Notice of the ordinary meeting of the
Regional Sewerage Business Unit
Tira ā-Rohe mō te Parakaingaki o
Whakatū,
o Te Tai o Aorere
Agenda
Rārangi take
Chair Tasman
District Cr Kit Maling
Deputy Chair Nelson City Cr Tim Skinner
Members Tasman District Cr Trevor Tuffnell
Nelson City Cr Brian
McGurk
Brendon
Silcock (Independent Member)
Frank
Hippolite (Iwi Representative)
Philip
Wilson (Industry Representative)
Pat
Dougherty
Quorum: 3
Chief Executive
Nelson
City Council Disclaimer
Please
note that the contents of these Council and Committee Agendas have yet to be
considered by Council and officer recommendations may be altered or changed by
the Council in the process of making the formal Council decision.
Nelson
Regional Sewerage Business Unit – Delegations
The Nelson Regional Sewerage Business
Unit (NRSBU) is a joint committee of Nelson City and Tasman District
Councils. Operation of the NRSBU is governed by a Board, as established
by a Memorandum of Understanding (A1983271).
Areas of Responsibility
·
To manage and
operate the wastewater treatment facilities at Bells Island and the associated
reticulation network efficiently and in accordance with resource consent
conditions to meet the needs of its customers.
Powers to Decide:
· The Councils are agreed that the
responsibility for all management and administrative matters associated with
the NRSBU operation shall be with the Board, and in particular the Board shall
without the need to seek any further authority from the Councils:
o Operate a bank account for the
Business Unit;
o Comply with the Procurement Policy of
the Administering Council;
o Enter into all contracts necessary for
the operation and management of the Business Unit in accordance with the
approved budgets and intent of the Business Plan;
o Authorise all payments necessary for
the operation and management of the Business Unit within the approved budgets
and intent of the Business Plan;
o Do all other things, other than those
things explicitly prohibited by this Memorandum of Understanding or relevant
statutes, that are necessary to achieve the objectives as stated in the
Strategic Plan, Asset Management Plan or Business Plan approved by the
Councils;
o Comply with the Health and Safety
Policy and requirements of the administering Council
· Contribute to the sanitary services
assessment process of the Councils
· Contribute to and comply with the
waste management plans of the Councils
· Contribute to the development of the
Councils’ Development and Financial Contribution policies
· Contribute to the Councils’
Regional Policy Statement and Regional Plan Reviews
· Develop and keep under review an
appropriate contract for the delivery of waste collection and disposal services
with each of its customers
· Follow generally accepted accounting practices
· Follow good employment practices
Powers to Recommend to
Councils:
· Any other matters under the areas of
responsibility of the Business Unit and detailed in the Memorandum of
Understanding.
· All recommendations to Council will be
subject to adoption of an equivalent resolution by the other Council, unless it
is a matter specific to one Council only.
Quorum:
·
The Memorandum of
Understanding governing the NRSBU allows for either six or seven members to be
appointed. The quorum at a meeting is either three (if six members are
appointed), or four (if seven members are appointed), including at least one
from each local authority.
Procedure:
· The Standing Orders of the Council
providing administration to the committee will be applied at each meeting.
· The Chairperson will not have a
casting vote.
· Copies of minutes of meetings of the
Joint Committee will be retained by each Council for record keeping purposes
Nelson Regional Sewerage Business
Unit Minutes - 6 March 2020
Present: Nelson
City Councillors T Skinner (Deputy Chairperson), B McGurk, Tasman District
Councillor T Tuffnell and Mssrs B Silcock and P Wilson
In
Attendance: Group Manager Infrastructure (A Louverdis),
Acting General Manager NRSBU (D Clifford) and Governance Adviser (J Brandt)
Apologies : Tasman
District Councillor K Maling
1 Apologies
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Resolved NRSBU/2020/001
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That the Nelson Regional Sewerage Business Unit
1. Receives and accepts the
apology from Tasman District Councillor K Maling.
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Tuffnell/Mr Silcock Carried
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2. Confirmation of
Order of Business
There
was no change to the order of business.
3. Interests
There
were no updates to the Interests Register, and no interests with items on the
agenda were declared.
4. Public Forum
There was no public forum.
5. Confirmation of
Minutes
5.1 13
December 2019
Document number M6641, agenda
pages 5 - 8 refer.
