4. Health
and Safety
4.1 The
contractor at York Valley has reported no significant incidents.
5. Operations
Finance report on trading to
date
5.1 Attachment
1 includes the financial reports to the end of October 2019:
· Income
Account for the period to 31 October 2019
· Balance
Sheet as at 31 October 2019
5.2 Generally,
we have continued the same trend as for earlier this year; with income and
costs slightly above budget.
5.3 Year-to-date
landfill fees received were 101% against budget.
5.4 TDC
staff costs are 500% of the YTD budget; mostly due to operations management.
5.5 Acting
General Manager opex costs are 106% of the YTD budget.
5.6 No
costs have been coded to General Manager Other Professional Advice (c.f. to YTD
budget of $33k)
5.7 Total
year-to-date staff and administration costs were down significantly to only 76%
against YTD budget due to lower activity.
5.8 There
were unprogrammed expenses for the O&M contract of approximately $40k above
the YTD budget; which included a response to a stormwater
“sinkhole” on the Eastern side of the York valley landfill
5.9 The
net YTD deficit after levy was $19,559.
6. Landfill
Operations and Maintenance – York Valley and Eves Valley
6.1 The
new contract commenced on 1 January 2019. The Eves Valley site was taken over
on 1 July 2019.
6.2 The
new compactor was delivered in July 2019; staff training is continuing.
6.3 The
weighbridge is now operating well as a result of scheduled maintenance (to
avoid a repeat of the dirt build-up issues).
6.4 Residual
waste tonnages are tracking slightly above budget projections (6,000 tonnes per
month vs plan of 5,800t). As per the previous year, the high volumes are likely
to be associated with continuing high activity in the construction industry.
6.5 Landfill
costs have tracked above budget. York Valley expenses are up due to the higher
cost of the operations contract and higher waste levy (as a result of the
increased volumes). Eves Valley costs are up due to un-budgeted maintenance
costs.
6.6 The
ETS levy is up slightly (103% YTD) due to both volume increase and price
increase.
6.7 At
the current rate of landfill we are still tracking to use up the available York
Valley airspace by approximately 2031/2032.
6.8 A
consultant has been engaged to advise on the stormwater control systems at York
Valley; there will be follow-on work required to prepare design solutions.
7. York
Valley & Eves Valley Annual Monitoring Reports
7.1 A
consulting engineering firm has been engaged to address the recommendations
from the Annual Monitoring Report for York Valley Landfill.
7.2 Good
progress is being made.
7.3 A
separate consulting engineering firm has been engaged to address the
recommendations from the Annual Monitoring Report for Eves Valley Landfill.
7.4 Good
progress is being made.
8. Joint
Landfill Asset Management Plan
8.1 At
the NTRLBU meeting on 22 June 2018 the committee approved the draft Asset
Management Plan (AMP) being issued to both councils for approval.
8.2 Nelson
City Council approved the AMP on 15 November 2018. Tasman District Council
approved the AMP in February 2019.
8.3 A
consultant will soon be engaged to undertake a review of the AMP and to confirm
alignment with recent Business Plans.
9. Business
Plan
9.1 Tasman
District Council approved the 2019/2020 Business Plan on 9 May 2019. Nelson
City Council approved the 2019/2020 Business Plan in June 2019.
9.2 The
board approved the 2020/2021 Business Plan at the September 2019 meeting.
9.3 Subsequent
feedback has been received from Nelson City Council requesting some minor text
clarifications.
9.4 These
minor additions are highlighted in yellow on attachment 3.
10. York
Valley Landfill Tonnages
10.1 The
tables below show recent weighbridge records of total tonnages per month
received at York Valley. For comparison, the 2019/20 budgets are based upon an
average monthly tonnage of approximately 5,800 tonnes.
11. Annual
Report
11.1 The
2018/2019 annual report was submitted to both councils for consideration and
approval.
