Tēnā koutou,

Welcome to the second quarterly Mount Maunganui Air Quality Update for 2025, providing news and reporting from Toi Moana Bay of Plenty Regional Council as well as other agencies working to manage industrial activities and air quality concerns in the Mount Maunganui area.

If you have questions or topics you would like us to include in future editions, please reply to this email – we would love to hear from you. 

Air quality trends

Odour

Calls to the Pollution Hotline about odour persist, with bitumen type odours being the main reason people call (more info below).

Pro-active monitoring of the two asphalt plants continues (Higgins Group Ltd and Allied Asphalt Ltd) when weather conditions and plant operations may result in odour being experienced in the residential area. Proactive monitoring during this period has not resulted in any non-compliance or confirmed breaches of the RMA being identified.

Enforcement update

One enforcement action in relation to a breach of the odour rules is underway and we will share more information in the near future.

Dust (PM₁₀)

While long-term air quality trends for the Mount Maunganui Airshed show PM₁₀ levels are reducing, stormy weather and heavy sea mist in April did trigger several exceedances of the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality.

Under these standards, only one exceedance is allowed per 12-month period. So far, for the period 1 July 2024 – 30 June 2025, we’ve recorded four exceedances, all linked to natural events (wind-borne sea salt). We’ve applied to the Ministry for the Environment for exceptional circumstances exemptions for each.

The following exceedances have been recorded for this period: 

• Rata Street monitoring site (within the airshed): 17 April.  
• Ranch Road monitoring site (outside the airshed): 17 and 19 April. One exceedance from October 2024 has already been granted an exceptional circumstances exemption.  

Under Reg 17 of the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality, 60 consecutive months of no more than one breach in a 12-month period is required for the polluted status of an airshed to be removed.  

You can view industrial air quality data here (desktop only) or check a real-time residential monitoring here.

Above: Graph showing the number of exceedances of the 24-hour limit of the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality for PM₁₀ detected in the Mount Maunganui Airshed since the monitoring programme was expanded across the industrial area in 2018 (*monitoring started in November 2018 in Year 1).

Note: The four exceedances in the 2024/25 year which we have applied to the Minister for the Environment for exceptional circumstances exemptions are not included in the figures above.

What are exceptional circumstances?

PM₁₀ exceedances can be excluded from official air quality records if they are deemed “exceptional events” by the Minister for the Environment. These events are assessed against specific criteria, including whether:

• The event was beyond the reasonable control of the Regional Council
• It was foreseeable or could have been planned for
• It is unlikely to occur again frequently
• Treating it as exceptional aligns with the purpose of the Resource Management Act.

Exceptional events can result from natural phenomena or human activities. Toi Moana has previously applied for exemptions due to sea spray, smoke from bushfires and dust from resurfacing work at Tauranga Airport.

When our monitoring equipment records an exceedance of the PM₁₀ standard, Regional Council staff investigate the likely cause. If evidence suggests the event meets the criteria above, we can apply to the Minister for the Environment to have the exceedance excluded from formal records.

In April, strong easterly winds and large ocean swells brought heavy sea spray to the Bay of Plenty and wider North Island. This likely caused elevated PM₁₀ levels at both Ranch Road and Rata Street. While other local monitors also recorded higher-than-usual readings, they remained just below exceedance thresholds.

Pictured above: Scanning Electron Microscope images collected from the Ranch Road monitoring site during a storm event in April 2025 (left) compared with during normal weather (right). Sea salt particles are often a square/ cube shape, primarily due to the presence of sodium chloride. 

Pictured above: For comparison, a dandelion pollen particle (left) and a plantain pollen particle (right).

Benzene

Twenty-one passive benzene monitors were installed in mid-2024 following recommendations from Toi Te Ora Public Health. Benzene is a fuel-related pollutant that can affect long-term health. There is no national environmental standard for benzene, only a guideline of 3.6 µg/m³ (annual average).

Nine months of monitoring show that all sites are below the annual guideline.