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Resolved NRSBU/2020/002
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That the Nelson Regional
Sewerage Business Unit
1. Confirms the minutes of the meeting
of the Nelson Regional Sewerage Business Unit, held on 13 December 2019, as a
true and correct record.
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Skinner/Tuffnell Carried
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6. Nelson Regional
Sewerage Business Unit Quarterly Report
Document number R15856, agenda
pages 9 - 18 refer.
Acting General Manager Nelson
Regional Sewerage Business Unit, Don Clifford, presented the report and tabled
the Bell Island Resource Consent Decision (A2355075) and its attachment
(A2355076).
Mr Clifford answered questions
regarding Health and Safety improvements. The Board requested more detail for
future reports indicating progress and timeframes.
Odour management complaints were
discussed. It was noted that meetings with complainants had occurred and mitigation
measures were being looked into, including the use of weather stations and the
recruitment of a new odour monitor to replace the retired monitor. It was noted
that the cause for odour complaints pre-Christmas had been identified as
unrelated to the sewerage plant.
The Bell Island resource consents
decision received on 21 February 2020 was discussed and it was noted that
consent conditions were mostly as anticipated. Financial implications of
additional conditions were discussed and that work was underway to gauge costs
and revise the Business Plan 2020/21 accordingly. It was noted that an
additional meeting may be required to approve the revised Business Plan in
order to meet Nelson City and Tasman District Councils’ timelines.
In discussing the financial
reports, it was noted that maintenance costs were tracking over budget.
The Deputy Chairperson expressed
thanks on behalf of the Board to Don Clifford for the dedication he had brought
to the role of Acting General Manager NRSBU.
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Resolved NRSBU/2020/003
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That
the Nelson Regional Sewerage Business Unit
1. Receives
the report Nelson Regional Sewerage Business Unit Quarterly Report (R15856) and its Attachments (A2350342,
A2350343 and A2350344); and
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Tuffnell/Mr Silcock Carried
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2. Accepts
the Bell Island Resource Consents Decision for RM171238, RM171255, RM171256,
RM171257 and RM171258 (A2355075) and its attachment (A2355076).
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Tuffnell/McGurk Carried
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Attachments
1 A2355075 - Bell Island Resource
Consents Decision
2 A2355076 - Bell Island Resource
Consents Decision Attachment
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7. Exclusion
of the Public
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Resolved NRSBU/2020/004
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That the Nelson Regional Sewerage Business Unit
1. Excludes
the public from the following parts of the proceedings of this meeting.
2. The
general subject of each matter to be considered while the public is excluded,
the reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter and the
specific grounds under section 48(1) of the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987 for the passing of this resolution are as
follows:
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McGurk/Tuffnell Carried
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Item
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General subject of each matter to be
considered
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Reason for passing this resolution in
relation to each matter
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Particular interests protected (where
applicable)
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1
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Nelson Regional Sewerage Business Unit Meeting –
Confidential Minutes - 13 December 2019
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Section 48(1)(a)
The public conduct of this matter would be likely to
result in disclosure of information for which good reason exists under
section 7.
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The withholding of the information is necessary:
· Section 7(2)(h)
To enable the local
authority to carry out, without prejudice or disadvantage, commercial
activities
· Section
7(2)(i)
To enable the local authority to carry on, without
prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial
negotiations)
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The meeting went into confidential session at 2.09p.m.
and resumed in public session at 2.11p.m.
The only business transacted in
confidential session was to confirm the minutes. In accordance with the Local
Government Official Information Meetings Act, no reason for withholding this
information from the public exists therefore this business has been recorded in
the open minutes.
8. Confirmation of
Minutes
8.1 13
December 2019
Document number M6643, agenda
pages 3 - 4 refer.
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Resolved NRSBU/2020/005
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That the Nelson Regional
Sewerage Business Unit
1. Confirms the minutes of part of the
meeting of the Nelson Regional Sewerage Business Unit, held with the public
excluded on 13 December 2019, as a true and correct record.
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Tuffnell/Skinner Carried
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9. Re-admittance of the
Public
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Resolved NRSBU/2020/006
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That
the Council
1. Re-admits the public to the
meeting.
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McGurk/Mr Silcock Carried
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There being no further business the meeting ended at 2.11p.m.
