Turangi/Tongariro Community Board advocates for district

The Turangi/Tongariro Community Board is speaking out on behalf of its community on a number of environmental issues.

 

During April, the board made submissions to Environment Waikato on issues covered in its Draft Long Term Council Community Plan and its Draft Regional Land Transport Programme which directly affect the Turangi/Tongariro ward area.

 

The board is particularly concerned at Environment Waikato’s planned delay to the current development of an integrated Tongariro River Catchment Management Plan. The board believes that progress achieved by working groups to date will be lost if the plan is deferred until 2020.

 

The board’s chairman, Councillor Don Ormsby, disputes Environment Waikato’s estimate that the plan will cost $200,000. “There is already a plan for the Lower Tongariro and with the community goodwill already in evidence amongst all involved, the board sees no reason why it should be assumed by Environment Waikato that the plan will take large resources to complete,” he says.

 

The board’s submission also expressed its concern at stock effluent discharge from trucks onto state highways. According to the board, there is frequent evidence of stock effluent at various points on SH1 and SH41 all of which directly discharge run-off into streams and tributaries of Lake Taupo and is dismayed that there is no method of prosecuting offending trucks.

 

The substandard condition of SH1 between Taupo and the Desert Road is also of particular concern to the board. The board’s submission listed issues such as a lack of passing lanes, unsafe bridges, and specific high risk crash areas.

 

Councillor Ormsby says SH1 south of Taupo is one of the top ranking road safety black spot areas in New Zealand. “I’m pleased that some of the issues we’ve raised in previous years have been addressed but the sorry state of SH1 still has not been dealt with.”

 

The board urged Environment Waikato for increased integration with other regions on highway network planning and more focus on asset replacement rather than repair.

 

Other issues covered in the submissions include pest management - particularly possums, rabbits and didymo. The board is concerned at planned cutbacks in funding of pest management and of the continued use of 1080 poisoning programmes.

 

Environment Waikato will consider the board’s submissions in late May.