Tribunal approves petrol plant

Press, 5 December 1981, Page 6

Tribunal approves petrol plant

PA New Plymouth The Planning Tribunal has recommended that consent be given for the building or the synthetic-petrol plant proposed for Motunui. about 23km north-east of New Plymouth. The tribunal has also recommended that a number of conditions be imposed on the construction and running

of the plant. The tribunal said in a report, which was released yesterday, that most of the conditions had been agreed to by the Synthetic Fuels Corporation during the planning hearing. The tribunal’s recommendations were: • That consent be given to the use of the land at Mo-

tunui for a synthetic-fuel plant and for related and ancillary purposes (excluding the storage of liquefied petroleum gas); © That consent be given to the construction and running of a synthetic-fuel plant and related buildings, structures, and facilities, including two methanol plants, a methanol-to-petrol plant, a cooling tower, plant utilities, including three flare stacks, tank storage water, and waste treatment facilities, settling ponds and other drainage or sewerage works, an electrical substation, general storage. maintenance, administration, and amenity facilities. reading. fencing, landscaping, and ancillary site works; ® That five water rights be granted, subject to the sea outfall being extended to 900 m in length; • That approval be given to the construction of the plant under the Clean Air Act, subject to certain conditions;

• That authority be granted under the Historic Places Act to. destroy, damage, or modify archaeological sites, subject to certain conditions. Reaction to the report was slow.

The parties involved said that they had not had a chance to study it in detail and would prefer not to comment yet. The report was made available to the parties about 11 a.m. yesterday and will be made public on Monday. A spokesman for Mobil Oil N.Z., Ltd, the Government’s partner in tne venture, said that the tribunal’s decision was under technical review. He said, “At first flush it appears that the tribunal’s requirements, can be met.”