A similar incident occurred at the plant in 2008.
Photo: RNZ / YouTube
The leak left globules of fat dispersed along the foreshore of Ohawe and Waihi beaches, near Hāwera.
In a similar mishap in 2008, the dairy giant spilt 110,000 litres of skim milk into the ocean from the same plant.
In a statement, Fonterra s general manager for lower North Island operations, Tony MacLean, said the November fault caused milk to overwhelm the plants wastewater system. A valve on a pipe that we transfer milk through opened, releasing milk into the waste water drain instead of it reaching its intended location of another milk silo.
A valve on a pipe that we transfer milk through opened, releasing milk into the waste water drain instead of it reaching its intended location of another milk silo. As soon as we became aware of the leak, we stopped the transfer of the milk. However our current waste water system could not cope with the unexpected large volume so the milk overflowed into our ocean outfall. The Taranaki Regional Council and iwi were notified immediately. Maclean said skim milk was soluble in water and an inspection of the outfall shortly after the spill showed no milk in the sea. However, Fonterra staff were sent to remove visible fat deposits from the Ohawe and Waihi beaches.
Tuesday, 22 December 2020, 6:00 am When we started Climate Justice Taranaki 10 years ago,
we were sitting at 390 parts per million of atmospheric CO2.
Since then, countless permits and resource consents have
been handed out by Taranaki councils and the Environmental
Protection Authority to oil and gas companies, to drill,
frack and contaminate our land, water and sea. Industrial
agriculture has been allowed to expand by the continuous use
of synthetic fertilisers, imported feeds, land conversion
and irrigation in regions that are most vulnerable.
Atmospheric CO2 has now risen to almost 413 ppm and is still
rising. The time to turn things around is well and truly
Press Release – Climate Justice Taranaki “When we started Climate Justice Taranaki 10 years ago, we were sitting at 390 parts per million of atmospheric CO2. Since then, countless permits and resource consents have been handed out by Taranaki councils and the Environmental Protection …
“When we started Climate Justice Taranaki 10 years ago, we were sitting at 390 parts per million of atmospheric CO2. Since then, countless permits and resource consents have been handed out by Taranaki councils and the Environmental Protection Authority to oil and gas companies, to drill, frack and contaminate our land, water and sea. Industrial agriculture has been allowed to expand by the continuous use of synthetic fertilisers, imported feeds, land conversion and irrigation in regions that are most vulnerable. Atmospheric CO2 has now risen to almost 413 ppm and is still rising. The time to turn things around is well and truly running out” laments co-founder of Climate Justice Taranaki,