AGENDA
Ordinary meeting of the
Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit
Friday 18 August 2023
Commencing at 10.00a.m.
Council Chamber
Floor 2A, Civic House
110 Trafalgar Street, Nelson
Membership:
Chairperson Deputy Mayor of Tasman District Council Stuart Bryant
Deputy Chairperson Tasman District Councillor Trindi Walker
Members Nelson City Councillor Mel Courtney
Nelson City Councillor Aaron Stallard
Iwi Representative Andrew Stephens
Quorum: Three
The Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit (NTRLBU) (NDOCS-1974015928-495) is a joint committee of Nelson City and Tasman District Councils. The NTRLBU is governed by a Terms of Reference (NDOCS-1974015982-495).
· Matters relating to the operation and use of the York Valley and Eves Valley landfills as regional landfill facilities, and the timing of their use.
· Setting of fees and charges for waste disposal at the regional landfill facilities by 30 June each year; including the power to apply discounted fees and charges for the disposal of waste in bulk; and to determine other circumstances where discounted fees and charges may be applied.
· Decisions to accept (or not accept) waste that is generated outside the Nelson-Tasman region.
· Any other matters under the area of responsibility of the Business Unit
· 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.
· The Memorandum of Understanding governing the NTRLBU allows for either four or five members to be appointed. The quorum at a meeting is either two (if four members are appointed), or three (if five members are appointed), including at least one from each local authority.
· The Standing Orders of the Council providing administration to the committee shall be applied at each meeting.
· The Chairperson will not have a casting vote
· Copies of minutes of meetings of the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit will be retained by each Council for record keeping purposes
18 August 2023
2. Confirmation of Order of Business
3.1 Updates to the Interests Register
3.2 Identify any conflicts of interest in the agenda
4. Public Forum
Document number M20146
Recommendation
|
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 19 May 2023, as a true and correct record. |
6. Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit General Manager Update report 13 - 26
Document number R27855
Recommendation
|
That the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit 1. Receives the report Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit General Manager Update report (R27855).
|
7. Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Annual Report 2022/2023 27 - 66
Document number R27861
Recommendation
|
That the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit 1. Receives the report Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Annual Report 2022/2023 (R27861) and its attachments (749984575-1082 and 1995708647-51); and 2. Approves the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit 2021/22 Annual Report (R27861) and its attachments (749984575-1082 and 1995708647-51) for presentation to Nelson City Council and Tasman District Council.
|
Recommendation to Nelson City Council and Tasman District Councils
|
That the Nelson City Council and Tasman District Councils 1. Receive the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Annual Report 2022/23 (27132) and its attachments (749984575-1082 and 1995708647-51).
|
8. Draft Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Business Plan 2024/2025 67 - 98
Document number R27857
Recommendation
|
That the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit 1. Receives the report Draft Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Business Plan 2024/2025 (R27857) and its attachment (1995708647-50); and
2. Approves the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Draft Business Plan 2024/2025 (1995708647-50) for presentation to the Nelson City Council and Tasman District Council with delegation of all minor amendments to the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Chairperson and General Manager.
|
Recommendation to Council
|
That the Nelson City Council and Tasman District Councils 1. Receive the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Draft Business Plan 2024/2025 (1995708647-50) for review and provide feedback to the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit, if required.
|
9. Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Draft Activity Management Plan 2024-33 report 99 - 208
Document number R27859
Recommendation
|
That the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit 1. Receives the report Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Draft Activity Management Plan 2024-33 report (R27859) and its attachment (1995708647-49); and 2. Approves the Draft Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Activity Management Plan 2024-2033 (1995708647-49) for presentation to the Nelson City Council and Tasman District Council with delegation of all minor amendments to the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Chairperson.
|
Recommendation to Nelson City Council and Tasman District Councils
|
That the Nelson City Council and Tasman District Councils 1. Receive the Draft Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Activity Management Plan 2024-2033 (1995708647-49) for review, and provide feedback to the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit if required.
|
10. Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Capital/Renewals Carryover Report 2023/24 209 - 213
Document number R27862
Recommendation
|
That the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit 1. Receives the report Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Capital/Renewals Carryover Report 2023/24 (R27862); and 2. Approves the carryover of capital and renewals budget ($0.695M) from the 2022/23 financial year to the 2023/24 financial year to ensure continuation of urgent and planned works.
|
That the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill 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:
|
Item |
General subject of each matter to be considered |
Reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter |
Particular interests protected (where applicable) |
|
Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Meeting - Confidential Minutes - 19 May 2023 |
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. |
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 |
|
|
2 |
NTRLBU Compactor Procurement Report |
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 |
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 |
|
3 |
York Valley landfill Lower Buttress construction packages 3, 4 and 5 Procurement report. |
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 |
The withholding of the information is necessary: · Section 7(2)(b)(ii) To protect information where the making available of the information would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is the subject of the information · Section 7(2)(i) To enable the local authority to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations) |
Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Minutes - 19 May 2023
Minutes of a meeting of the
Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit
Te Rōpū ā-Rohe Ruapara, Whakatū / Te Tai o Aorere
Held in the Council Chamber, Floor 2A, Civic House, 110 Trafalgar Street, Nelson on Friday 19 May 2023, commencing at 2.40p.m.
Present: Tasman District Councillor S Bryant (Chairperson), Tasman District Councillor T Walker and Nelson City Councillors M Courtney (Deputy Chairperson) and A Stallard
In Attendance: Group Manager Infrastructure (A Louverdis), General Manager Regional Services, (N Clarke), Senior Governance Adviser (H Wagener) and Governance Adviser (K Libeau)
Apologies : Iwi Representative A Stephens.
1. Apologies
|
Apologies |
|
|
Resolved RLBU/2023/008 |
|
|
|
That the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit 1. Receives and accepts the apologies from Iwi Representative A Stephens. |
|
Courtney/Walker Carried |
|
2. Confirmation of Order of Business
There were no changes 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 17 March 2023
Document number M20056, agenda pages 6 - 9 refer.
|
Resolved RLBU/2023/009 |
|
|
|
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 17 March 2023, as a true and correct record. |
|
Walker/Courtney Carried |
|
6. Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Landfill Gas Reuse Options Update Report May 2023
Document number R27658, agenda pages 10 - 61 refer.
General Manager Regional Services, Nathan Clarke, took the report as read and answered questions on the supply of biogas to the Nelson Hospital.
An amendment was moved by Councillor Courtney, seconded by Councillor Walker to confirm support for ongoing exploration of options with Te Whatu Ora (Nelson Hospital) to supply biogas to reduce the hospital’s carbon footprint and reliance on coal.
|
Resolved RLBU/2023/010 |
|
|
|
That the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit 1. Receives the report Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Landfill Gas Reuse Options Update Report May 2023 (R27658) and its attachment (1995708647-38); and 2. Confirms the General Manager proceed with detailed business case development for the short listed options. 3. Confirms the Business Unit’s support for the General Manager to continue to explore options with Te Whatu Ora (Nelson Hospital) with respect to supplying biogas from the York Valley landfill to reduce the hospital’s carbon footprint and reliance on coal. |
|
Courtney/Walker Carried |
|
7. Operations Contract Renewal Update Report
Document number R27659, agenda pages 62 - 90 refer.
General Manager Regional Services, Nathan Clarke, took the report as read and answered questions on the procurement of a new Operations and Maintenance Contract.
|
Resolved RLBU/2023/011 |
|
|
|
That the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit 1. Receives the report Operations Contract Renewal Update Report (R27659) and its attachments (1399367370-7916 and 1995708647-32); and 2. Confirms the procurement of a new Operations and Maintenance Contract for the placement and compaction of waste contract be undertaken using a Target Outturn Cost contract model, noting that the contract will not include some specialist work packages. |
|
Stallard/Walker Carried |
|
8. Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit General Manager Update Report
Document number R27690, agenda pages 91 - 104 refer.
