On Monday evening, it was announced that the proposed landfill in the Dome Valley had got approval after a split decision by independent commissioners.

The resource consent gives permission for Waste Management New Zealand to construct and operate a 60ha landfill on its 1,000ha Wayby site.

The project has drawn strong opposition from locals and iwi leaders who believe that the landfill will pollute the surrounding environment and increase traffic congestion on the already busy roads. 

After looking at several sites over several years, Waste Management said it chose the site at Wayby Valley in the wider Dome Valley area because of its proximity to SH1, appropriate geology and ability to maintain separation from sensitive receivers.

The decision to grant consent was supported by four out of five independent commissioners. The chair of the panel, Sheena Tepania, believed the consent should be refused.

The resource consent includes about 400 conditions, which are the direct result of hearing the valid concerns put forward.

As a result of the amendments made to the original conditions, 20 experts from Auckland Council covering a wide range of specialist topics, including ecology, land stability, landfill engineering, human health risk, transport, erosion and sediment control, stormwater, and air quality, amongst others, all agreed that the proposal should be granted.

There is an appeal period of 15 working days.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua released a statement, saying that they “are disappointed yet unsurprised by the ruling.

“We will do a fuller analysis of the decision and reconvene our team as soon as possible to discuss next steps. We will share these once the team have agreed the next steps.  

“Rest assured, the fight is not over, and we will continue to advocate for the mana of our whānau, hapū and iwi in the protection of our whenua, waterways and Kaipara Harbour.”

Local group Fight the Tip, Save the Dome are also extremely disappointed in the decision.

“Our resource consent system is broken if it is approved when 1,000 people are in opposition including Iwi, Dept of Conservation, Forest & Bird, Kaipara Council, community and more. The only loser is the environment. This is so wrong on so many levels. We will continue this fight”, said Michelle Carmichael in a post to the group’s Facebook page.