Pollution Hotline

From 1 April to 30 June 2025, we received 29 air quality-related notifications in the Mount Maunganui airshed. Most related to odour – especially bitumen-like smells (11 complaints). Remember: the number of complaints doesn’t always reflect actual air quality levels.

New Zealand’s air quality improving, but winter smoke still an issue

On 3 June, Radio NZ published an article on air quality in Aotearoa New Zealand, featuring a list of the 10 most polluted air monitoring sites across the country. For context, LAWA (Land, Air, Water Aotearoa) reports on approximately 55 monitoring sites nationwide.

Two Bay of Plenty Regional Council air monitoring stations – Totara Street and Ranch Road – were listed at number two and eight respectively.

This inclusion is somewhat misleading in the context of the article, which focuses on winter smoke from domestic heating. Both Totara Street and Ranch Road are recently commissioned sites (January and February 2024, respectively) and are not impacted by smoke from home heating. The elevated PM₁₀ readings recorded at these sites reflect a mix of sources – both natural and human-made – that are not distinguished in the reported data.

The Ranch Road site, for example, is in a coastal environment where salt spray is known to contribute significantly to PM₁₀ levels when there are storm events that bring onshore winds.  All PM₁₀ exceedances recorded at Ranch Road to date have been subject to exceptional circumstances applications to the Minister for the Environment, as allowed under the national standards,

Understanding the exact makeup of these particles is the aim of a source apportionment study currently underway, led by GNS Science and funded by Port of Tauranga.

Further clarification from LAWA confirmed the rankings were based on annual PM₁₀ averages, not 24-hour averages which is what the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality is focused on. Exceptional circumstances do not factor into these averages.

The article indicates both the Ranch Road and Rata Street sites were above the current WHO annual average guideline of 15ug/m3, however they did not consider that sea salt particles were responsible and exceptional circumstances dispensation has been granted.

Consent update

Resource consents are one of Regional Council’s main tools for managing air quality. Here’s where key Mount Maunganui industrial consents are at:

Port of Tauranga

The Stellar Passage Fast-track application has been lodged with the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). The EPA has accepted the application as complete, and the direct referral application (Environment Court) has subsequently been withdrawn.

Genera Limited

The parties to the Genera appeal have reached agreement on the conditions. The Environment Court granted consent on 13 June 2025.  The conditions of consent include:

• From 1 January 2029: A minimum recapture rate of 95% for MB fumigation events is required, which is stricter than the current 90%.  
• From 1 January 2029: The total amount of MB vented to air from all fumigation activities must not exceed 3000 kg per year, reduced from the earlier limit of 6000 kg per year.
• By 31 December 2030: The fumigation of log rows under sheets using MB must cease entirely .  
• Video surveillance of the fumigation area.

More robust controls have also been established for the fumigants phosphine and EDN (ethanedinitrile) however, in contrast to methyl bromide, there have been no limits set on the quantity of these fumigants able to be used per year.

Lawter

The Lawter air discharge consent at Mount Maunganui has been granted and has been appealed by Ngāti Kuku. Clear the Air later joined the appeal as a s274 party. The consent required a significant reduction in discharges within 30 months. Within that timeframe the mass discharge of particulate matter from the combined high temperature furnace stack is modelled to reduce from 2.7 kg/hr to 0.8 kg/hr.  The mass discharge of sulphur dioxide will reduce from 40 kg/hr to 12.5 kg/hr. The parties have agreed to mediation and are awaiting direction from the Court.

WM New Zealand (Waste Management Ltd)

Hearing expected in the second half of 2025.

Hexion (N.Z.) Limited

A cultural impact assessment has been received and the application is currently being processed.  

Plan Change 13: What’s happening now?

On 24 April 2025, the Environment Court released its final decision for rules around managing PM₁₀ from unsealed yards and the policy requiring iterative management of air quality in the Mount Maunganui Airshed (MMA). These provisions were then adopted on June 18 at the Strategy and Policy Committee meeting (agenda here).

