort will have hazardous substances present in the land. The HAIL merely indicates that such activities and industries are more likely to use or store hazardous substances and therefore there is a greater probability of site contamination occurring than other uses or activities. Conversely, an activity or industry that does not appear on the list does not guarantee such a site will not be contaminated. Each case must be considered on its merits, considering the information at hand.
Read the HAIL
The Ministry for the Environment maintains the HAIL. You can read the list on the MfE website.
Land Use Information Register (HAIL sites in the Waikato region)
Waikato Regional Council collects information and maintains the Land Use Information Register which is a list of more than 8,000 historical and current HAIL sites and activities that could cause contamination. The register has been compiled from a variety of sources including aerial photography, resource consents, information from district and city councils, dangerous good licences, HSNO test certificate data, land use mapping and historic photographs.
The Land Use Information Register is used to inform our own contaminated land investigations and resource consent processes. We share the register with our district/city council partners to ensure that future development, subdivision, or changes to the use of the land are conducted in a manner that will protect the health of people and the environment. The register is independent of Land Information Memorandums (LIM) generated by district and city councils, but they may chose to include reference to it if a LIM is requested.
Information on registered sites is available to anyone who wishes to make an enquiry about a piece of land. When making an enquiry, please try to include both the address of the piece of land and the legal description and/or valuation number. Alternatively, the address and a map showing the extent of the land can also be very helpful.
- For land within the Hamilton City Council area, contact the Hamilton City Council.
- For land elsewhere in the region, you can submit an online HAIL report request (see the link on this page.)
What happens if my land is a HAIL site?
If your land has been identified as a HAIL site, it does not mean that it is contaminated; only that it has been used for an activity that could have resulted in contamination. Living on a HAIL site does not necessarily mean your health or that of the environment around it is affected.
It is unlikely that you would have to undertake any sort of investigation unless you chose to do so. However, if you chose to undertake any of the following activities, you may be asked to provide further information or soil sampling to ensure there is no increased risk to health or the environment by carrying out that activity:
- earthworks.
- extract groundwater
- discharge sediments from the site.
- redevelop the land or change its use (refer to your local city/district council).
- subdivide (refer to your local city/district council).
If you have any questions about changes you may wish to make to your HAIL land, please contact Waikato Regional Council.
How would I go about soil testing?
There are many options if you’d like to investigate the soil quality of land. If you are simply wishing to undertake your own due diligence, or satisfy your own curiosity; you may wish to collect your own soil samples and submit them to a testing laboratory yourself.
However; if you are undertaking further investigation for a regulatory requirement (e.g. change in land use or subdivision) then the standard of investigation and quality of reporting will be important. District/city and regional councils usually require contaminated land investigation work to be carried out by a suitably qualified and experience person, and also require soil testing and reports to be prepared in accordance with the Ministry for the Environment’s Contaminated Land Management Guidelines.
For this reason, you may chose to employ a contaminated land consultant to help you.
Properties within the Waikato region that either historically or currently have any of the listed activities operating are registered on the Land Use Information Register and tested for contamination. You can request a HAIL report for more information on registered properties in an area of interest.
Examples of current or previous sites in our region that may be considered contaminated land and appear on the HAIL include:
- landfills
- sheep dips
- timber treatment sites
- former gasworks
- scrap yards
- service stations and motor vehicle workshops
- former horticultural land
- bulk fertiliser storage areas
- mines and mining affected land.
Information for property buyers
Over time information on the Land Use Information Register will be recorded in Land Information Memoranda (LIMs) and Project Information Memoranda (PIMs). An added bonus of this system will be the protection for property buyers who may be unaware that a site is potentially contaminated.
A series of brochures have been developed on the topics of what you may need to know. Information includes why contamination is a problem, how to find out if land is contaminated, who is responsible for a contaminated site, regional and unitary council role in contaminated land as well as advice for prospective buyers, sellers, lawyers and valuers.
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