A small amount of debris and weathered oil washed up on Mount Maunganui and Papamoa beaches at the weekend during the Cyclone Lusi storm.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council received complaints from beach walkers about oil on the beaches and alerted contractors Envirowaste.
Oil that washed up on Mount Maunganui beach following the grounding in October 2011. Photo: File.
About 20kg of oil and debris was picked up on Mount Main Beach and another 15kg on Papamoa Beach by Envirowaste.
Regional Council Environmental Management General Manager Eddie Grogan says oil and debris on the beach was not unexpected after a storm, given the recent work to remove the top section of the accommodation block.
'It's a timely reminder that there are still small amounts out in the environment, and that's why we have a plan to deal with it after these events.
'We're grateful to members of the public for alerting us to the debris and oil so it can be promptly cleaned up.”
The Rena's owners are adding signs to beach accesses this week providing contact details if anyone finds oil or debris on the beaches.
This follows today's earlier discovery the stern section of the ship has moved position on Astrolabe Reef. Read more here.
4 comments
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Posted on 20-03-2014 17:53 | By NZgirl
This is why we need to get that time bomb removed
More information please...
Posted on 21-03-2014 01:23 | By HappyBay
Appreciate the limitations of the web and attention spans, but please may we have a good article with experts for removal, and against? Some seem to think Rena is an inert pretty from an underwater camera, wreck swarming with fish, rather than a continuous polution source. Business and peeps may not like to hear it, but if you overturn pumice (pre- or post storm) it's grimey. Inform us please Sunlive. Why isn't the responsible party or parties liable to completely rectify the damage? We know it's not easy or cheap, but Motiti, Papamoa, Mt, residents didn't do it. And nor did our kids.
Well if only!!!!
Posted on 21-03-2014 10:43 | By Sambo Returns
some would have listened to my proposal the day after this calamity occurred, "nuke" it, then napalm the oil and debris, easy.... you might not have been left with a reef at all, but the years of no whinging would have been worth it!!!!, but then many a person would not have made a few dollars out of it, months of in action at the start,this is the result, 27 months later, still no solution, just more bickering.
Oil washed up
Posted on 21-03-2014 13:58 | By YOGI BEAR
NZ Girl, We are very fortunate for the many people who gave of there time to do what could be done to clean up the beaches at the time, not least of which is the Matakana Island residents. The oil is more likely to have been residing on the sea floor somewhere and has been disturbed by the heavy seas from the storm. The reason it is there is because nature is inhibited from cleaning it up because of the chemicals used to make it sink at the time, the same situation also resides in the Gulf of Mexico but of course the situation there is massively bigger than here in the little old BOP/NZ.
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