Army Bay Wastewater Treatment Reconsenting Project
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RESOURCE CONSENT APPLICATION Army Bay Wastewater Treatment Reconsenting Project 1535 Whangaparaoa Road, Army Bay Mitchell Daysh Ltd WATERCARE SERVICES LIMITED ARMY BAY WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT Assessment of Environmental Effects November 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS Part A: Resource Consent Application Part B: Assessment of Environmental Effects 1. Introduction ___________________________________________________________ 1 1.1 Overview 1 1.2 Project Rationale 1 1.3 Resource Consents Required 3 1.4 Technical Reports 4 1.5 Report Structure 5 2. Evaluation of Alternatives _______________________________________________ 6 2.1 Introduction 6 2.2 The Process 6 2.3 Best Practical Option 18 2.4 Preferred Option Summary 18 3. Project Description ____________________________________________________ 20 3.1 Introduction 20 3.2 Existing Army Bay WWTP 20 3.3 Exisiting and Future Service Areas 23 3.4 WWTP Upgrades and Discharge Quality 25 3.5 Discharges to Air – Odour 33 4. Exisiting Environment _________________________________________________ 35 4.1 Physical Setting 35 4.2 Existing Wastewater Infrastructure 38 4.3 Cultural Setting 41 4.4 Ecological Values of the WWTP Site 43 4.5 Ecological Values of the Receiving Environment 47 4.6 Landscape, Amenity and Natural Character Values 57 5. Assessment of Effects _________________________________________________ 60 5.1 Introduction 60 5.2 Positive Effects 62 5.3 Effects on Cultural Values 62 5.4 Hydrodynamic Modelling and Salinity 63 5.5 Coastal Water Quality 64 5.6 Effects of Microbial Contaminants 66 5.7 Effects on Benthic Habitats and biological Communities 68 5.8 Effects on Fish and Marine Mammal 70 5.9 Effects on Birdlife as a Result of Discharge Activities 71 5.10 Effects of Odour 71 5.11 Effects of the WWTP Upgrade Works on Ecological Values 73 5.12 Overall Conclusion of the effects of the WWTP discharges 76 6. Monitoring and Management Framework __________________________________ 78 Watercare Services Limited – Army Bay Wastewater Treatment Plan – Resource Consent Application and Assessment of Environmental Effects 6.1 Introduction 78 6.2 Management Plans 78 6.3 Wastewater Monitoring 81 6.4 Benthic Habitats in the CMA 81 6.5 Water Quality in the CMA 81 6.6 Shellfish 81 6.7 Emerging Contaminants 81 6.8 Enivronmental Management Plan 82 6.9 Review of Environmental Monitoring Data 82 6.10 Annual Reporting 82 6.11 On-Going Consultation 83 7. Consultation _________________________________________________________ 84 7.1 Introduction 84 7.2 Iwi Consultation 84 7.3 Stakeholder and Public Consultation 86 8. Statutory Considerations _______________________________________________ 89 8.1 Introduction 89 8.2 Auckland Unitary Plan – Operative in part 89 8.3 Section 104 Assessment 91 8.4 Section 105 – Matters Relevant to Discharge Applications 104 8.5 Section 107 – Restrictions to Grant Certain Discharge Permits 105 8.6 Part 2 Matters 106 8.7 Summary 107 9. Concluding Statement _________________________________________________ 108 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Army Bay and the surrounding area. 1 Figure 2: Projected growth within the Army Bay WWTP catchment. 2 Figure 3: Flow Chart of Preferred Option Consideration process. 10 Figure 4: Existing Army Bay WWTP service area (shown in green). 20 Figure 5: Aerial photo of the existing Army Bay WWTP. 22 Figure 6: Outfall pipeline route. 23 Figure 7: Army Bay WWTP service area and projected development population. 24 Figure 8: Army Bay WWTP Upgrades - Stage 1 Concept Design 28 Figure 9: Army Bay WWTP - Stage 2 Concept Design Layout. 29 Figure 10: Army Bay WWTP - Stage 3 Concept Design Layout. 31 Watercare Services Limited – Army Bay Wastewater Treatment Plan – Resource Consent Application and Assessment of Environmental Effects Figure 11: Staged upgrading of the Army Bay WWTP. 34 Figure 12: Army Bay WWTP site and the outfall point. 36 Figure 13: Wind rose for Whangaparaoa Peninsula (2009-2012). 37 Figure 14: Army Bay WWTP Network Upgrades. 40 Figure 15: Archaeological sites within the Army Bay WWTP service area. 42 Figure 16: Distribution of vegetation across the site. 45 Figure 17: Vegetation ecological values of the site. 46 Figure 18: Residual currents of the receiving environment. 48 Figure 19: Peak ebb (outgoing) tidal velocities of the receiving environment. 49 Figure 20: Peak flood (incoming) tidal velocities of the receiving environment. 49 Figure 21: QMRA sites. 67 Figure 22: Vegetation clearance required to upgrade the WWTP. 74 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Sixteen potential options. 7 Table 2: Comparison of remaining Short List Options. 14 Table 3: Preferred Option 1 – Proposed Discharge Median Limits. 17 Table 4: Staged Discharge Quality. 26 Table 5: Proposed discharge volumes. 