Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill
Business Unit Minutes - 10 December 2021
Present: Nelson
City Councillor J Edgar (Chairperson), Tasman District Councillors S Bryant and
T Walker (Deputy Chairperson) and Mr A Stephens (Iwi Representative)
In
Attendance: Nelson City Council Group Manager Infrastructure
(A Louverdis), General Manager Regional Sewerage and Landfill (N Clarke), Tasman
District Council Team Leader Stormwater, Rivers and Waste Management (D
Stephenson), Nelson City Council Governance Adviser (J Brandt) and Governance
Support Officer (A Bryce-Neumann)
Apology: Nelson
City Councillor M Courtney
Karakia Timatanga
1. Apologies
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Resolved RLBU/2021/033
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That the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit
1. Receives
and accepts the apology from Councillor Courtney.
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Edgar/Bryant 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
8
October 2021
Document number M18985, agenda
pages 6 - 12 refer.
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Resolved RLBU/2021/034
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That the Nelson Tasman
Regional Landfill Business Unit
1. Confirms
the minutes of the meeting of the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business
Unit, held on 8 October 2021, as a true and correct record.
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Bryant/Walker Carried
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6. Chairperson's Report
Document number R26468
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Councillor Edgar gave a verbal report. She thanked all
Regional Services staff, as well as Accountant Andrew Bishop, and commended
them for their proactive management and future proofing of the landfill.
Cr Edgar noted that the review of the Business Unit’s
terms of reference and deed of agreement had commenced.
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7. Nelson Tasman
Regional Landfill Business Unit - 2020/21 Capital/Renewals Expenditure and
Carryover Report
Document number R26456, agenda
pages 13 - 19 refer.
Operations Manager Regional Services,
Brad Nixon, presented the report.
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Resolved RLBU/2021/035
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That
the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business
Unit
1. Receives the report
Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit - 2020/21 Capital/Renewals
Expenditure and Carryover Report (R26456);
and
2. Approves
the carryover of capital ($0.946M) and renewals budgets ($0.441M) from the 2020/21
financial year to the 2021/22 financial year for inclusion in the Nelson
Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Business Plan 2022/23, to ensure
continuation of urgent and planned works.
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Walker/Bryant Carried
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8. Nelson Tasman
Regional Landfill Business Unit Airspace, Leachate System Resilience and
Stability Report
Document number R26466, agenda
pages 20 - 56 refer.
General Manager Regional Sewerage
and Landfill, Nathan Clarke, presented the report.
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Resolved RLBU/2021/036
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That
the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit
1. Receives
the report Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Airspace, Leachate
System Resilience and Stability Report (R26466) and its attachment York Valley Landfill Stability, Resilience, and Airspace
Options Assessment (A2796478); and
2. Approves
in principle Combined Option 7 from the recommendations from the Tonkin and
Taylor Report York Valley
Landfill Stability, Resilience, and Airspace Options Assessment (A2796478)
for mitigating stability, leachate and airspace issues at York Valley
landfill as the technical solution to the issues outlined; and
3. Approves
for inclusion in the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Business
Plan 2022/23 capital funding, the allocation of $3.9M in the 2022/2023
financial year and $2.0M in the 2023/24 financial year to implement leachate
resilience, landfill stability, and airspace optimisation options
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Walker/Edgar Carried
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9. Nelson Tasman
Regional Landfill Business Unit 2022/23 Business Plan Report
Document number R26183, agenda
pages 57 - 82 refer.
General Manager Regional Sewerage
and Landfill, Nathan Clarke, presented the report.
Mr Clarke answered questions
about the reduced Unique Emissions Factor (UEF), and implications if reductions
were not achieved. It was agreed to amend the UEF in the Business Plan to
reduce the financial risk associated with not achieving emission reductions.
In discussions, it was agreed to
change the introductory sentence to section 5 of the Business Plan, entitled
Strategic Goals, to read: ‘The NTRLBU aspires to achieve the following
goals over the whole-of-life of the landfill’ (additional words in
Italics).
It was noted that the Business
Plan proposed a 12% increase in landfill charges and that consultation had been
on a 17% fee increase.
It was agreed that it would be
prudent to remain with what had been advised to stakeholders and consulted on
as part of the Long Term Plan to mitigate the risks associated with the
possibility of not meeting UEF reductions. It was noted that the financials of
the Business Plan would need to be updated to reflect the fee changes.
Officers were requested to expand
the section on Emissions Management Improvements in the Business Plan to
highlight work under way as described in the quarterly report.