Confirmed as a correct record of proceedings:
Chairperson
Date
Item 6: NRSBU General
Manager Update
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Nelson Regional Sewerage Business Unit
12 June 2020
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REPORT R18048
NRSBU
General Manager Update
1. Purpose of Report
1.1 This
report provides the three-monthly update on activity for the Nelson Regional
Sewerage Business Unit (NRSBU).
2. Recommendation
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That the Nelson Regional Sewerage Business Unit
1. Receives
the report NRSBU General Manager Update (R18048) and its attachment (A2395971).
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3. Health and Safety
3.1 Health
and safety at the site is being managed well, and ongoing programme of safety
improvements is currently underway. Progress on these activities is being
updated by the contractor in each monthly report.
3.2 There
have been a number of occasions where local residents have pushed through the
access gate and walked along the access road, and across the causeway to Bell
Island. We have had to replace one of the gate actuators due to damage - likely
related to people climbing on them when entering.
3.3 Access
issues for the operations and maintenance staff will occur starting in July
2020 due to the replacement of the Mapua water pipe by TDC. This water pipe
runs along the Bell Island access road. NRSBU have requested permission to
cross the new Best Island Land (in case settlement has not occurred) to allow
NRSBU operations and maintenance personnel to access Bell Island freely.
4. Contract 3458 - Operations Update
4.1 Operations
are generally running well
4.2 Odours
issues were experienced with a number of complaints being received in mid-March
due to a seasonal change in the pond biology. The issues settled down for
a number of weeks however the ponds are again creating concerns at present.
4.3 These
issues were identified and a number of actions were taken to mitigate the
issues, however the ponds did not recover as quickly as it they have
historically recovered, and it is thought that the mass of sludge that has
accumulated in the ponds (particularly pond F2) may be creating issues with
recovery of the ponds when they have issues.
4.4 NRSBU
is currently constructing the containment beds for the pond desludging
programme. Pond desludging is planned for late 2020, and early 2021.
4.5 The
current contract expires 28 September 2020, but in consultation with TDC
Engineering Services Manager and NCC Group Manager Infrastructure it has been
decided that this contract be extend to 2021 so that we can limit the risk to
operations during the COVID 19 Pandemic.
4.6 A
consultant is preparing a new contract for tender, however this has been
delayed due to competing commitments during COVID 19. The draft contract is due
to be available in September 2020.
4.7 Operations
were managed well during the lockdown, additional costs are being incurred for
PPE and a portable shower block that has been hired to provide improved
showering and hygiene facilities.
4.8 A
number of renewals and capital works project have commenced, including;
· Containment area
for proposed pond desludging
· Reuse water and
high pressure pumping system construction
· Replacement of the
ATAD A-train aeration manifolds,
· Refurbishment of
the toilet facility in the old inlet building.
· Asphalt
installation at inlet works
· Odour control
upgrades at the inlet area.
4.9 The
Rabbit Island Biosolids Reuse Consent Assessment of Environmental Effects (AEE)
has been prepared and is under review. Submission of the AEE was due on 5 May,
however an extension was received from TDC. The revised submission date is now
5 August.
4.10 A
number of experts have been engaged and have prepared reports relating to the
existing system operation.
4.11 Consultation
is being undertaken, and a Hui over Zoom has been undertaken with the Te Tau
Ihu Iwi.
4.12 Funding
applications were submitted to the Provincial Growth Funding for a number of
projects as part of COVID 19 economic stimulus. One project was accepted which
relate to NRSBU. This project was an application for $100,000 for construction
of a cycleway on Moturoa/Rabbit Island to reduce disruptions NRSBU activities have
on the cyclists and users. This project must be undertaken rapidly and NRSBU is
receiving project management support from NCC for the project.
4.13 Good
progress is being made with maintenance, renewals and new capital projects,
however the budgets will not be fully spent this year due to delays in works
associated with COVID 19. A carry over of capital works from 2019/2020
will be required.
4.14 The
new NRSBU Operations Manager started on 8 June 2020, and the new Activity
Engineer will commence on 29 June 2020.
5. Biosolids Operations
5.1 The
biosolids operation on Moturoa/Rabbit Island continues to perform well (other
than occasional odour issues).
5.2 The
Biosolids application contract 3619 has been extended until 30 June 2021, and
it is hoped that NRSBU will have a clearer picture of any future considerations
associated with the biosolids reuse by that time.
