Former chair of Hawke’s Bay Regional Council Rex Graham has a burning desire to stop orchardists from coating the Heretaunga Plains in smoke every winter.
Graham sends regular photos of smoke from orchard burnoffs drifting over the Hastings and Havelock North airsheds to the council he once chaired.
But he says he’s starting to feel like they don’t want to know about it, let alone do something with them.
Recently a spokesperson for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council suggested it was possible his photo was showing “fog”.
“While photos can be useful, our first step would be to determine if the substance in the image is smoke – not fog or something else,” the HBRC spokesperson told Hawke’s Bay Today.
“If it is smoke, we can then identify the source and assess whether any rules under the Resource Management Plan – like burning prohibited materials – are being breached.”
A spokesperson for HBRC said its Pollution Response Team thoroughly surveyed the Hastings airshed the day the photo was taken (May 22) and found little evidence of any breaches.
Graham said the more he thought about “this cynical and condescending response from the regional council staff, the more it disturbs me”.
“They are the regulators and yet they do not want to understand or deal with the issue. They are no different from climate change deniers.
“We will never stop this pollution if this attitude and arrogance prevails.”
HBRC’s general manager of policy & regulation Katrina Brunton said it could be difficult to differentiate smoke from fires or fog in early mornings from long distances.
“We would investigate alleged fires if we have addresses to respond to, otherwise it would be difficult to pinpoint the location.
“Following the receipt of these or similar photos, enforcement officers did an extensive search of a large area of the Heretaunga Plans attempting to locate the source but were unable.”
In 2023/24 HBRC received approximately 80 burning complaints during winter and more than 70 Infringement fines were issued.
Orchard burn-offs are permitted under the Regional Air Quality rules, but they must meet specific conditions.
When the Regional Council is notified of a burn, it investigates. If it’s found to be in breach of the rules, the response follows a set process – starting with education and engagement and escalating to enforcement where needed.
Graham said: “It’s a confounding contradiction that the law forbids fires within the airsheds except for orchard burn-offs which are by far the worst sources of air pollution.”
A council spokesperson said it relied heavily on information from the public, as well as from its staff who may observe smoke while working in the field.
“These reports are critical in helping our Pollution Response Team act quickly.”
Graham says all the photos he sends to HBRC show smoke from fires, some of which are outside the airshed.
“In all cases, this smoke ended up in the Hastings and Napier airsheds,” he said.
Public Health Physician and Medical Officer of Health, Dr Nicholas Jones – Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora National Public Health Service in Hawke’s Bay said health officials in Hawke’s Bay work with HBRC and supported its “We breathe what you burn” campaign.
“Mr Graham has contacted public health to share his concerns about illegal burning,” Jones said.
“Any fires burning inside the airshed (or when smoke from a fire outside the airshed results in pollution within the airshed) are of public health concern, particularly during cooler winter months when smoke can become trapped closer to the ground.
“Smoke and pollutants from fires can cause several health problems, including breathing difficulties, coughing, shortness of breath or eye, nose and throat irritation. People most sensitive to smoke are those with heart or lung conditions, pregnant people, young children and the elderly.”
Graham said the HBRC pollution response team generally does a great job, but they could not get to all the fires, which happen every day and are spread over a large area.
“One of the challenges is that it’s difficult to see this smoke when you are under it but the fine particles within this smoke are dangerous to our community which is being subjected to this pollution every day.
“Growers and lifestyles have options and many of them use them but sadly we still have some idiots who have total disregard for our communities’ well-being.”
What is an airshed?
An airshed is a legally designated air quality management area. In New Zealand, regional councils and unitary authorities have identified areas to be managed as airsheds for the national environmental standards for air quality.
The majority of airsheds may have levels of pollutants that exceed the national environmental standards for air quality.
Some airsheds are also identified based on factors such as the number of people living in the airshed now or in the future, unique weather patterns and geography, local air emissions, such as local industrial activity, which need to be specifically considered and managed.
Why do we have airsheds?
HBRC says airshed rules exist because smoke from backyard fires in urban areas – though it may seem minor – adds up fast.
On cold, still days, it lingers in neighbourhoods and affects air quality.
“If everyone lit backyard fires, it would quickly become a serious pollution issue. These rules help protect our whānau and community from the harmful health effects of smoke, especially in winter when it gets trapped close to the ground.”
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