The meeting was adjourned from
10.39a.m. until 10.53a.m.
It was noted that the reference
to the review of the Business Unit’s Terms of Reference and Deed of
Agreement on page 3 of the Business Plan needed to explain the reasons for the
review.
Amendments to the resolution
wording were made to reflect the discussions held and the motion was put.
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Resolved RLBU/2021/037
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That
the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business
Unit
1. Receives the report
Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit 2022/23 Business Plan
Report (R26183) and its
attachment (A2796488); and
2. Approves
the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Business Plan 2022/23
(A2796488) for presentation to the Nelson City Council and Tasman District Council
with the following amendments as agreed by the Nelson Tasman Regional
Landfill Business Unit on 10 December 2021:
· a 17% increase in landfill charges from 2021/22 to
2022/23
· amended financials to reflect fee changes
· amended Unique Emissions Factor
· expanded Emissions Management Improvements section
· amended Strategic Goals section to reflect whole-of-life
management approach
· Clarification of Deed of Agreement and Terms of Reference
review.
3. Delegates
all further minor amendments to the Business Plan 2022/23 to the Nelson
Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Chairperson and General Manager.
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Bryant/Walker Carried
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Recommendation to Nelson
City and Tasman District Councils
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Resolved RLBU/2021/038
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That the Nelson City Council and Tasman District Councils
1. Receive the amended Nelson
Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Business Plan 2022/23 (A2796488) for
review and provide feedback to the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business
Unit, if required.
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Bryant/Walker Carried
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10. Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill
Business Unit Quarterly Update Report
Document number R26377, agenda
pages 83 - 94 refer.
General Manager Regional Sewerage
and Landfill, Nathan Clarke, presented the report and noted audit results had
been received from the Ministry for the Environment since the report was
written.
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Resolved RLBU/2021/039
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That
the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business
Unit
1. Receives the report
Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Quarterly Update Report (R26377).
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Bryant/Stephens Carried
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There being no further business the meeting ended at 11.15a.m.
Karakia
Whakamutunga
Confirmed as a correct record of proceedings by
resolution on (date)
Item 7: Nelson Tasman
Regional Landfill Business Unit Quarterly Update Report
Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit
25 March 2022
Report Title: Nelson
Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Quarterly Update Report
Report Author: Nathan
Clarke - General Manager Regional Sewerage and Landfill
Report Number: R26736
1. Purpose
of Report
1.1 This
report is a quarterly update by the General Manager (GM) on activities and
finances to 31 December 2021, and on operations to 28 February 2022 by the
Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit (NTRLBU).
2. Recommendation
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That the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business
Unit
1. Receives
the report Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Quarterly Update
Report (R26736).
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3. Background
3.1 There
have been no significant safety incidents since the last NTRLBU Board meeting,
and improvement to vehicle management has been implemented.
3.2 Operations
are generally running well, however the landfill compactor(s) have been a
source of difficulty during this time.
3.3 Following
H&S investigations from the last quarter ongoing attention is being paid to
ensuring that vehicle movement plans, and crew briefing plans are being
completed daily by the contractors onsite. Changes have been made to traffic
management and a staff member is now onsite to direct and control traffic at
the landfill face.
3.4 The
facility is working under COVID19 red light rules and separate work streams are
remaining separate from each other. Critical staff remaining in separate
bubbles.
3.5 Stormwater
pond 3 is still awaiting the installation of the permanent flocculation system.
A temporary system is in service.
3.6 An
existing slip on the eastern side of Gully 1 alongside the landfill remobilised
during heavy rain in February 2022. Contractors have excavated to down to
stable material and have begun remediating the slip area.
3.7 There
was an overflow of dirty water for four hours after a heavy rainfall period in
February from pond SRP3 due to a temporary pump failure. This overflow breached
the discharge levels in the York stream.
3.8 The
GM notified the NCC compliance staff as soon as it became apparent that the
issue would occur, and all practical steps were implemented to reduce the
impact of the overflow.
3.9 Remedial
actions have been implemented and alternative more reliable pumps have been
installed to mitigate this issue in future. Additional spares have also been
sourced to allow rapid intervention for this or other stormwater issues in
future.
3.10 The
GM met with compliance staff following the incident to discuss the issues and
is awaiting an update on whether any enforcement actions will be undertaken by
the NCC compliance team.
3.11 The
stormwater during this overflow was dirtier than expected due to the
remobilisation of the slip on the eastern side of the landfill as a result of
heavy rain.
3.12 Stormwater
pond 1 and the eastern dirty water drains are under construction.