5.3 There
are some renewals of the storage tanks being undertaken at the biosolids
facility, which will increase our storage volume.
5.4 Odour
management considerations from the facility, and water conservation options are
currently being reviewed.
6. Bell Island Land Irrigation
6.1 The
lease to Raine Farms Ltd has been extended to mid-2020. Consideration is
underway regarding other uses of the land. At this time there have been a
number of issues that have been occurring which affect NRSBU consents, and it
is therefore considered appropriate to review whether there are better uses of
the land for NRSBU e.g. direct irrigation to land by NRSBU.
7. Regional Pipeline
7.1 Works
are ongoing to comply with some of the conditions of the aberrational discharge
consent at pump stations (e.g. installation of screens).
7.2 Initial
studies have been undertaken to assess flow capacity for the concept design for
extra pipe capacity downstream of the Beach Road pump station. This review has
identified that we can achieve at least an increase of 300 litres per second
capacity from the proposed upgrade.
7.3 Higher
power output back-up generators are to be procured for the pump stations. The
existing generators will be relocated to Bell Island; and installed at the WWTP
to provide back-up to the Inlet screens, ATAD biofilter and aeration basin (as
per the new Resource Consents). An initial review for this project has been
undertaken, and a safety in design review has been completed. Further works
developing a generator scope and specification for the project are ongoing.
8. Trade Waste Agreements
8.1 There
is nothing new to report. Confirmation of future flows and loads for each of
our customers has been requested.
8.2 At
this time this information has not been supplied by a number of the customers.
8.3 In
particular NRSBU is seeking confirmation of future flows and loads from
ENZAfoods NZ Ltd (in relation to Cedenco publicly stating it will shut its
operations on the site).
9. Trade Waste Management:
9.1 A
new Process for the septage reception facility is being developed to improve
auditing of the discharges to the system. Improvements to sampling in 2019 have
resulted in around double the income from the facility that was previously
received.
10. Treated Wastewater Re-use Trial
10.1 Construction
and assembly of this facility was delayed by COVID 19 but is now underway. The
plinth has been laid, and the pipework and civil works are being constructed at
present. The mechanical package is expected to arrive in early July.
Fulton Hogan’s water treatment operators (who NRSBU recovered the
membrane units from) have offered to assist with the commissioning of the
system. NRSBU has indicated that we would welcome their assistance.
10.2 It
is expected that the plant will be producing filtered water by the end of
August 2020.
10.3 A
request has been received from Port Nelson regarding access to reuse water
during the summer for dust suppression. We will wait until water quality
information is available prior to progressing with this.
11. Carbon Emissions
11.1 The
development of the emissions dashboard has commenced and we are expecting this
to be up and running by year end 2020. Enabling works has been undertaken
to change all NRSBU electrical meters to smart meters so that the data can be
automatically updated to the dashboard.
11.2 We
are about to commence with connecting the wastewater discharge to the SCAN
automated monitoring system, to enable this to automatically update the
Emissions dashboard.
12. Best Island
12.1 A 64 hectare block of land at Best Island has been
purchased by the NRSBU. Final Settlement has been delayed due to COVID 19.
Vacant possession was not possible and NRSBU has agreed to extend the
settlement date to 30 June 2020.
12.2 The radio yacht squadron have made contact with NRSBU to
request access to one of the ponds on site. At this time there is no known
reason why NRSBU would not allow access – subject to safety requirements
being meet.
12.3 Negotiations with Fulton Hogan have been undertaken in
regard to the continuation of the sand extraction on the site. A draft
agreement has been developed and is near completion. This will be completed
prior to the settlement for the property, so that Fulton Hogan can continue to
operate the sand extraction facility.
12.4 A
high definition photogrammetry has been undertaken on the land to assist with
works to develop the land.
12.5 The
main access road to Bell Island will be closed for a period while Tasman
District Council replace the water main to Mapua. During this time the access
will be relocated to main access to the new land, reducing the disruption to
both NRSBU and TDCs contractor.
13. Business Plan
13.1 The draft Business Plan 2020/2021 was approved by the Board
at the September 2019 meeting; and has been submitted to both councils.
13.2 Both TDC and NCC have received the Business Plan
2020/2021. Feedback was received from NCC.
13.3 The feedback requested related to when the activities in
the Business improvement plan would be undertaken. The first 5 of these
activities have been started and are ongoing.