General Manager Regional Services, Nathan Clarke, took the report as read and answered questions on activities at the landfill up to 31 March 2023.
|
Resolved RLBU/2023/012 |
|
|
|
That the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit 1. Receives the report Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit General Manager Update Report (R27690). |
|
Bryant/Courtney Carried |
|
9. Exclusion of the Public
|
Resolved RLBU/2023/013 |
|
|
|
That the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill 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: |
|
Bryant/Stallard Carried |
|
|
Item |
General subject of each matter to be considered |
Reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter |
Particular interests protected (where applicable) |
|
1 |
NTRLBU Compactor Procurement Report |
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 |
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 |
The meeting went into confidential session at 3.50p.m and resumed in public session at 4.05p.m.
10. Restatements
It was resolved while the public was excluded:
|
|
Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Compactor Procurement Report |
|
|
1. Agrees that Report (R27657) and the decision be made publicly available following the completion of the landfill compactor procurement process. |
|
|
|
There being no further business the meeting ended at 4.05p.m.
Confirmed as a correct record of proceedings by resolution on (date)
|
Resolved |
|
|
Item 6: Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit General Manager Update report
|
|
|
Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit
18 August 2023
Report Title: Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit General Manager Update report
Report Author: Nathan Clarke - General Manager Regional Sewerage and Landfill
Report Authoriser: Alec Louverdis - Group Manager Infrastructure
Report Number: R27855
1. Purpose of Report
1.1 This report is an update by the General Manager (GM) on activities to 30 June 2023 by the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit (NTRLBU).
2. Recommendation
|
That the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit 1. Receives the report Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit General Manager Update report (R27855). |
3. Background
3.1 Operations have remained challenging over the last 3 months, with a number of ongoing incidents.
3.2 During May significant rain caused damage to construction projects in progress.
3.3 Ongoing focus is being placed on safety management within the landfill with several safety actions implemented, including the new reverse warning systems on both landfill compactors.
3.4 A leadership group has been meeting monthly (including the Group Managers of Nelson City Council (NCC) and Tasman District Council (TDC) to ensure that focus is maintained on the safety requirements on the site. This will remain in place, albeit with a reduced frequency moving forward.
3.5 Compaction performance at the landfill has improved, with the contractor coming close to the contractual target compaction rate, albeit that our target is lower than that is suggested by other landfill managers the General Manager (GM) has spoken to.
3.6 The upper buttress is completed and hydroseeding has been completed. The stormwater swale is complete.
3.7 The new York Valley access road (up gully 2) is nearing completion. A significant rainfall event during May caused significant damage to the new road, and this was repaired. The damage resulted in additional cost. As a result of the damage the drainage swales were upgraded, and additional rock lining was implemented. The chip sealing was unable to be completed during the last financial year due to the weather getting too cold and rainfall delaying construction.
3.8 The Eves Valley weighbridge has been installed and the upgrades to the access way have been completed, however the completion was delayed by rainfall, and it was recommended that chip sealing of the access road be delayed until the weather warms up in September 2023.
3.9 The NTRLBU finances show a surplus of $718,000 for the full 2022/23 financial year to 30 June 2023. This is due to the lower than expected Unique Emission Factor (UEF) and includes a significant amount of additional operational expenditure associated with airspace excavation and borrow pit development works.
3.10 The NTRLBU position with Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) remains similar to the last report, however due to uncertainty in the carbon market the NZ ETS units’ price fell significantly but has since rebounded. The current (mid-July) ETS price is currently around $65 (CommTrade website 28 July 2023)
3.11 The NTRLBU average unit cost is $43.50, and the ETS price fell to $41 at the end of June 2023. The NTRLBU considered whether it should write down the value of the units for the 2022/2023 financial year, however the price quickly rebounded to above the average unit cost and in discussion with the Councils auditors it was considered unnecessary to do this.
4. Health and Safety Environment
4.1 Several incidents occurred at the landfill during the period to 30 June 2023. These incidents are outlines in the tables below:
4.2 During 2023 a significant effort has gone into improving and updating the safe safety documentation and procedures. A gas works permit system has been implemented.
4.3 Safety training has been implemented to all staff on the correct use of gas safety monitoring equipment and NTRLBU has purchased gas safety monitors for the site.
4.4 All contractor operations staff have had a refresher course on recognizing Asbestos.
4.5 A gas safety equipment trailer has been purchased. This trailer is now onsite and includes equipment for facilitating quick installation of the gas safety setup for any required gas works.
4.6 NTRLBU staff have undergone refresher courses for confined space and working at heights training.
4.7 A price has been received (and is being reviewed by NTRLBU) for the installation of the temporary landfill waste transfer facility to eliminate the vehicle on vehicle risks at the landfill. This will increase the operational costs but will significantly improve the safety and the landfill customer experience.
5. NTRLBU Activities
5.1 Workload remains high for NTRLBU staff. The request for additional staff has been approved by both the NCC and TDC CEO’s contingent on the requirement for the consultancy costs at the landfill (and wastewater facility) being reduced by $200,000 to cover the costs for the additional roles. The GM is in the process of refining the role descriptions for the roles.
5.2 Progress on projects has been very good over this construction season despite rain, with the bulk of the bulk of the CAPEX work scheduled for the 2022/2023 financial year completed. NTRLBU spent ~$8.6 million of its ~$9.2 million Capex budget, which is a significant improvement on previous years.
5.3 Two projects have had to be curtailed until the weather warms up in the new financial year (estimated to be September 2023).
5.4 In addition to the 2022/23 projects in construction, NTRLBU is working with consultants and contractors to finalised designs and procurement is underway for the 2023/24 construction season.
5.5 Additional work has been required to prepare the Draft 2024 – 2033 Activity Management plan for the NTRLBU.
5.6 The principal projects for the 2023/24 construction season are the lower buttress and leachate system implementation at York Valley, the HAIL management and disposal facility development for the Eves Valley landfill and the gas reuse system development and installation for the Eves Valley Landfill.
5.7 Tenders for the York Valley Landfill Lower buttress project closed in July 2023, and NTRLBU received three tenders. Approval to award is covered in separate report on this meeting agenda. Construction for the project is programmed to start on 5 September 2023.
5.8 Enabling works is currently being undertaken to streamline the lower buttress construction, including removal of vegetation, and relocation of the gas, sewer and electrical services.
6. Deed of Agreement and Terms of Reference Review
6.1 The review and alignment of the NTRLBU governance frameworks has been approved by NCC but has not yet been approved by TDC. TDC have indicated that this is not a priority and that they do not know when they will consider this.
6.2 In the meantime the original Terms of Reference (TOR) and Deed of Agreement (DOA) remain, and the conflicts between the documents also remain.
6.3 Further review of the TOR and DOA is required as part of the process to consider the use of York Valley Gully’s Two and three for landfill purposes. Changes to the DOA and TOR for Gully’s two and three will also most likely require review of the commerce commission approval for the NTRLBU.
7. Airspace, Leachate, and Stability Upgrade
7.1 The airspace excavations along the southwestern wall of the landfill are complete, with initial airspace excavation works on the south eastern wall being undertaken. The filling of the landfill means that it is likely that some of the possible airspace gains will be lost due to being unable to excavate below the raised landfill surface.
7.2 The airspace development works have moved a significant amount of material which has subsequently been used in the construction of the upper stability buttress.
7.3 The construction of the upper buttress is completed except for the stormwater swale construction and the hydroseeding.
7.4 The upper leachate wells that form part of the lower buttress and leachate improvements are being installed at present.
8. Odour Management
8.1 NTRLBU had one odour complaint during this period.
8.2 The complaint came from the residential area to the west of the landfill. It happened during a very light easterly breeze and was during the time that NTRLBU was filling the most westerly section of the landfill.