26 Table 6: Existing and Stage 1 - Short-term Discharge Limits. 28 Table 7: Stage 2 – Medium-term Discharge Limits 30 Table 8: Stage 3 - Long-term Discharge Limits 31 Table 9: Nutrient Loads 32 Table 10: Water quality monitoring around Whangaparaoa Head. 50 Table 11: Parameters for scenarios considered for the assessment of ecological effects. 60 Table 12: Predicted loads for population scenarios considered. 61 Watercare Services Limited – Army Bay Wastewater Treatment Plan – Resource Consent Application and Assessment of Environmental Effects Table 13: Proposed Final Army Bay WWTP wastewater quality standards. 61 Table 14: Percentile of dilution over the outfall, 50 m from the outfall, and 100 m from the outfall. 64 Table 15: Separation distances to high sensitivity receptors. 73 VOLUME 2 – APPENDICES A: Certificate of Title. B: Preferred Option Consideration Process – Army Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant Reconsenting Project, Watercare Services Ltd (November 2018). C: Army Bay WWTP Consenting - Treatment Options, C2HM Beca Ltd (November 2018). D: Ecological Assessment of a Proposed Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade at Army Bay, Whangaparoa, Wildlands (November 2018). E: Assessment of Ecological Effects on the receiving environment from the discharge of treated wastewater from the Army Bay WWTP, Aquatic Environmental Sciences Ltd (November 2018). F: Desktop Ecological Assessment of a Proposed Wastewater Treatment Upgrade on Avifauna Values at Army Bay, Whangaparoa, Wildlands (November 2018). G: Army Bay Wastewater Discharge: Benthic Ecology, Coast & Catchment Ltd (October 2018). H: Army Bay Wastewater Discharge – Review of fish and mammal resources, Coast & Catchment Ltd (March 2018). I: Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment for the discharge of treated wastewater at Army Bay, Streamlined Environmental (November 2018). J: Army Bay Outfall Modelling, DHI (October 2018). K: Army Bay WWTP – Technical Odour Assessment, C2HM Beca (November 2018). L: Consultation Summary Table. M: Auckland Unitary Plan Statutory Analysis. Watercare Services Limited – Army Bay Wastewater Treatment Plan – Resource Consent Application and Assessment of Environmental Effects A PART A Resource Consent Application FORM 9 APPLICATION FOR RESOURCE CONSENT Sections 88 and 145, Resource Management Act 1991 To Auckland Council 1. Watercare Services Limited (“Watercare”) apply for the following type(s) of resource consent: • A discharge permit for a discretionary activity for the discharge of treated wastewater to the Coastal Marine Area; • A discharge permit for a discretionary activity for the discharge of contaminant to air from the operation of the Army Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant (“Army Bay WWTP”); • A land use consent for a restricted discretionary activity for the clearance of vegetation; • A land use consent for a restricted discretionary activity for the clearance of vegetation from within a Significant Ecological Area; • A land use consent for a restricted discretionary activity for land disturbance; and • A land use consent for a discretionary activity for land disturbance within a Significant Ecological Area. A 35 year term is sought for each of the discharge permits, and a 10 year term is sought for each of the land use consents. 2. The activity to which the application relates (the proposed activity) is as follows: The proposed activity will enable the ongoing operation of the Army Bay WWTP for 35 years, and comprises the discharge of treated wastewater from the Army Bay WWTP to the Whangaparaoa Passage, approximately 1.1 km east of Huaroa Point at 1765500E 5948700N, the discharge of contaminants to air from the operation of the Army Bay WWTP, and vegetation removal and land disturbance required to upgrade the Army Bay WWTP. The discharge of treated wastewater will be via the recently constructed outfall, and has been selected by Watercare through an extensive Preferred Option assessment, which comprised 16 options (with further sub-options) at the outset. The Preferred Option assessment included input from Watercare’s project team, Watercare staff, and Mana Whenua parties. Watercare Services Limited – Army Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant – Resource Consent Application 1 A discharge of contaminants to air will result from the operation of the Army Bay WWTP. To manage this, Watercare propose to implement an Operations Management Plan or Air Quality Management Plan. As a result of management measures implemented, the discharge of odour will be unperceivable at the boundary of the site. While not part of the proposed activity, except for the enabling vegetation clearance and land disturbance, key to the discharge of treated wastewater is the proposed upgrade of the Army Bay WWTP. The proposed upgrades will be implemented in advance of the population of the service areas reaching identified population