Contaminated Land and Residential Development
Are you looking to undertake a subdivision or build your family home on your old orchard block?
It is worth taking the time to see if your orchard was subjected to the spraying of DDT during the 1950s to 1989. The Bay of Plenty had some of the highest concentrations of DDT sprayed on orchard crops in New Zealand. Unfortunately, on the more heavily sprayed properties the chemicals used have concentrated in the orchards’ topsoil and now present a risk to any future residential land users (i.e. the establishment of a new dwelling). This increased risk is through the increased exposure and contact with the soils and/or the consumption of vegetables from any future vegetable gardens.
Orchards are not the only contaminated sites in New Zealand. The Ministry for the Environment (MfE) has come up with a comprehensive list of 53 activities or industries which they consider are of high enough risk to require the assessment of a Suitably Qualified Environmental Practitioner (SQEP). This is called the HAIL (Hazardous Activities and Industries List) and can be found at: https://www.mfe.govt.nz/land/hazardous-activities-and-industries-list-hail
The MfE put together a National Environment Standard for Assessing and Managing Contaminants in Soil in 2012, which has been implemented across New Zealand. This standard provides the backbone of how district, city and regional councils manage risk from contaminated sites. This can be found at: https://www.mfe.govt.nz/sites/default/files/guide-nes-for-assessing-managing-contaminants-in-soil.pdf
Assessing contaminated (or potentially contaminated) land is a fairly well prescribed process of gathering all available information to obtain a good understanding of the site’s history, and any potentially contaminating activities undertaken. This is generally called a Preliminary Site Investigation (PSI). If the PSI identifies that a historical activity identified on the HAIL, it is likely that soil samples will need to be collected to identify if these activities have any contaminated site soils. This is called a Detailed Site Investigation (DSI). The results of these soil samples will be compared to guidelines values developed by the MfE.
While the property is still operated as an orchard there is no risk. However, if converted to residential land use (a dwelling for example), or subdivision is undertaken, it can be harmful to future land users.
If you are looking to develop your property and think it could be contaminated, then please contact our highly experienced Contaminated Land team led by Alan Woodger. We can help you understand your risk, and assist you with managing any potentially contaminated soils.