8.3 The landfill filling area has now moved to the south eastern corner of the landfill, and it is less likely for odour issues to occur.
8.4 Overall odour complaints for the landfill remain low.
8.5 An independent odour assessor undertakes a two weekly assessment of the odour and noise around the landfill, and this confirms that odour is very infrequently experienced outside the landfill boundary.
9. Stormwater Management
9.1 Stormwater retention Pond 3 – (SRP3) is working well.
9.2 Review of the stormwater system data for the annual report preparation has shown that SRP3 doesn’t clear up as quickly as the York stream after a rainfall event. This has resulted in some short periods where NTRLBU appear to have discharged slightly above the permitted level while the stormwater pond quality improves following the storm event.
9.3 Despite the water quality from the stormwater system being significantly better than it has historically been, this discrepancy could constitute a breach of the resource consent.
9.4 NTRLBU has therefore implemented an automatic shutoff in the control system to close the discharge valve if the water quality goes outside permitted levels.
10. Litter Management
10.1 There was one litter complaint during this period from a neighbour on the southern side of the landfill.
10.2 The new mobile litter catch fences are in use and are significantly reducing the amount of litter being blown around the landfill.
10.3 The exterior litter catch fence has not yet been completed.
11. Landfill Development Projects
11.1 The tender for the York Valley Landfill Lower Buttress construction has been received and evaluated. A separate item on the NTRLBU meeting agenda covers this project.
11.2 The new landfill compactor procurement has been progressed and a preferred supplier has been identified. A separate item on the NTRLBU meeting agenda covers this project.
11.3 A temporary waste tipping and transfer facility has been considered for the York Valley Landfill. This system has been considered to implement best practice vehicle safety and personnel safety at the facility.
11.4 Negotiation is underway for a neighbouring piece of land to the York Valley Gully one landfill. This negation may allow NTRLBU to purchase the land for use as buffer area. If it can be purchased it will assist with fire risk reduction, improved clean stormwater control works, and for improved litter management.
12. Operations and Maintenance Contract Procurement
12.1 NTRLBU has chosen not to renew the operations and maintenance (O&M) contract and has instead chosen to issue a new tender for the service based on a revised contractual model. This outcome follows a Local Government Act 2002 section 17(a) review.
12.2 A Registration of Interest has been released to the market as the first step of the procurement process, and this process is intended to award the O&M contract to the new contractor in the first quarter of 2024.
13. Emission Management
13.1 The NTRLBU gas management system has continued to operate effectively during this period. We have several short duration issues in the system over the period with one caused by a gas field pipe becoming dislodged and allowing air into the system. These were quickly identified and fixed.
13.2 A recent gas monitoring status report is shown below.
Figure 1 –Gas monitoring status report
13.3 The Stage 1 options review report was received regarding gas reuse options.
13.4 A Business Case and concept plan is being developed for the various reuse options. This is discussed in a separate report on the agenda.
13.5 This follows the NTRLBU boards request in September 2022 for additional detail on the options to be considered.
14. Emissions Trading Scheme Position
14.1 The Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) unit price decreased to $41 at the end of June 2023.
14.2 The ETS unit price has since rebounded to ~$65.
14.3 Both the auctions of Government units in 2023 have failed to reach the confidential reserve price meaning that no units were sold.
14.4 There is a lot of uncertainty in the ETS market at present.
14.5 The Lawyers for Climate Action NZ Inc. took legal action against the New Zealand Government and won their case.
14.6 The UEF filed for 2022 calendar year is 0.091 or 7,242 units which is significantly below what was budgeted for the 2023/2024 financial currently budgeted.
14.7 Our current holding of 155,569 units have an average cost of $43.45 per unit.
14.8 Our current New Zealand Unit (NZU) holding and movements.
Units on Hand 31 January 2023 155,569
Units surrendered for 2022 (7,242)
Balance after surrender 148,327
14.9 Treasury policy limit assuming UEF of 0.21 and budgeted waste volumes is 46,800 units.
14.10 Current holding is 101,527 units in excess of policy due to the reduction in the UEF achieved in 2022 and expected UEF in 2023.
14.11 The NTRLBU and the Councils have approved the sale of 50,000 NZUs and delegated the timing of the sale to the General Manager of NTRLBU.
14.12 At present it is proposed that NTRLBU do not sell until there is more understanding of the NZ Governments position on climate change actions, and how this might affect future ETS prices or the NTRLBU ETS liability.
15. Waste Minimisation
15.1 There are three primary activities going on with waste minimisation for NTRLBU at present.
15.2 Battery diversion and recycling:
15.2.1 The number of small battery fire incidents at York Valley has remained low over the last two months although there is a continuing presence.
15.2.2 The cost of battery disposal is now expected to be in the order of $40,000 per annum. NCC has expended the allowance for battery collection due to high battery recovery. The TDC council has not expended its full budget yet. NTRLBU has extended the purchase order to cover the additional collection costs.
15.2.3 This funding will allow the region to maintain a focus on this, and hopefully this will further reduce battery fires and the risk of major fires occurring at the landfill.
15.2.4 Following discussions in the last few NTRLBU meetings the NTRLBU has now designed a battery collection container that can be placed in car parks and outside key retail locations. NTRLBU have commissioned the construction of three collection units to allow them to be fire tested.
15.2.5 The testing needs to identify how these systems act when the lithium ion batteries go on fire and to ensure that they prevent risk to personnel or property near to the battery reception system.
15.2.6 During discussions about this and after seeing the design of the battery reception unit NCC solid waste team have expressed interest in acquiring one for the Pascoe St transfer station.
Figure 2: 3D drawing of the Community Battery Reception Unit which includes fire suppression and double containment for personnel safety
15.3 NTRLBU waste minimisation activities:
15.3.1 NTRLBU is working with NCC and TDC on the review of the Joint Waste Minimisation and Management Plan (JWMMP).
15.3.2 A Solid Waste Analysis Protocol (SWAP) investigation was undertaken at York Valley landfill during February to assess the composition of waste for the region.
15.3.3 Solid waste separation trial was undertaken in April 2023.
15.3.4 NCC and TDC arranged visits during the trial period including having building companies come to see the trial.
15.3.5 NTRLBU received a report on turning contaminated wood and sawdust waste into oil undertaken by the University of Auckland.
15.3.6 This project considered a particular technology (Hydrothermal liquification) showed that it is possible to divert wood and sawdust waste to reuse as an energy source.
15.3.7 The yield of Biooil (an oil or diesel like product) was as high as 45%
Figure 3: Biooil yield from contaminated wood waste under different conditions.
15.3.8 The study showed that the bulk of the Chromium, Copper and Arsenic in the contaminated wood remained in the hydochar (solid fraction) of the waste. This is a key finding as most other processing technologies result in significant emissions in the gaseous or liquid phases.
Figure 4: Wood contaminant distribution during hydrothermal liquification under different conditions
15.3.9 Following discussions with the NTRLBU in advance of the 2024 – 2034 Activity Management Plan, it was decided that the diversion and reuse of wood and organic material required broader regional involvement rather than being progressed by NTRLBU alone.
16. Landfill Waste Volumes
16.1 Landfill volumes remain high and have exceeded expected landfill volumes for the year to date.
16.2 Total waste tonnage for the 2021/22 financial year was 81,000 tonnes. Waste tonnage for 2022/2023 was lower (at 76,900 tonnes) for the 2022/23 year.
17. NTRLBU Finances
17.1 Income Account for the 2022/2023 full year.
Figure 6 – NTRLBU Financial Summary for the 2022/2023 full year
17.2 The finances show an overall surplus for the year to 30 June 2023 is $718,281.
17.3 This increased income has come from the increased volume of wastes being received compared to the projected volumes used to generate the budget and the significantly lower UEF factor achieved for the 2022 calendar year than assumed in the Business Plan.
