Dear ECan, we ask you urgently to decline the waste pipeline for Oceania Dairy which would discharge millions of litres of wastewater into the ocean every day.

Our wild oceans are places of beauty, the living spaces for countless animal species, and our places of recreation.

The Pacific Ocean is not a dumping ground.

A South Canterbury-based dairy company is applying for permission to build a 7.5 kilometre-long pipeline to discharge up to 10 million litres per day of wastewater into the Pacific Ocean just south of Timaru.

No business should be making profits at the expense of harm to Papatūānuku. Waste systems should be designed within the business and not externalised into the environment.



The proposed pipeline would take waste into an area proposed as a protected marine reserve. The South East Marine Protected Area (SEMPA) will stretch from Timaru to Southland and aims to protect the habitat of Hoiho (yellow eyed penguin – threatened, nationally endangered), kororā (little penguin – at risk, declining) and Hectors Dolphin (nationally vulnerable).

We ask ECan to reject this proposal and suggest Oceania Dairy uses the latest technology and best environmental practices to treat its waste on site.

You can also make a personal submission to ECan here: https://www.ecan.govt.nz/do-it-online/resource-consents/notifications-and-submissions/notified-consents/oceania-dairy-limited/

https://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/117493826/oceania-dairy-wants-to-discharge-10-million-litres-a-day-of-treated-wastewater-into-pacific-ocean

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/388982/new-zealand-government-announces-marine-protection-plan-for-coast-of-south-island

Photo: Paul Kennedy