12. Emissions
12.1 Nelson
City Council and Tasman District Council are both considering their Emissions
“footprint”. As the NTRLBU assets are jointly owned by the councils,
then the Business Unit will also need to assess its emissions. A notional
allowance of $100,000 per year has been added to the Business Plan 2020/2021
for this activity.
13. Emissions
Trading Scheme (ETS)
13.1 The
Acting General Manager is investigating ways to reduce costs.
13.2 The
ETS Levy is a significant component of the costs of operating the landfill.
13.3 Currently
we are paying the ETS Levy on the basis of the Default Emissions Factor of
1.19. The annual cost is approximately $2m.
13.4 One
option that has been identified is to apply to the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) for a Unique Emissions Factor (UEF). The Climate Change (Unique
Emissions Factor) Regulations 2009 provide the framework to apply for a UEF for
a specific site.
13.5 As
a start, the Acting General Manager is working towards a Clause 23C application
relating to the landfill gas collection and destruction system.
13.6 If
successful there is the further option to undertake “SWAP” studies
to assess the typical make-up of waste being placed in the landfill. That
information may indicate a further possibility to adjust the UEF if the waste
composition is favourable (in comparison to the default).
13.7 The
UEF is related to the efficiency of the gas destruction system. A hypothetical
efficiency of only 4% might result in a UEF of 1.15 which would save
approximately $70k per year. If our gas destruction efficiency is say 20%, that
would yield a UEF of 0.95 – a saving in the order of $480k per year.
13.8 It
is therefore considered worthwhile to incur some cost and effort into
applying for a UEF.
1
13.9 We
have engaged a Consultant to formally apply for the UEF; and another firm to be
the “Recognised Verifier”. These costs had not been explicitly
budgeted; so they could be coded to the O&M budget contingency item
“Professional Advice”.
14. Stormwater
Control at York Valley
14.1 A
draft options report has been received from the consultant for the Western side
of York Valley (which is at risk).
14.2 Rough
order consultant’s estimates for the options range from $600k to $1.4m
14.3 The
contractor has been asked to provide feedback and an independent rough estimate
for each option.
15. Truck Wash
15.1 A
new project approved in the Business Plan is to install a truck wash at York Valley.
15.2 The
current concept being developed is to install it within the existing wheel wash
structure.
16. Road
Surface renewal
16.1 The
condition of the existing York valley sealed road surface is being assessed.
16.2 It
is likely that a reseal will be required.
17. Government
landfill levy consultation
17.1 The
Government has just released “Reducing waste: a more effective landfill
levy consultation document” Publication
date: November 2019 Publication
reference number: ME 1470 https://www.mfe.govt.nz/sites/default/files/media/Waste/reducing-waste-a-more-effective-landfill-levy-consultation-document.pdf
17.2 The Government is proposing to increase the landfill levy
and apply it to more types of waste. This consultation document is
seeking feedback on proposals to:
· increase the levy for municipal landfills (those that
take household waste)
· apply the levy to all types of landfill except cleanfills
(accepting only virgin excavated natural materials) and farm dumps
· apply the levy at different rates for different landfill
types, to reflect different environmental and social costs of disposal, and
different opportunities for recovery of different materials
· collect better waste data.
17.3 The
proposal would see the landfill levy progressively expanded to all landfill
types and increased from $10 to $50 or $60 per tonne at municipal landfills
that take household waste by 2023.
17.4 The consultation closes at 5pm on Monday 3 February
2020.
17.5 The
Board therefore has an opportunity to consider the Government proposals; and to
provide feedback.
17.6 Because
the Acting General Manager’s tenure is about to end, guidance is sought
from the Board members as to what feedback, if any, they wish to send to
Government.
2
18. Management
18.1 For
the Board to review progress against the approved current year Business Plan a
tracking document has been created.
18.2 The
Key Performance Measures tracking report is attachment 2.
Don Clifford, Acting General Manager
NTRLBU
Attachments
A2313830 - Financial Report to 31
October 2019
A2313829 - Key Performance Measures
tracking report
A2313868 – Updated Nelson
Tasman Regional Business Unit Business
Plan 2020/21