17.4 Expenses for the full year 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 and operational costs, and due to significant expenditure on airspace excavations and waste sorting, diversion, and improved compaction trials.
17.5 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.
17.6 Balance Sheet as of 30 June 2023
Figure 7 – NTRLBU Balance Sheet as at 30 June 2023
18. NTRLBU Resourcing
18.1 This year has been a difficult year for the regional services staff.
18.2 The approval of additional staff was delayed, and the normal workload was exacerbated by rain events and the requirement to prepare Activity Management Plans for the two business units. It had initially been expected that only the NTRLBU would need to prepare an AMP due to the Three Waters reforms.
18.3 Despite the resourcing constraints the NTRLBU managed to implement most of it capital work programme, managed to continue to develop the landfill airspace, and has progressed the Gas Reuse options, and the AMP during the year.
18.4 This performance is a large part due to the stellar efforts on behalf of the two regional services Operations Managers, Brad Dixon and Mark Sutton, and the large team of consultants and contractors that have been supporting the NTRLBU with the design, construction, and management of the operations and capital works.
18.5 The request for additional resources has recently been approved by both the NCC and TDC CEO’s and the preparation of positions descriptions has commenced.
18.6 It is anticipated that advertising for additional staff, will be undertaken prior to September 2023, and it is hoped that engagement of the staff will be undertaken by the end of 2023.
18.7 The GM will be on annual leave for six weeks during September and October.
18.8 The landfill will be managed by the NTRLBU Operations Manager - Mark Sutton with support from the NRSBU Operations Manager - Brad Nixon.
18.9 NTRLBU has also asked TDCs solid waste team for additional support when required.
19. Conclusion
19.1 NTRLBU operations and maintenance has started to recover from several performance issues that occurred in the early part of 2023 and a number improvement have been observed.
19.2 NTRLBU implemented the bulk of the capital works activities during the year, despite resourcing constraints and difficult weather conditions.
19.3 Overall, the year was a successful year for NTRLBU.
19.4 Changes have been identified to the operation at the landfill that will significantly improve the safety on site in relation to traffic and landfill machinery, and systems have been implemented to reduce the risks associated with working on the gas systems onsite.
Attachments
Item 7: Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Annual Report 2022/2023
|
|
|
Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit
18 August 2023
Report Title: Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Annual Report 2022/2023
Report Author: Nathan Clarke - General Manager Regional Sewerage and Landfill
Report Authoriser: Alec Louverdis - Group Manager Infrastructure
Report Number: R27861
1. Purpose of Report
2. Recommendation
Recommendation to Nelson City Council and Tasman District Councils
4. Discussion
4.1 There were no lost time injures and no medical intervention injuries during the year.
4.2 There were a number of significant health and safety near misses during the year that resulted in a leadership group being formed and meeting regularly. This group comprises NCC, TDC, NTRLBU and the operations and maintenance contractor management, and has a focus on implementing improvements to safety practices.
4.3 No infringement notices were received during the year.
4.4 One odour warning notice was issued by the Nelson City Council (NCC) environmental compliance team although this was not a breach of consent.
4.5 NTRLBU had a net surplus of $718,281 for the 2022/23 financial year, excluding gains on revaluation.
4.6 This surplus results from a waste volume being more than estimated, a significant reduction in the Emission Trading Scheme Unique Emission Factor (UEF), and interest rate changes influencing aftercare provisions.
4.7 The York Valley landfill ran effectively during the year, with 76,900 tonnes of waste being received. This waste volume is less than the previous year due to a reduction in commercial and industrial wastes, and special wastes.
4.8 Safety on the landfill site was a key focus during the year. A significant number of construction vehicles were onsite for a large portion for the year.
4.9 Several safety audits were undertaken by NTRLBU using external parties, and significant focus was paid to ensuring that the contractors’ operations were to a high standard, and that contractors complied with their documented plans. The audits showed a significant improvement in compliance following the various audits across the year.
4.10 NTRLBU remains very constrained in terms of resource capacity and has engaged support from contractors and consultants to allow appropriate progress to be maintained.
4.11 Capital works has been successfully implemented during the year with six significant projects substantially completed. These projects include:
· The York Valley Gully 2 Access road
· The Eves Valley all weather access upgrade and weighbridge installation.
· The installation of the York Valley landfill upper stability buttress and stormwater swale.
· The York Valley gas extraction well expansion project.
· The York Valley gas ring main installation, and
· The completion of the acquisition of the Hospital Boiler and landfill gas system.
4.12 The capital works programme successfully implemented over 90% of the budgeted works during the year.
4.13 The upper buttress was constructed during the 2022/2023 financial year, which has improved the landfill stability sufficiently to allow the waste filling setback to be removed. The filling setback was a 25m area at the front of the landfill that could not be filled due to stability concerns.
4.14 Landfill airspace calculations have been updated and based on the revised landfill footprint, the additional excavation at the rear of the landfill, and the buttress projects in progress, the airspace available for development has been increased to ~1.3 million m3 an increase of ~400,000 m3.
4.15 Airspace is consumed at a rate of around 105,000m3 per year at current compaction rates, giving a remaining volumetric life of around 12 years, and increase of 3 years from 2021/2022. The York Valley Gully one landfill consent expires in December 2024, giving a remaining life from a consenting perspective of 11.5 years.
4.16 Waste mass entering the landfill has remained above the projected rate with 76,900 tonnes of waste during the 2022/23 year.
5. Performance Measured Against Business Objectives and Performance Measures
5.1 The annual report includes a review of performance against the objectives described in the 2022/23 NTRLBU Business Plan.
5.2 Performance measure targets and dates are set annually in the Business Plan, along with performance measures for projects identified in the Activity Management Plan.
5.3 Performance is reported to the Joint Committee and to the shareholding councils annually.
6. Key successes
6.1 Despite higher than budgeted landfill waste mass being received, NTRLBU developed additional airspace resulting in two additional year’s airspace being available.
6.2 The 2022/2023 year included a significant amount of development for the York Valley landfill, particularly regarding stability, safety and landfill access.
6.3 NTRLBU successfully implemented greater than 90% of the budgeted capital projects.
6.4 Safety audits and safety improvements for traffic management at the landfill face resulted in a significant improvement for the facility, however incidents still occurred and further work is required.
6.5 While the work added to the operational costs, and some additional costs are expected, the facility is now reaching a high standard for safety management, with personnel risks being mitigated to a high level.
6.6 Improvements were completed for several issues discovered during 2020/2021 and 2021/2022, including gas collection and destruction improvements, leachate control improvement and all weather access improvements at Eves Valley landfill.
6.7 A new website was developed for the NTRLBU, and dashboards and an improved GIS system were developed, and improved fire management at York Valley landfill was commenced.
6.8 Litter management improvements were made, and research was undertaken on waste minimisation activities.
6.9 Several projects were started, and good progress was made during 2022/23 but some are yet to be completed.
6.10 These projects include the York Valley Access Road realignment, the York Valley Buttress and leachate upgrade. The remaining funding for these projects will need to be carried over into 2023/24.
7. Financial Performance
7.1 The NTRLBU Annual Financial Statements for the year ended 30 June 2023 are appended to this report.
7.2 In summary:
7.2.1 Total revenue was greater than budget with a revenue of $15,957,036 compared to budget of $14,988,000.
7.2.2 Additional revenue of $258,533 was received principally from gas sales for the year.
7.2.3 Total expenditure was above budget with total expenses of $15,238,755 compared to a budget of $14,788,000.
7.2.4 ETS expenses were significantly below budget, with NTRLBU recording an ETS gain of $146,143 for the year due to the very low UEF achieved compared to the ETS accounting provision made during the second half of the 2021/2022 financial year.
