Mill plan queried

Press, 16 August 1980, Page 24

Mill plan queried

Wellington reporter

The Nature Conservation Council has questioned the wisdom of developing a thermo-mechanical pulp mill at Evens Valley, Nelson, in view of its likely environmental effects.

The C.S.R.-Baigents mill proposal, which would provide up to 2000 jobs, has recently been the subject of an audited environmental impact report by the Commission for the Environment. The audit did not oppose the venture but expressed grave doubts about, aspects .of it, particularly the abundance of water supplies,

Eves Valley is about skin from Brightwater and 28km from Nelson. Water would be taken from below the Wairoa G.orge and effluent would be pumped, into the Waimea Estuary for discharge through a diffuser to be built for regional sewage at Bells Island.

The Nature Conservation Council said that the site adjoined a l large scenic reserve that had considerable softwood regeneration and was a popular picnic spot for local residents. Compatibility of the two uses was unlikely.

. . The council wanted an alternative site looked at, on the Motueka River near the Wangapeka River confluence, which had adequate timber and water resources nearby. ■ Taking water to service the mill from the Wairoa River or Wai-iti. River could have a serious impact on the aquifers of the Waimea Plains, especially in low-flow years. The council recommended a full study of this and the possibility of drawing water from the Motueka River system before a site decision was made. s.