13.4 The Bell Island Resource Consents Decision and imposed
conditions have been reviewed. Actions have been initiated for a number
of the items in order to meet the required timeframes.
13.5 Beca has been engaged to assist with the generator upgrade.
13.6 Nelmac has been requested to assist with the refinement of
the Bell Island Planting plan and consultation.
13.7 The operational costs associated with the revised consent
do not required adjustment of the operational budgets in the Draft Business
Plan.
13.8 Capital and renewals costs are also appropriate for the
activities being undertaken.
13.9 The Draft Business Plan for 2021/2022 is in preparation and
will be submitted to the board in advance of the September 2020 NRSBU board
meeting.
14. Strategic Plan
14.1 The
Strategic Plan is being rewritten and a 50 Master Plan is being developed. A
brief workshop to discuss the strategic plan and the future goals and
aspirations of the NRSBU was held in March. The workshop discussion has helped
to refine the focus for the Draft Activity Management plan.
14.2 The
Strategic Plan and the 50 year Master Plan are key documents for guiding the
Asset Management Plan.
15. Activity Management Plan
15.1 The
Activity Management Plan (AMP) is being rewritten.
15.2 A
consultant has been engaged to undertake a thorough review in conjunction with
the General Manager, however progress has been slower than desired due to
competing commitments. It is now likely the draft Activity Management Plan will
not be available until mid-July.
16. NRSBU staff.
16.1 The
new General Manager (GM) started on 9 March 2020.
16.2 The
new Operations Manager started on 8 June 2020, and
16.3 The
new Activity Engineer will commence work on 29 June 2020.
16.4 There
will be a transition period during which the current Acting GM will provide
support as requested by the new GM.
16.5 All
three roles (GM/OM/AM) will be filled which will allow a significant
improvement in capacity, responsiveness from NRSBU staff.
17. Finance
17.1 Attachment
1 includes three financial reports up to the end of April 2020:
· Income Account for
the period to 30 April 2020.
· Balance Sheet as
at 30 April 2020.
· Detailed Budget
– Capital Expenditure.
17.2 Total
income was 97% of YTD budget.
17.3 Total
O&M Expenses were 100% of YTD budget.
17.4 Total
expenses were 96% of YTD budget.
17.5 Net
income was 106% of YTD budget.
17.6 Renewals
works have been undertaken with Renewals work being % of year to date. A number
of renewals projects have been delayed by COVID 19 including the ATAD painting,
and the asphalt and inlet are surfacing repairs, and the Rabbit Island
Biosolids tank replacement.
17.7 Capital
Expenditure was $2.35m vs annual budget of $8.57m (Note: that 2.8 million of
expenditure relates to the settlement for the Best Island land that has not
been completed yet).
17.8 Capital
expenditure was delayed by COVID 19. Significant work has commenced following
lockdown has commenced following level 2 lockdown, however it is expected that
there will be a 2.0 million carry over to 2020/2021 financial year.
17.9 Management
costs were high (119% of YTD) against budget for the acting General Manager and
the acting Operations Manager.
17.10 Consultancy
costs increased significantly due to the requirement to engage assistance for
the Operations and Maintenance Contract preparation, and for assist with the
development of the Activity Management Plan.
17.11 Overall
Maintenance costs were over budget due to numerous items at Bell Island and
within the pump stations requiring repairs or replacements.
17.12 Overall
the income for the facility is down and expenditure is higher than projected.
17.13 It
is likely that a contribution will be required from the users at year end and
that this will be in the order of $400,000.
17.14 Tasman
District are requiring NRSBU to pay 85,000 for the use of Rabbit Island, which
they believe reflects the additional costs that they incur annually for the
Biosolids application. NRSBU is uncertain whether this this is a fair
reflection of the costs.
17.15 In
order to proceed NRSBU requested the assistance of Duncan Cotterill to continue
the work on NRSBU behalf. At present it is proposed to accept the costs without
prejudice, and get an independent review of the cost and additional value that
accrues. This information would then be used to negotiate with TDC.
17.16 This
cost is currently not included in the NRSBU business plan for 2020/2021.
Author: Nathan
Clarke, General Manager Regional Sewerage and Landfill
Attachments
Attachment 1: A2395971
- Financial Reports to end of January 2020 (Income Account, Balance Sheet, and
Detailed Budget - Capital Expenditure) ⇩