7.2.5 NTRLBU had a surplus, excluding revaluation gains of $718,281.
8. Conclusion
8.1 The 2022/23 year has been a successful year for the NTRLBU.
|
Important considerations for decision making |
|
Fit with Purpose of Local Government The NTRLBU is a joint committee constituted pursuant to the provisions of Schedule 7 to the Local Government Act 2002 and contributes to the four Local Government well-beings of social, economic, environmental, and cultural. |
|
Consistency with Community Outcomes and Council Policy Our infrastructure is efficient, cost effective and meets current and future needs. |
|
Risk The risk of not approving the annual plan is that the Councils will have no annual report from the NTRLBU actions for the 2022/23 financial year |
|
Financial impact This report has covers funding approved by the Councils and comments on costs as outlined in the annual business plan and long-term plans. |
|
Degree of significance and level of engagement The NTRLBU is a Joint Committee of the two Councils and its activities are included in the Long-term Plans and Annual Plans of each Council. Consultation is undertaken by both Councils in the preparation and adoption of these plans. |
|
Climate Impact A key feature of the NTRLBU capital programme is the ability to implement systems to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and environmental issues. The annual report outlines the achievement from these actions. |
|
Inclusion of Māori in the decision making process No engagement with Māori has been undertaken in preparing this report but iwi have representation on the Board. |
|
Delegations
|
Attachments
Attachment 1: 749984575-1082 - NTRLBU Annual Financial Statements 2023 ⇩
Attachment 2: 1995708647-51 NTRLBU Annual Report 2022-2023 ⇩
Item 8: Draft Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Business Plan 2024/2025
|
|
|
Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit
18 August 2023
Report Title: Draft Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Business Plan 2024/2025
Report Author: Nathan Clarke - General Manager Regional Sewerage and Landfill
Report Authoriser: Alec Louverdis - Group Manager Infrastructure
Report Number: R27857
1. Purpose of Report
1.1 To provide the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Unit (NTRLBU) Draft Business Plan 2024/25 (Draft Business Plan) and to seek approval of the Draft Business Plan for circulation to Nelson City Council (NCC) and Tasman District Council (TDC) for feedback.
2. Summary
2.1 The Draft Business Plan generally follows the works programme as outlined for 2024/25 in the Draft NTRLBU Activity Management Plan 2024 – 2034 (AMP).
2.1.1 This Draft Business Plan has been prepared on the assumption that the staffing roles recently approved by the NCC and TDC will be able to be filled during the 2023/24 financial year.
2.1.2 Capital expenditure has been included to allow mitigation of risks associated with landfill operations and personnel safety, to implement waste minimisation actions that will result in airspace savings and to implement gas reuse facilities that will create a Return on Investment for the NTRLBU.
2.1.3 The business objectives and performance measures of the Business Plan requires the NTRLBU to consider reuse of landfill gas including mitigation measures for board consideration in the business plan.
2.1.4 The business objectives and performance measures of the business plan requires that the NTRLBU includes an outline of the waste minimisation actions the NTRLBU is proposing, and the costs associated with these.
2.1.5 ETS costs have reduced as a result of the gas collection and destruction works and the NTRLBU has sufficient ETS credits on hand at an average cost of $43.50 to cover a number of years emission liability.
2.1.6 There is a risk that the NTRLBU may not be able to achieve the Unique Emission Factor achieved during the 2022 calendar year (0.091 Tonnes CO2 per tonne of waste disposed) and a slightly higher (0.21) UEF has been assumed for budgeting purposes.
2.1.7 In accordance with the process set out in the NTRLBU Terms of References, the Local Disposal Levy (LDL) costs in this budget are based on the information supplied by TDC. The TDC has requested an LDL of $3.0M and NCC has requested an LDL of $3.5M. The Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit 2021 -2031 AMP (21-31 AMP) assumed an LDL of $3.3 million to each council.
2.2 The LDL has been set at $3.0M for each Council for the 2024/2025 financial year in the Draft Business Plan.
3. Recommendation
Recommendation to Nelson City Council and Tasman District Councils
4. Background and Discussion
4.1 The NTRLBU Terms of Reference (TOR) outlines several activities required by the NTRLBU along with specified timing for these activities.
4.2 The TOR requires that the NTRLBU prepares a Draft Business Plan and that this be presented to the Councils by 31 October each year.
4.3 The NTRLBU will consider any feedback provided by the Councils on the Draft Business Plan, plus any updates or new information, present these to the Committee with the aim of presenting the revised business plan to both councils by 31 May prior to the start of the new financial year.
5. Operational Costs
5.1 The costs to run the NTRLBU will continue to increase during the 2023/24 financial year.
5.2 Additional costs include:
5.2.1 Operating costs associated with changing the operation of the landfill to include a transfer facility for safety improvements. This will eliminate the significant vehicle on vehicle and pedestrian safety risks from the tip face.
5.2.2 Those resulting from the Waste Minimisation Levy increasing from to $50/tonne in 2023/24 to $60/tonne in 2024/25.
5.2.3 An allowance for increase operating charges associated with tendering for a new operations and maintenance contract that is flexible and allow the landfill to be more adaptable to changing circumstances.
5.2.4 Increased interest charges, due to additional debt being serviced, and increased interest rates on the debt.
5.2.5 Additional depreciation associated with the assets constructed during the 2023/ 2024 financial year.
5.3 The ETS costs have been assumed at a slightly conservative level and have significantly reduced compared to previous years.
5.4 Costs for consulting fees have been decreased as it has been assumed that the new NTRLBU contract and sustainability engineer role will be filled during the 2023/2024 financial year and this role will reduce the need for consultants in the 2024/25 financial year. The annual budget for consulting costs have been reduced accordingly.
6. Capital Works Programme
6.1 The Draft Business Plan includes:
· Access, planting and fencing improvements for both landfills.
· Fire management activities.
· Budget for undertaking consenting for the new regional landfill.
· The York Valley landfill transfer facility to improve personnel safety.
· Greenhouse gas abatement activities including gas reuse system.
· Funding to allow completion of the Eves Valley HAIL facility.
6.2 The capital expenditure for greenhouse gas mitigation is required to allow the implementation of improvements to the gas management system. This work is the continuation of work being undertaken over the last three years.
6.3 This work will allow NTRLBU to continue to reduce its carbon emissions and reduce the cost to the community of those carbon emissions. Additional funding has been included continue the development of the options and to implement a gas reuse option at the Eves Valley landfill.
6.4 The Draft Business Plan includes allowance for finishing the improvements to the Eves Valley landfill to allow the diversion of HAIL material. This project includes the development of a Class three managed fill at Eves Valley outside the footprint of the future Class one landfill stages.
6.5 The Draft Business Plan includes an allowance of $ 2 million for the construction of a transfer facility in gully two of the York Valley landfill to allow the separation of the commercial trucks from the tip face. This will eliminate commercial vehicles being in the vicinity of the landfill compactor and will eliminate personnel from the public being in the vicinity of the tip face.
6.6 The funding for technical work and a feasibility study in 2024/2025 to test a Pyrolysis or Hydrothermal waste destruction facility has been deferred following feedback from the NTRLBU during Activity Management Plan briefing sessions. Some of the funding has been reallocated to the York Valley Gas Reuse project following updated budget requirements received from the preliminary business case being developed.
6.7 A funding has been bought forward to accelerate the application for resource consent for an extension to the York Valley landfill in Gully’s two and three.
6.8 The overall effect of the changes to the Draft Business plan will see an increase in landfill fees from $212 per tonne to $250 per tonne excluding GST for general wastes. This equates to an increase of 17.7%.
7. Landfill increase compared to planned increase in 2021- 2031 AMP
7.1 This proposed increase is higher than the fee outlined in the 2021 – 2031 AMP and reflects the increased costs associated with depreciation on the additional capital work undertaken during 2021/2022 and 2022/2023. It also includes the additional $10/ tonne increase in Waste Minimisation Levy, increased interest rates, and an increase in the landfill operations and maintenance cost associated with the new O&M contract.
