REASON 133: Why you should oppose sand mining

KEN RAYWARD

I attended the eight-day resource consent commissioners hearing where Kaipara Limited are seeking to extend their coastal sand mining licence by a further 20 years.

During a coffee break on day three of the hearing, which was held at the marae in Leigh, I mentioned to locals attending that I’m a regular walker on Mangawhai and Te Arai beaches, and over recent times had identified that following decent storms when beach sand was returned to the ocean by increased wave activity, the normal return of this sand post-storm was drastically reduced, resulting in a lowering of the sand level and acceleration of beach erosion.

The Pakiri locals then explained the reasoning for this occurring. Following a decade of observing the mining practices of the dredges, a regular pattern occurred following a storm event where experienced dredge skippers knew the locations of where sand removed from the beaches by storm wave actions would be taken by tide movements. This sand is highly desired by miners as it is easily captured using their suction technology and has been pre-filtered by the wave action, leaving it free of the normal marine life that their mining techniques normally disrupt.

This information raised serious concerns and I sought further confirmation of these practices from Damon Clapshaw who, along with the Friends of Pakiri Beach group, had monitored the dredge voyages for the past two or three years, using the latest GPS technology. He also confirmed these post-storm mining practices were well known to them and expressed his own concerns at the damage this extraction method was doing.

Nature’s own management of storms – taking sand from beaches then refurbishing them again with sands through normal wave and tide movements – is an essential part of the natural life flow of a beach. When this natural pattern is disrupted by humans in search of monetary gain, it represents the highest level of environmental vandalism committed against our coastline.

In addition to the damage being done to the sea bed and beaches through the taking of our irreplaceable sand stocks, the disruption of nature’s management of beach life by miners is an environmental practice disgrace, for those practising it and those council authorities allowing it.

Commissioners at this hearing heard many well-evidenced accusations of operational breaches against the mining operators, in particular to the breaching of operating outside and to the north of the consented area. If these accusations are proven, which the evidence suggests will be difficult to deny, then both the Kaipara Council and the Northland Regional Council should take legal action against the mining operators for the unlawful removal of sand without resource consent.

There are still two additional 20-year mining consents being lodged for approval and our community will have an opportunity to vigorously oppose these in the months ahead.

n Mangawhai Harbour Restoration Society is conducting a Give-A-Little initiative to fund the necessary legal costs involved in mounting a unified community opposition to the taking of our sand, ‘MANGAWHAI – SAND TAONGA’. To donate please visit givealittle.co.nz/cause/stop-sandmining-save-our-beaches-the

Commissioners at the latest hearing heard accusations of mining outside and to the north of the consented area. PHOTO/JULIA WADE