Escalation call on oil spill

The Anzac weekend oil spill in Tauranga Harbour is now the largest Tier 2 oil spill in New Zealand.

It has now taken 11 weeks to clean it up so far, and the escalating cost of that clean-up puts it at Tier 2, says Tauranga NZ First MP, Clayton Mitchell.


The oil spill clean-up continues.

'In fact, the size of the spill, the time taken to clean and the associated costs are all so much, that we could correctly classify the spill as a Tier 3,” says Clayton.

The April 27 spill that tipped an estimated 1.5 tonnes of heavy fuel oil into the harbour only remains classified as a Tier 2 spill so that clean-up efforts remain under the control of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, as it seeks to bring about a successful end to this clean-up at some point in the near future.

The source of the spill was two small holes in a spur off the main bunker line under the Mount Maunganui wharf. Owned by Mobil Oil NZ, the oil company has been billed for the regional council incurred clean-up costs of $691,766 as of June 15.

That doesn't include costs incurred by by Tauranga Bridge Marina where oil is still being cleared from marina berths, of the costs passed on by the Bridge Marina Travelift, which has been cleaning up the oiled boats that were in the marina at the time of the spill.

'I strongly believe that Regional Council should take legal action against Mobil for their negligence in maintaining the pipes and their ineffective and infrequent maintenance and inspections, which failed to pick up on the need to repair the corroded pipe,” says Clayton.

'Mobil should also be prosecuted for not having systems in place that adequately detect oil spills in a timely manner. A hefty fine should encourage the multinational corporation to work up to a higher standard of practice, thereby helping prevent future oil spills.”

The Regional Council's General Manager for Environmental Management, Eddie Grogan is close to completing the investigative report upon which the decision to prosecute will be made, says Clayton.

'Nearly three months ago, at the onset of the spill, the Government publically and vehemently disagreed with me when I accurately described this oil spill as disastrous and preventable. While the Government may be busy changing its tune, I'm sticking to mine,” says Clayton.

Eddie Grogan was unable to be contacted by SunLive.

The Regional On-Scene Commander for the oil spill, Adrian Heays says the Regional Council's investigation into the Mobil oil spill is ongoing.

When all the required information and evidence has been gathered, Regional Council's Enforcement Decision Group (EDG) will decide on whether to prosecute or not.

The EDG comprises senior investigations staff and senior managers from the Regional Council and external legal advisors.

Only the National On-Scene Commander can declare a Tier 3 incident, says Steve Rendle at Maritime New Zealand.

The main determining factor is a regional council's ability to handle a response. After liaison with BOPRC, the National On-scene Commander determined that the council had the capability to handle the Tauranga harbour spill.

The Director of Maritime NZ appoints National On-scene Commanders (NOSCs), and the decision by the NOSC on whether or not to escalate to a Tier 3 response is made in accordance with the Maritime transport Act.

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2 comments

Council responsibility

Posted on 26-06-2015 16:38 | By peecee09

As the major shareholder in the Port the Regional Council must shoulder some of the responsibility for this disaster.First , the handling of such a toxic and damaging product as bunker fuel is, should be carefully monitored either by the Port or the oil company.Second , because of the danger and volatility of fuel oil a more frequent checking of the delivery system should be a mandatory requirement. It appears that neither of these precautionary steps were taken and should have been.The Reg Council must take every step it can to stop the spoiling of OUR beautiful harbour.


Simple

Posted on 26-06-2015 19:43 | By Capt_Kaveman

Just put in booms at each end or is that beyond them


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