7.2 The proposed 17.7% increase in landfill fee is significant, and a review has been undertaken on the increase to consider why it has increased as far as it has, and whether this increase is reasonable.
7.3 The proposed landfill gate fee of $250 per tonne is higher than the 2021-2031 AMP by $21.50. This would reflect an ~9.5% increase compared to the projected fees in 2021.
7.4 The AMP budgets are uninflated budgets and therefore it is expected that the fee escalate by the change as a result on construction and labour cost increases. The ~9.5% increase compared to the 2021-2031 AMP is less than the escalation in operational and construction costs over this period (~15%) despite significant additional capital expenditure being required for landfill stability actions.
7.5 In 2023/2024 the NTRLBU managed to limit the cost increase for the disposal of general waste and reduce the fee from $221/tonne to $212/ tonne. This included accommodating a cost increase of $20/tonne for the Waste Minimisation Levy (WML).
7.6 Unfortunately, the NTRLBU is no longer able to continue to reduce the effect of the ongoing increase in the WML and this increase and the additional $10 per tonne increase in 2024/2025 will need to be passed on to landfill customers.
8. How do Landfill fees compare to other locations in NZ
8.1 A review of landfill fees in other New Zealand landfills has shown that the York Valley landfill has fees that are in line with fees charged at other landfills. The table below shows the landfill fees (including GST) for landfills in 2023/2024.
Figure 1- Comparison of Landfill Fees (GST inclusive)
8.2 As a comparison to the above table, the York Valley 2024/25 fee will be $287.50 including GST. It is expected that other landfills will include the additional $10 waste minimisation levy cost into their 2024/25 fees which would raise these by at least $10 plus GST per tonne.
9. Option review for NTRLBU Draft Business plan
9.1 The following table outlines three options for the NTRLBU Draft Business Plan. Officers support option 3.
|
Option 1: Do not adopt the Draft Business Plan |
|
|
Advantages |
· There are no advantages |
|
Disadvantages |
· NTRLBU will not be meeting the requirements of the Terms of Reference adopted by Nelson City and Tasman District councils. · NTRLBU will not have approval to continue its works programme. · NTRLBU will not meet its legal requirements, capital works programme, health and safety obligations or emissions reductions. · NTRLBU does not implement waste minimisation and diversion options. · Ongoing issues will remain with HAIL and Hazardous waste due to the high cost for responsible disposal of these materials. · No additional revenue will be realised from the gas, and this energy will be wasted. |
|
Option 2: Request amendments to the Draft Business Plan prior to submission to NCC and TDC for feedback. |
|
|
Advantages |
· Allows the NTRLBU board to consider and modify the scope of proposed capital works or the timing of the proposed capital works associated with waste minimisation activities and gas reuse. |
|
Risks and Disadvantages |
· If significant changes are made, the revised Business plan will not be available in time to meet the 31 October due date required by both Councils in the NTRLBU Terms of Reference. · May require rework of the plan and approval of the revised plan if significant changes are made to the scope or timing of the capital works. · Regional services staff capacity will be exceeded. |
|
Option 3: Adopt the Draft Business Plan and submit to NCC and TDC for feedback – recommended option. |
|
|
Advantages |
· Allows the implementation of plans for Waste minimisation, gas reuse and diversion of HAIL and Hazardous wastes. · Improves operational certainty for the landfill and further safeguards airspace for general waste use. · Reduces barriers to responsible disposal of HAIL and hazardous wastes. · Will allow the implementation of safety improvements to high-risk areas of the landfill. · Allows ongoing implementation of greenhouse gas mitigation works. |
|
Risks and Disadvantages |
· Requires additional capital expenditure. |
10. Conclusion and Next Steps
10.1 The Draft Business Plan 2024/25 has been prepared alongside the Draft AMP 2024 – 2034. It includes projects to address waste minimisation, gas reuse and emission reduction opportunities, and to support responsible disposal of HAIL and hazardous materials from the community.
10.2 The landfill fee increase included in this business plan is significant.
10.3 The fee increases in 2024/2025 follows a significantly lower than budgeted fee in 2023/2024 financial year. Despite the raised fee the charges proposed for the York Valley landfill in 2024/2025 are in alignment with fees for other waste disposal facilities throughout New Zealand.
10.4 The increase in landfill general waste cost per tonne fee is 17.7%. The resulting fee is $250 per tonne of general waste excluding GST.
10.5 The increase in the landfill cost per tonne compared to 2023/24 financial year is partly because the NTRLBU was able to absorb some of the waste minimisation levy cost during the 2023/24 financial year, and therefore did not increase the fee as much as was proposed in the 2021 – 2031 AMP.
10.6 The landfill cost per tonne increase represents a ~9.5% increase compared to the fee consulted in the NTRLBU 2021-2031 AMP. It should be noted that the 2021- 2031 AMP did not include the costs associated with the lower buttress stability works as these issues were identified after the AMP was finalised and the NTRLU 2021- 2031 AMP costs are un-escalated, and during the time since the AMP was prepared there has been approximately 15% cost escalation.
|
Important considerations for decision making |
|
Fit with Purpose of Local Government The NTRLBU is a joint committee constituted pursuant to the provisions of Schedule 7 to the Local Government Act 2002 and contributes to the four Local Government well-beings of social, economic, environmental, and cultural. |
|
Consistency with Community Outcomes and Council Policy The NTRLBU Business Plan feed into the NCC and TDC Annual Plans and the business plan has been prepared based on the NTRLBU 2021 -2031 Activity Management Plan and incorporating additional information not available at the time the AMP was prepared. |
|
Risk This report includes allowance or mitigation of environmental and business continuity risks. The business plan will be submitted to TDC and NCC for feedback, this feedback will be considered by the Board. The risk of not approving the business plan is that this could delay the NRSBU implementing the works outlined and could result in significant adverse effect environmentally, financially and to the sustainability of waste management in the Nelson Tasman Region. |
|
Financial impact The NTRLBU 2024/25 fees reflect an increase in essential renewals expenditure and implementation of the landfill airspace and stability works. It also includes works to further reduce climate emissions, and beneficially reuse landfill gas, and options for diverting waste from the landfill to reduce airspace. These activities allow ongoing safe operation of the landfill and allow it to provide ongoing disposal services to the community. The financial impact of this business plan results in a lower landfill fee than was outlined in the approved AMP and therefore has benefit financially to the region. |
|
Degree of significance and level of engagement The NTRLBU plans include capital expenditure which will result in a reduction in future fee increases. The additional capital expenditure has been spread over three years to reduce the impact on NTRLBUs owners. While this business plan is significant to NTRLBU, and results in a reduction in future landfill charge increases and is fully funded by the gate fees received, including covering the cost of interest and principal repayments on the additional capital expenditure. It is not considered significant to the Councils. |
|
Climate Impact A key feature of the NTRLBU Business Plan are projects that work toward mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. This includes physical works for gas reuse, and opportunities to develop projects to divert a significant fraction of organic waste from landfill for energy production. |
|
Inclusion of Māori in the decision making process No engagement with Māori has been undertaken in preparing this report but iwi have representation on the Board. |
|
Delegations The Joint Committee has the following delegations to consider the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit: 5.6.1 Relevant Areas of responsibility: • Landfill, including York Valley landfill and Eves Valley landfill. 5.6.2 Delegations: · The NTRLBU may without the need to seek any further authority from the councils: Set fees and charges for waste disposal at the regional landfill facilities by 30 June each year; including the power to apply discounted fees and charges for the disposal of waste in bulk; and may determine other circumstances where discounted fees and charges may be applied. For clarity, the fees and charges shall be included in the draft annual Business Plan that is submitted for Council approval each year. |
Attachments
Attachment 1: 1995708647-50 Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Draft Business Plan 2024/2025 ⇩
Item 9: Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Draft Activity Management Plan 2024-33 report
|
|
|
Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit
18 August 2023
Report Title: Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Draft Activity Management Plan 2024-33 report
Report Author: Nathan Clarke - General Manager Regional Sewerage and Landfill
Report Authoriser: Alec Louverdis - Group Manager Infrastructure
Report Number: R27859
1. Purpose of Report
1.1 To approve the Draft Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Activity Management Plan 2024 – 2034 (AMP) for circulation to the Tasman District Council (TDC) and Nelson City Council (NCC) for their consideration and feedback.