3.13 Waste
volumes remain at a high level consistent with the 2020/2021 year.
3.14 The
NTRLBU finances to the end of December 2021 show a surplus of $1.6 Million due
to the higher than budgeted waste volumes, and lower than expected UEF factor.
3.15 NTRLBU
has been working on improving gas capture and destruction at both Eves Valley
and York Valley landfills. This work has resulted in a 2021 full year UEF
factor of 0.518, which is significantly lower than was expected.
4. Health
and Safety
4.1 No
significant incidents have occurred at the York Valley Landfill (YVL) during
the period.
4.2 Investigations
and trials undertaken to reduce risks from vehicle doors as discussed in
previous quarterly reports, have still not identified an effective solution for
this risk. This work remains ongoing.
4.3 The
number of small battery fire incidents at YVL has remained reasonably constant
with fire management procedures being effective.
5. Landfill
Compactor Issues
5.1 The
secondary landfill compactor owned by the contractor experienced a significant
failure and the contractor chose not to repair the compactor due to the cost.
5.2 This
left the landfill vulnerable to issues with the primary compactor as there was
no backup machine available.
5.3 The
COVID19 risk reduction procedure NTRLBU and the operations contractor had
implemented to avoid cross infection of critical operational staff required a
secondary compactor so that operators do not share the machine.
5.4 As
a result, and to mitigate COVID19 risks, the GM hired an alternative backup
compactor from Dunedin at NTRLBU cost.
5.5 This
machine arrived, and soon afterward the primary machine experienced mechanical
issues and was out of services for nearly a week before being available for
operation again.
5.6 After
two months onsite the hired backup up machine failed and due to the ongoing
maintenance costs the owner of the machine has chosen not to repair the
machine.
5.7 No
other landfill compactors are available for hire in New Zealand, despite NTRLBU
and the contractor making enquiries.
5.8 Alternative
compaction options are being sought, but at this time no back-up compactor has
been found.
5.9 At
present there is no backup compactor available onsite, and therefore the
landfill is exposed to risk should the primary compactor fail.
5.10 To
meet the COVID19 procedure onsite, current practice during tea and lunch breaks
is for the incoming waste to be track rolled by the 20 tonne excavators, and
then it is compacted by the primary compactor following the end of the lunch
break.
5.11 If
the primary compactor fails without an appropriate backup in place, then the
landfill is not expected to achieve the required levels of compaction and
rework will be required.
5.12 The
proposed approach for this scenario is to track roll the waste using an
excavator or bulldozer, however these machines are not designed to compact
waste.
5.13 Due
to the concerns regarding this situation the GM liaised with the NTRLBU Chair,
and it was agreed that NTRLBU should reduce the compactor risk. The GM had a
valuation undertaken on the contractor’s secondary compactor by an
independent equipment valuer, and negotiations have been finalised to purchase
the old compactor from the contractor based on the valuation.
5.14 This
purchase includes the agreement that the contractor will recompense NTRLBU on
an hourly rate basis for the use of the compactor, and the contractor would be
responsible for normal operations and maintenance costs.
5.15 The
negotiated price for the compactor purchase was $25,000, which was slightly
under the valuation for the machine. The purchase was funded from the
contingency budget. Sufficient budget is available for the purchase of
the compactor.
5.16 The
compactor will take around eight weeks to be repaired due to the supply of
parts, and therefore the landfill will remain exposed to a moderate level of
risk for around eight weeks.
6. NTRLBU
Activities
6.1 It
has been a very busy period for the NTRLBU staff, and there have been several
issues and projects that have needed to be managed in addition to the normal
operations.
6.1.1 NTRLBU
was audited by the Ministry for the Environment as part of the national
implementation of the new Landfill levy. The MFE are auditing all Class 1
landfills across New Zealand. The audit found NTRLBU to be fully
compliant.
6.1.2 As
previously reported, a “global” earthwork consent for the site has
been submitted. The application is still in progress.
6.1.3 The
landslip on the eastern side remobilised during heavy rain in February 2022.
This is in the process of being repaired.
6.2 Stormwater
management.
6.2.1 The
construction of SRP1 and the upgraded eastern side stormwater drains is
underway.
6.2.2 The
design of the western side dirty water drain has been reviewed.
6.2.3 The
new wheel wash construction has been largely completed but the contractor is
repairing the base of the water storage tank prior to comissioning as there was
damage to this during transport to site.
6.3 Gas
management and due diligence on the hospital boiler and gas management system
has been ongoing, with WSP working on this on NTRLBU’s behalf. This
project is covered by a separate item on the NTRLBU meeting agenda.