This means:

• The Interim Permitted Activity Rule (IPAR) (AREA2-R1) for bulk materials and log handling – now in effect.
• The IPAR for unsealed yards (AREA2-R4) – now in effect. The rule will become operative in August 2025.
• A new policy (AREA2-P2) to manage PM10 and other particulates using an adaptive iterative management approach – now in effect.
• Council is also developing a Mount Maunganui Airshed Regulatory Implementation Action Plan with other agencies and stakeholders.

IPAR for bulk materials and log handling in action

Under IPAR, businesses that handle logs or bulk solid materials must:

• Submit a Dust Management Plan.
• Install a PM₁₀ monitor and report exceedances above the trigger values, within five days
• Investigate and report on any breaches, including mitigation steps, within two months.

So far, more than 22 investigation reports have been received. The IPAR gives affected businesses until February 2027 to apply for a new resource consent.

Unsealed Yards IPAR (AREA2-R4) in action

Under this rule, unsealed yards in the MMA must submit a Dust Management Plan (DMP), in proportion to the scale and effects of the activity, to the Regional Council within six months of the rule becoming operative in August 2025.

For unsealed yards over 400m², the dust management plan must be reviewed by a suitably qualified and experienced person (SQEP).

Three years after the Environment Court’s decision in April 2025, AREA3-R4 expires for unsealed yards over 400m², and they will become restricted discretionary activities, requiring resource consent.

Ballance confirms they will cease phosphate manufacturing at Mount Maunganui site

Ballance Agri-Nutrients has confirmed they will move forward with its proposal to cease manufacturing super single phosphate from its Mount Maunganui site. They will continue to utilise the site for nutrient storage and distribution, as well as home to its national support office.
 

Priority One offers a progress update on the Mount Industry Environmental Accord, since its launch in October 2024.

Provided by Priority One.

The Mount Maunganui industrial zone is crucial to the economic success of the Western Bay of Plenty and our country’s trade ecosystem. Many businesses in the area are investing in initiatives to improve environmental impacts, including traffic congestion, pollution and odour, to support a healthy co-existence between community and business.

The Mount Maunganui Industry Environmental Accord has been signed by 31 businesses within the industrial zone. It commits businesses to take up to five voluntary actions each, over the next three years, to measurably reduce environmental impacts.

Accord signatories meet quarterly as the Mount Maunganui Industry Network. The businesses have shared with the group nearly 180 actions they are taking to improve environmental outcomes for the surrounding area.

Priority One is also sharing notable progress by way of online stories, shared through its e-newsletter and social media channels. See our recent stories that include significant reductions in methyl bromide emissions at Genera, dust reduction due to large-scale yard sealing with low-carbon concrete at HR Cement, and a reduction in tanker trips due to the development of a new pipeline involving IXOM, Stolthaven and Quantem.

A recent example of this is investment by HR Cement, a signatory of the Mount Maunganui Industry Environmental Accord, has recently spent close to $1m on dust management work, including sealing a 3000m² yard with low-carbon concrete, along with storm water interceptor tanks and a truck wash bay that diverts wash water to trade waste.

Priority One will continue to report on Accord news, so to keep up to date with these stories, along with other news on sustainability, innovation and infrastructure, sign-up for their fortnightly newsletter here.

Air Quality Working Party

The Mount Maunganui Air Quality Working Party held its second meeting of 2025 on 22 May. Presentations were made by Quayside Holdings Limited on the current status of the  Rangiuru Business Park development which is open for sales and have one large development lot signed up with a primary industries based company. Regional Council policy and compliance staff updated the Working Party on latest developments including the conclusion of the Mount Industrial Auditing project, and the last court decision being released on Plan Change 13 regarding unsealed industrial sites. Priority One outlined the achievements of businesses signed up to the Environmental Accord, and the Port of Tauranga Limited outlined specific measures they have implemented to further reduce their environmental footprint.

Latest Monitoring and Operations Committee Report

The Mount Maunganui Industrial Programme reports to the Monitoring and Operations Committee meeting. The most recent Monitoring and Operations Committee meeting was held on Tuesday 11 March 2025 and the agenda can be found here.