2. Summary
2.1 The AMP is tabled for discussion and approval at this meeting.
2.2 The follows feedback received from Committee members during a workshop on 19 May 2023 and includes allowance for:
· reducing operating and safety risks;
· reducing landfill emissions;
· identifying ways to safeguard effective and economic operations into the future; and
· consenting and development of a new Regional Landfill during the term of this AMP.
2.3 The programme of works has been developed to reflect the priorities and timing while spreading out the expenditure. Due to the capacity at York Valley Landfill, and the way landfill accounting is undertaken significant expenditure is planned next financial year so that NTRLBU can spread the cost of depreciation over the longest possible period.
2.4 Several of the planned projects are expected to have a positive return on investment and will therefore result in cost savings for landfill users, however these projects will require significant capital expenditure.
2.5 The gate fees estimated for waste to landfill assume that the NTRLBU will implement the projects and the income will therefore support lower waste disposal fees.
2.6 The NTRLBU staff have improved the delivery of the work programme over the last three years, and it is anticipated that the capital works programme is able to be implemented.
3. Recommendation
Recommendation to Nelson City Council and Tasman District Councils
4. Background
4.1 The NTRLBU Terms of Reference (TOR) outlines a number of activities required by the NTRLBU along with specified timing for these activities.
4.2 One of the key activities undertaken by the NTRLBU is the three yearly review of the AMP.
4.3 This plan involves assessing the changes required within the landfill over the next 10 years and incorporates the long term objective and goals for the NTRLBU.
4.4 NTRLBU has developed the Draft AMP following a workshop with the committee members.
5. Discussion
5.1 The following sections summarise the activities included in the AMP in relation for some key overarching considerations including:
· Capital Expenditure
· Operational Costs
· ETS and Emission management
· Waste minimisation and landfill capacity
· Risk and uncertainty
6. Capital Expenditure
6.1 The AMP includes a significant amount of capital expenditure in the first three years of the ten year period. This capital expenditure is required to implement several improvements to the gas management system so that NTRLBU can continue to reduce its emissions.
6.2 These projects are principally projects that will convert the collected gas and use the energy contained to emission reduction, economic returns or community benefits. The projects are intended to have a positive return on investment.
6.3 Additional reasons for the high expenditure during the early years of the programme are that any expenditure needs to be depreciated over the remaining life of York Valley Gulley 1. This period is currently estimated at ten years (end of York Valley Gully One landfill consent is December 2034).
6.4 The AMP also includes an allowance for the construction of a transfer facility at the top of the York Valley Gully 1 landfill to allow separation of commercial vehicle and personnel from the tip face.
6.5 Based on the assessed life of York Valley Gully 1, allowances have been made for consent application for a new landfill in the first three years the ten year period, with allowance being made for the construction of a new landfill facility toward the end of the NTRLBU AMP period.
7. Operational Costs
7.1 The costs to run the NTRLBU will increase significantly over the next four years. These cost increases are partly related to activities outside NTRLBU control, including:
7.1.1 Additional increases to the Waste Minimisation Levy;
7.1.2 Increased interest and depreciation charges associated with the ongoing development to the landfill;
7.1.3 Improved safety management activities within the landfill operations;
7.1.4 A new Operations and Maintenance contract for the facility;
7.1.5 Separation of commercial vehicles from the tip face;
7.1.6 Ongoing improvements in litter and stormwater controls including chemical dosing of sediment contaminated stormwater prior to discharge; and
7.1.7 Diversion of HAIL and contaminated soil from the landfill, and the consenting and implementation of a class three HAIL disposal facility at the Eves Valley Landfill.
7.2 NTRLBU continues to focus efforts on driving down the amount and cost of carbon emissions. The AMP period includes allowances for installing gas reuse facilities at both York Valley and Eves Valley landfills.
7.3 The capital expenditure plan has had to be prepared in advance of the selection of a final gas reuse option being selected.
7.4 The NTRLBU has allowed for the construction of a renewable CNG facility in the budget as this project has the largest economic return to the NTRLBU, and has the largest carbon abatement potential, and is only slightly higher in capital cost. This facility would bottle gas for sale to gas, coal or diesel energy users in industrial facilities within the Nelson Tasman Region.
7.5 The renewable gas option has been included as it presents the highest return on investment, the largest carbon abatement, and is only slightly higher in capital cost.
7.6 Some of the projects are expected to be profitable projects. While these increase operational costs, they result in significant revenue that will reduce the landfill gate fee.
8. ETS and Emission management
8.1 The AMP assumes that the NTRLBU will not incur significant increased costs associated with ETS unit price, as the NTRLBU currently hold sufficient credits to limit ETS price increases for the foreseeable future.
8.2 The AMP has allowed for the diversion of waste from York Valley gully 1 landfill to an alternative site (currently expected to be a constructed Class three managed fill site at the Eves Valley landfill site) that does not accept general wastes. This will reduce the Waste Minimisation Levy the NTRLBU needs to pay.
9. Waste minimisation and Landfill capacity
9.1 NTRLBU will continue to support the NCC and TDC joint waste minimisation programmes.
9.2 The AMP allows for ongoing costs at current levels for battery diversion from landfill.
9.3 Landfill capacity has been extended following additional airspace development and extension of the gully one fill area. The remaining airspace is estimated at 1.3 million m3 which is sufficient to extend the gully one landfill to the end of the current consent period.
9.4 Improved compaction is likely to allow some capacity to remain at the end of the consent life. The use of this capacity will depend on the consent application for the new landfill being granted.
9.5 The proposed plan for the regional landfill is to apply for a new consent for Gully’s two and three within the York Valley landfill designation.
9.6 A consent application will be undertaken over the next two to three years.
9.7 Landfill life is expected to further improve following the receipt of the new landfill compactor at the beginning of the 2024/2025 financial year and it will also improve with the implementation of HAIL and Hazardous waste diversion, and once food waste diversion is implemented in the Nelson Tasman region.
9.8 Food waste processing facilities have not been allowed for in the AMP, and it has been assumed that NCC and TDC will provide allowance for these facilities.
10. Risk and uncertainty
10.1 The industry is experiencing significant change at present, and number of work packages are still in development and detailed economic projections are not yet available for several the proposed projects. There is a risk that our projections are not as accurate as desired.
10.2 Landfill waste volumes being received from commercial activity remain a risk to forward waste projections.
10.3 The NTRLBU has seen a 5% reduction in waste mass over the 2022/2023 financial year. The reduction is thought to have arisen from the slowdown in commercial and residential property construction.
10.4 Should NZ continue to experience significant difficulties in this sector this could affect the accuracy of the NTRLBU forecasts.
10.5 Future regulations have been factored into the AMP as far as can foreseen, however it is unclear what additional changes will result from the myriad of reforms that are occurring within the NZ regulatory environment. It is also unclear what (if any) effects there will be from the central government elections on future regulatory direction.
11. Conclusion
11.1 The AMP has been prepared based on feedback from the NTRLBU Committee and incorporates projects to improve safety, develop future landfill capacity, and reduce the landfills emissions.