6.4 The
preparatory works have been commenced for the landfill airspace, leachate
resilience, and landfill stability works using funding available within the
2021/22 business plan for the buttress and access road alignment.
6.5 The
review and alignment of the NTRLBU and NRSBU governance frameworks has
commenced.
7. Odour
Management
7.1 One
neighbour contacted the NTRLBU regarding an odour observation during this
period.
8. Litter
Management
8.1 NTRLBU
were contacted by one neighbour regarding litter during this period. The GM
attended site to observe litter movement during periods of high wind. Ongoing
improvements to litter management are in progress.
8.2 Discussion
has been held with a York Valley landfill neighbour who has expressed concern
regarding the removal of trees on the landfill southern boundary.
8.3 The
trees have been removed to allow the landfill contractors to excavate
construction fill from the borrow areas along the southern side of the landfill
8.4 The
material is presently being used for the construction of the landfill front
face, the construction of SRP1 stormwater pond embankment, the wind bunds for
litter management, and the recontouring of the eastern side of the landfill
where the slip has been repaired.
8.5 During
discussion with the landowner, it has been agreed that NTRLBU will supply
poplar tree “stakes” for the landowner to plant to assist with
litter management and reduce visibility of the landfill from her property.
8.6 In
addition to the above the NTRLBU intend to construct a site exterior catch
fence as close to the boundary as feasible. This is intended to act as a
secondary layer in addition to the mobile catch fences to reduce the
possibility of litter passing the boundary.
8.7 Additional
work is being undertaken along the southern boundary to install a palisade wall
to improve the geotechnical stability, which will reduce land subsidence risks
for the borrow area and to allow a site exterior catchfence to be installed.
9. Emission
management
9.1 The
new York Valley enclosed flare is running well, and has combusted 768,000m3 of
landfill gas since December 2021
9.2 The
old York Valley flare has been moved to Eves Valley, has been installed and is
now operational.
9.3 The
Eves Valley flare is estimated to be combusting 175 m3 per hour of landfill
gas. The flow meter and gas analyser are not yet installed due to supply
delays.
9.4 Measurements
of the gas removed from the Eves Valley landfill show a methane content of
between 65% and 70% methane.
9.5 Based
on the data available the Eves Valley flare is removing around 13,750 tonnes of
CO2 equivalent from being discharged to the atmosphere - which is the
equivalent to reducing car travel by 81 Million Km.
10. Emissions Trading Scheme Position
10.1 The
ETS unit price has been increasing and is now above $70 per tonne CO2.
10.2 This
is significantly higher than projected (NTRLBU AMP assumed a CO2 unit price of
$42.50 per NZU for 2022/2023, $47.50 per NZU for 2023/2024 and $50 per NZU from
2024/2025 onwards)
10.3 It
is expected that ETS credits will continue to rise in price over the next three
years.
10.4 Due
to the NTRLBU hedging arrangements, this change in price will not result in
budget issues for the 2021/22 year.
10.5 NTRLBU
purchased ETS credits to the maximum allowance under the Treasury policy based
on an assumed UEF value.
10.6 The
data for the next UEF application was prepared and submitted during January
2022 for the 2021 calendar year with an excellent result. The new UEF for York
Valley Landfill is 0.518.
10.7 Current
NZU holding and movements
Units on hand
at 30 June 2021
140,909
Purchased
October 21 @ $65.40
20,000
Purchased January
2022 @ $69.25
10,000
Purchased
February 2022 @ $76.50
10,000
Units on hand February
2022
180,900
Units to surrender for
2021 @ UEF 0.518 40,483
10.8 Policy
limit (Including 2021 units to surrender) -
145,541
10.9 The
current holding is 35,368 more units than our policy provides for due to the
UEF of 0.518 achieved for 2021 being significantly less than anticipated when
purchasing units. This is based on actuals to 30 December 2021 and budget
volumes for 2022 and beyond. There is a small risk that volumes of waste
received will continue to exceed budget which could require purchase of units.
10.10 There
is significant demand for units from the market and little supply resulting in
the market price continuing to rise. Units have traded between $72 and $86 over
the last two months (at the time of drafting) which is above the maximum
trigger price for releasing the Cost Containment Reserve of $70.
10.11 The
first Government auction for 2022 is on the 17 March 2022. Market commentators
see this bull market for carbon units continuing for the foreseeable future.
10.12 The
NTRLBU could consider maintaining the units beyond the current policy as a
hedge against the risks of volumes of waste received, a change in the UEF and
the predicted price escalation.
