Harbour pollution fears

BP's proposed project

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BEFORE: What the Port Rd facilities in Seaview, Lower Hutt look like now.

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Wellington

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A battle is brewing over plans by BP to build a huge new storage depot and its application to pour potentially contaminated water into Wellington Harbour.

Lower Hutt residents and people who have boats in the Seaview Marina fear discharges of petrochemical-contaminated water could harm marine life, damage boats and force them to clean up after the company.

If granted, the consent will be the only one which allows a private company to release potentially contaminated water into the harbour.

But BP says it does not "waste a drop" of its product, the facilities on Port Rd will be extremely safe, and the terminal will create about 45 new jobs.

In its opening submission at a planned four-day resource consent hearing yesterday, a BP lawyer said the water discharged "may well be better than the quality of water already in the stormwater pipe". It would "not be in BP's interest" to pursue a development that would "affect its reputation".

Officers from both Hutt City Council and Greater Wellington regional council are backing the plan, saying controls on the company will be stringent.

The consent battle comes after concerns were reported last month that stormwater pipes are spewing raw sewage into Wellington Harbour. It also follows repeated problems with the Hutt Valley's main sewerage pipe, which saw about 2.5 million cubic litres of treated sewage pour into the harbour.

BP's proposed terminal will be able to hold 52 million litres of petrol, about 1.5 per cent of the country's annual petrol needs.

This will close to double the fuel storage capacity in the Seaview area. The existing tanks on the site are owned jointly by BP and Shell.

Nikau Rd resident Ewen McCann said the resource consent could give BP licence to pump whatever it wanted into the harbour, without any responsibility.

"This means that the community at large will be bearing part of the cost, because if there's a discharge we'll have to either put up with it or clean it up."

Risk assessment documents suggest a fire or other emergency at the plant could see up to 24,600 litres of petrol or diesel spill into the harbour, killing birds and fish and damaging vessels at the marina. Seaview Marina manager Alan McLellan said any petrochemical spill could damage paintwork and cause a fire hazard.

But BP project manager John Machin said the resource consent's wording was misleading because the firm now had the technology to efficiently separate fuel products from water. "We don't waste a drop of it nowadays ... It's a lot safer and a lot better constructed, and the rule in BP is that no product goes to ground."

If approved, construction on the terminal would begin by early next year and take 15 years to build over three stages. The first stage would cost between $20 million and $25m.

Greater Wellington regional council environmental regulation manager Al Cross said the proposed resource consent set stringent limits on BP.

Levels of hydrocarbons would not be allowed to go above 15 parts per million a tiny amount. BP would also be required to monitor and report on its discharges.

The four-day hearing continues today.

- © Fairfax NZ News