11.2 There is significant capital expenditure proposed within the plan, with much of this capital expenditure supporting projects with a positive return on investment.
11.3 There has been and continues to be significant change occurring in the solid waste sector in New Zealand which raises uncertainty about future requirements. This uncertainty may affect the accuracy of the AMP.
|
Important considerations for decision making |
|
Fit with Purpose of Local Government The NTRLBU is a joint committee constituted pursuant to the provisions of Schedule 7 to the Local Government Act 2002 and contributes to the four Local Government well-beings of social, economic, environmental and cultural. |
|
Consistency with Community Outcomes and Council Policy The NTRLBU Disposal Fees feed into Council’s 2024-34 LTP and the NTRLBU Activity Management Plan feeds into the NCC and TDC Activity Management Plans. |
|
Risk This report allows the community to comment on the NTRLBU fees and development through NCC community consultation processes. These comments will be considered by the Board. The risk of not approving the fees is that this could delay the development of the Activity Management Plan, and could have a consequential effect on NCC and TDC Council Annual Plans and Activity Management Plans |
|
Financial impact The Amp reflects implementation of critical upgrades, and well as projects that mitigate carbon emissions and create a positive return on investment. The capital expenditure will require borrowing from the NTRLBU owners and therefore may have an impact on debt levels. |
|
Degree of significance and level of engagement The NTRLBU plans are included in the Long-term Plans and Annual Plans of each Council. Consultation is undertaken by both Councils in the preparation and adoption of these plans. |
|
Climate Impact A key feature of the NTRLBU Activity Management Plan are projects that work toward mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and reuse of gas from the landfill in a way that contributes to emission reduction. This includes a commitment to measure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the facility in collaboration with NCC and TDC. |
|
Inclusion of Māori in the decision making process No engagement with Māori has been undertaken in preparing this report but iwi have representation on the Board.
|
|
Delegations Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Joint Committee has the following delegations: 5.6.1 Relevant Areas of responsibility: • Landfill, including York Valley landfill and Eves Valley landfill. 5.6.2 Delegations:
The NTRLBU may without the need to seek any further authority from the councils: · Set fees and charges for waste disposal at the regional landfill facilities by 30 June each year; including the power to apply discounted fees and charges for the disposal of waste in bulk; and may determine other circumstances where discounted fees and charges may be applied. For clarity, the fees and charges shall be included in the draft annual Business Plan that is submitted for Council approval each year.
|
Attachments
Attachment 1: 1995708647-52 NTRLBU Draft Activity Management Plan 2024-2033 ⇩
Item 9: Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Draft Activity Management Plan 2024-33 report: Attachment 1
Item 10: Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Capital/Renewals Carryover Report 2023/24
|
|
|
Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit
18 August 2023
Report Title: Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit Capital/Renewals Carryover Report 2023/24
Report Author: Nathan Clarke - General Manager Regional Sewerage and Landfill
Report Authoriser: Alec Louverdis - Group Manager Infrastructure
Report Number: R27862
1. Purpose of Report
1.1 To consider and approve the 2022/23 capital carryover requirements from 2022/23 to 2023/24.
2. Summary
2.1 A significant amount of capital upgrading work commenced and was completed during the 2022/23 financial year. Some work was delayed slightly due to weather constraints and as this work is still necessary and commenced, carry over from 2022/23 to 2023/24 to allow this work to be completed is required.
3. Recommendation
4. Background and Discussion
4.1 NTRLBU has had a successful year continuing to deliver challenging renewals and expenditure programme during the 2022/23 financial year.
4.2 Officers generally approach capex projects with a three-year process, allowing a year for concept development, a year for detailed design and consenting (if required), and a year for construction.
4.3 Business unit resource levels are lower than needed to meet the workloads. External support has been engaged from consultants with some delivery timeframes extended.
4.4 A significant volume of capital and renewal physical work has been completed during 2022/23. A carry over of $695,000 from a capital budget of $9.176M is required representing less than 10%
|
|
Full Budget 2022/ 23 |
Total spend 2022/23 |
Carryover to 23/24 |
|
Renewals |
$2,874,895 |
$4,244,696 |
-$1,369,801 |
|
Capital |
$6,301,476 |
$4,236,668 |
$2,064,808 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Combined Capital and Renewals |
$9,176,371 |
$8,481,364 |
$695,007 |
4.6 Specifics of notable capital projects completed are as follows:
4.6.1 Collection network/flare/gas: During 2022/23 a significant package of upgrade works was completed. Gas wells installation was completed in 22/23.
4.6.2 Road extension: commencement of physical works to alter the York tip face access road was completed with the exception of chipseal application, and the Access Road upgrade to Eves Valley was completed apart from final chip sealing.
4.6.3 York Valley Stability: The upper buttress was completed, enabling waste to be compacted to the outer areas of the face again.
4.6.4 Investigation and Consents for Stage 2 & 3 as regional site (Eves): Progress has slowed on the new consents for Eves, and this is currently sitting with TDC for their next action. Works for the Consent for the next landfill after York Valley Gully 1 continues, and this will involve significant work over the next two years.
4.6.5 York Valley Leachate Upgrade: Design work is completed with work packaged and an RFT sent to the market for a 23/24 award and delivery.
4.6.6 Pioneer Contract and Asset Purchase: The sale & purchase agreement was finalised in 22/23.
4.6.7 York Valley Stormwater Control: These packages of work were completed in 22/23, and there is only the western clean water drainage improvements left to be completed over the next few years.
5. Options
5.1 Two options have been considered for the carryover – approving the carryover or not approving the carryover. Officers support Option 1 – Approving the carryover to allow completion of works.
|
Option 1: Approve the carryover - Recommended Option |
|
|
Advantages |
· The capital projects will be able to continue. · Upgrades will be possible to reduce environmental concerns related to the current landfill operations. · Planning and actions will be able to be completed to develop the future landfill operations and reduce current and future risks. · Greenhouse gas emission reductions, landfill leachate and stability issues will be able to be addressed. · Landfill airspace will be enhanced, resulting in reduced landfill waste disposal costs. · Future workload for staff will be reduced |
|
Risks and Disadvantages |
· Regional services staff will have a higher workload delivering the capital projects. |
|
Option 2: Do not approve the carryover |
|
|
Advantages |
· Less immediate stress of Regional Service staff |
|
Risks and Disadvantages |
· The works have been commenced and therefore will need to be funded from the current financial year budgets, which may adversely affect other planned activities. |
6. Conclusion
6.1 It is recommended that $695,000 of renewals and capital funds will be carried forward into 2023/24.
6.2 Expenditure of these funds is programmed for completion in 2023/24.
|
Important considerations for decision making |
|
Fit with Purpose of Local Government The NTRLBU is a joint committee constituted pursuant to the provisions of Schedule 7 to the Local Government Act 2002 and contributes to the four Local Government well-beings of social, economic, environmental, and cultural. |
|
Consistency with Community Outcomes and Council Policy Our infrastructure is efficient, cost effective and meets current and future needs. |
|
Risk The risk of not approving the carry-overs is that urgent and planned works will not be able to be undertaken and works already underway will not be able to be completed. This would likely result in consent non-compliance. |
|
Financial impact This report has considered funding approved by the Councils and transfers capital funding to allow the delivery of the required capital upgrades as outlined in the annual and long-term plans. |
|
Degree of significance and level of engagement The NTRLBU is a Joint Committee of the two Councils and its activities are included in the Long-term Plans and Annual Plans of each Council. Consultation is undertaken by both Councils in the preparation and adoption of these plans. |
|
Climate Impact A key feature of the capital programme is the ability to implement systems to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and environmental issues. Carryover of funds allows these programmes to continue. |
|
Inclusion of Māori in the decision making process No engagement with Māori has been undertaken in preparing this report but iwi have representation on the Board. |
|
Delegations
|
Attachments