11. Landfill
life
11.1 Work
has commenced on preparatory works for the Landfill Stability, Leachate and
Airspace works.
11.2 NTRLBU
has engaged DS Projects to assist with the development of this project, and a
procurement strategy is being developed at present.
12. Waste
Minimisation
12.1 There
are two primary activities going on with waste minimisation for NTRLBU at
present.
12.2 Battery
diversion and recycling.
12.2.1 Some
excellent work has been undertaken on the establishment of a battery diversion
system.
12.2.2 There
are a number of reception facilities available around the Nelson City and
Tasman District now.
12.2.3 There
has been some difficulty with receiving batteries at the Nelson City Council
Civic House customer service centre, and further work is being undertaken to
investigate staff safety concerns and concern regarding fire hazards.
12.2.4 NTRLBU
has undertaken to work on investigating alternative collection containers that
can be located in public areas. This work relates primarily to issues
experienced with NCC collection at Civic House. The work was unable to be
undertaken by NCC due to insufficient capacity.
12.3 NTRLBU
waste minimisation activities.
12.3.1 The
second significant activity NTRLBU are undertaking is working with NCC and TDC
on the review of the Joint Waste Minimisation and Management Plan.
12.3.2 NTRLBU
has continued to investigate additional separation works at the landfill. This
unfortunately has still not identified a method that is successful and
economic. This work is considered work in progress and will continue.
13. Landfill
Waste Volumes.
Landfill volumes remain high
and have exceeded expected landfill volumes for the year to date. 
13.1 Waste
mass for the 2020/2021 year was 78,069 tonnes. Waste mass for 2021/22 have been
consistent with the mass received during 2020/21.
14. NTRLBU
Finances
14.1 Income Account for the period to 31st
December 2021.
14.2 The
finances show an overall surplus for the year to 31 December 2021 is
$1,646,391.
14.3 This
increased income has come from the increased volume of wastes being received
compared to the projected volumes used to generate the budget and from the
significantly lower UEF factor achieved for the 2021 calendar year than assumed
in the Business Plan.
14.4 Expenses
are up compared to budget for a range of items, which is expected due to higher
volume of wastes, and consequently the higher Waste Disposal Levy.
14.5 One
item that is particularly high for the year to date is consultancy costs. These
relate to work on operational consent applications, secondments for activity
management support, and support for other items such as the Eves Valley
leachate system investigations. While these costs are higher than budget, they
are more than compensated by the additional revenue and lower ETS costs.
14.6 Balance Sheet as of 31 December 2021
15. NTRLBU
Resourcing
15.1 A
business case is being prepared to review the structure of NTRLBU to alter the
makeup of the Regional Service staff. An initial Draft has been prepared,
however due to workload issues, this draft has not been updated to include
feedback at this time. The inclusion of feedback, and clarification on
questions raised to date will be undertaken as soon as possible and once
complete the business case will be submitted to NCC and TDC Managers.
15.2 The
business case outlines an alternative structure for the regional services team.
This structure includes an additional operations manager focussed on NTRLBU and
increases overall capacity for the regional services team. It also arranges the
regional services team structure to allow clear definition on the staff whose
roles are proposed to transfer to the new water services entity under the three
water reform, and those staff whose roles will remain with NTRLBU.
15.3 External
consultants have been engaged to assist NTRLBU with both Activity Management
support, and capital programme delivery support.
15.4 The
contract Activity Engineer availability has significantly reduced with her
change in employer, however we have secured her service part time for the next
six months.
15.5 Additional
support has been sought to assist with the delivery programme for NTRLBU.
This additional support is expected to overcome the current immediate capacity
issues and will significantly improve NTRLBUs ability to deliver the capital
works programme.
16. Conclusion
16.1 NTRLBU
operations have been running reasonably smoothly, albeit issues are occurring
with the availability of the compaction machinery onsite.
16.2 A
significant amount of work has been undertaken towards resolving the stormwater
discharge issues, and improvements are being implemented to bring litter
management to an appropriate standard, however there was a short non-compliance
from the stormwater system due to the failure of a pump.
16.3 The
new flare for York Valley has been installed and is now combusting gas. This
will support the lowering of the York Valley greenhouse gas emissions.
16.4 Delivery
of the programme of works has been constrained by staff capacity. Additional
external resources have been engaged to reduce the constraints.
16.5 The
NTRLBU should expect delays in the delivery of some work items due to
insufficient staff capacity, and consultancy costs will continue to remain
above budget due to external support being required.
Attachments
Nil
