Hi all,
As Forest & Bird members, have your say on the “Precious Mackenzie”, threatened by:
Mackenzie Basin Dairy Effluent Consent Applications
Read the articles:
Farms pose 'threat' to wildlife
by PAUL GORMAN - The Press
Big dairying won't work, farmer says
by SALLY RAE - Otago Daily Times
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Opponents slate Mackenzie dairy plan
Updated at 10:17 p.m. on 9 December 2009
Opponents of a plan for intensive dairy farming in the Mackenzie Basin have told a consent hearing the irrigation would irreparably destroy the landscape. Three companies are applying to establish 16 new farms in the upper Waitaki area, with plans to house nearly 18,000 cows in cubicle stables part of the year. The Mackenzie Guardians environmental group has told a panel of commissioners that the applications are an inappropriate use of an outstanding natural landscape. Lawyer Phernne Tancock said the proposal would have a significant effect on the ecology and destroy the landscape which was a drawcard for tourists and film companies.
The hearings began two months ago and will continue next year. One of the companies, Five Rivers Limited, whose director is Kees Zeestraten, wants to establish seven dairy farms with up to 7000 cows at Ohau Downs near Omarama. Another dairy company owned by Mr Zeestraten, Union Station Dairies in Southland, was this year fined $25,000 for breaching discharge consents. Green Party co-leader Russel Norman says granting the Five Rivers consent applications would be madness, given Mr Zeestraten’s history.
Copyright © 2009 Radio New Zealand
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More information:
The Director and sole Shareholder of Five Rivers, Cornelius Zeestraten, and his various companies and managers have systematically contravened the Resource Management Act (RMA) 1991 on their dairy farms since 2002. He has been served several Abatement Notices and three Infringement Notices with fines by Environment Southland for activities ranging from discharging effluent resulting in contaminations entering water to the most recent one which involved dumping dead stock and chemical drums into a pit of water. Mr. Zeestraten does not abide by the Resource Management Act. A fine cannot reverse any environmental damage his farming activities may inflict on the Mackenzie Country which is a fragile environment anyway.
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Who is applying for what?
Three companies – Five Rivers Limited (Ltd), Southdown Holdings Ltd and Williamson Holdings Ltd - are each applying for land use consents and effluent discharge consents to establish a total of 16 new farms, housing nearly 18,000 cows in cubicle shelters for 24 hours a day, 8 months of the year.
Five Rivers Ltd – CRC100787, CRC100788, CRC100824, CRC100827 & CRC101540
Applications for activities associated with six new dairy farms at Ohau Downs, Omarama, with a maximum of 7,000 cows. Cows will be housed in cubicle stables from March to October, and for 12 hours a day from November to February. Involves the discharge of up to 875,000 litres per day of diluted effluent onto land.
Southdown Holdings Ltd – CRC100224, CRC100480, CRC100481, CRC100482 & CRC101542
Applications for activities associated with six new dairy farms at Glen Eyre Downs, Omarama, with a maximum of 7,000 cows. Cows will be housed in cubicle stables from March to October, and for 12 hours a day from November to February. Involves the discharge of up to 560,000 litres per day of diluted effluent onto land.
Williamson Holdings Ltd – CRC100227, CRC100475, CRC100478, CRC100479 & CRC101541
Applications for activities associated with three new dairy farms at Killermont Station, near Omarama, with a maximum of 3,850 cows. Cows will be housed in cubicle stables from March to October, and for 12 hours a day from November to February. Involves the discharge of up to 308,000 litres per day of diluted effluent onto land.
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Submissions coming in from all over world says Ecan
Environment Canterbury (ECan) has been flooded with submissions protesting plans for 16 dairy farms in the Mackenzie Country which would see up to 18,000 cows housed inside for much of the year. The intense public interest, some of it from offshore, has prompted the regional council to create a special section on its internet home page to cope with the number of inquiries, the Otago Daily Times reports.
Publicity about the proposals, which some are labeling “factory farming”, has prompted more than 1100 submissions, chief executive Bryan Jenkins says. He says at times submissions were coming in at the rate of 20 an hour. Publicity about the proposals on overseas websites had prompted submissions from as far away as France and Great Britain, as well as Australia.
Some of the submissions linked the issue of animal welfare, arising from housing cows in cubicles full-time for eight months of the year, and 12 hours a day for the remaining four months, with environmental factors. The environmental issues include the large amount of effluent the 16 plants would produce – over 1.7 million litres a day – being disposed of by way of irrigation and laying solids on the land.
Submissions to ECan on the plans by Five Rivers and Southdown Holdings close at 5 p.m. this Friday 18 December, and by Williamson Holdings at 5 p.m. on Friday 15 January.
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How do I make a submission?
Go to the Mackenzie Guardians or the Greens websites.
Here is some more help on making a submission:
1. Go to the three applications on the ECan website:
There you will find separate submission forms for each of the applicants: Five Rivers, Southdown Holdings and Williamson Holdings.
2. Enter your details.
3. Tick the support/oppose box for each consent under the application.
4. Tick “I want to be heard”.
(There is no obligation to show up but it gives your submission more weight and you will be notified of hearings later.)
5. In the box marked “Your Reasons” enter your submission text, eg:
I oppose this application in its entirety ...
Issues around environmental degradation, water quality, animal welfare and NZ’s international brand make this application completely inappropriate for New Zealand’s national interest.
Watch the Mackenzie Guardians video: ”for love of the Mackenzie Country”
Cite the RMA: Part 2, sections 5 and 6. The proposals are against, or are not consistent with this part of the RMA, as they are not sustainable in the long-term and will adversely effect nationally significant indigenous vegetation and nationally significant habitats of indigenous fauna in the Mackenzie Basin. Also cite whatever else you feel most strongly about.
Read the comments on Mackenzie Guardians and Greens websites to help you come up with an angle.
Environment:
The Mackenzie Country is an iconic brown tussock landscape. This unique and fragile environment will be radically altered by irrigation and intensive dairying.
The Mackenzie is important habitat for threatened plants and birds which rely on a dry tussockland habitat.
The proposed farms will be heavily reliant on supplementary feed being trucked in from elsewhere, with resulting milk produced in large volumes needing to be trucked out.
Large amounts of fecal solids will be stored above ground to be applied to pasture in specified months. Leachate from these deposits will radically alter the nutrient levels in the surrounding land, making life untenable for much of the native flora and fauna.
Water quality:
The consent applications include large effluent ponds and plans to discharge large amounts of diluted effluent onto the land every day. This will alter the nutritional balance of streams, waterways and rivers in the vicinity.
The majestic Upper Waitaki and important recreational lakes such as Lakes Benmore and Aviemore are at risk of contamination from effluent and nutrient runoff.
Tourism and International brand:
The Mackenzie Country is a major drawcard for international tourists, and the gateway to Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park. Over 200,000 international tourists visit the National Park each year.
New Zealand’s tradition of farming animals outside and on pasture is integral to our clean green image and our competitive advantage. News that New Zealand dairy products come from factory farmed cows will undermine our international brand, which is unfair to the many good farmers who are farming sustainably.
Animal health and welfare:
It is cruel to house cows inside without fresh air and sunlight for 8 months of the year and for 12 hours a day during summer.
Animals confined in close quarters are at greater risk of injury and infection and are likely to need controlling with antibiotics.
6. In the box marked “Consent”, enter your desired outcome, eg:
I wish Environment Canterbury to decline the application in its entirety.
7. Hit the submit button and wait for your confirmation email.
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Kind regards
Andrew Simpson
North Canterbury (Branch Secretary)
Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Inc.
