B-2 – Area 2 - Assessment of Environmental Effects 120 Section 3.2.3.135 Section 7.6.1.12 of this AEE concludes the discharges to air are consistent with the policies contained in Section 6.1.3.136 the discharges of grout and overburden to groundwater (associated with tunnel construction and decommissioning) and the discharges of sediment and contaminants to land and groundwater will not affect the assimilative capacity of surrounding waterbodies or the utilisations of water allocation within those waterbodies;137 As set out in Section 7.5.1.8, the discharges to water are not expected to give rise to adverse flooding, erosion or downstream siltation effects. and138 Any backfilling of the Willows Access Tunnel will be undertaken in accordance with a spoil management strategy, as discussed in Section 5.9 of this AEE, minimising the effects on groundwater quality. Accordingly, discharges to water arising from Area 2 will achieve the outcomes sought by Objective 3.5.2 and associated Policies 2 and 5. The management of non-point discharges is guided by the policies in Section 3.9 of the WRP. Of particular relevance is Policy 1. Which seeks to reduce the adverse effects of nonpoint source discharge arising from land uses and activities by minimising the leaching and run-off of contaminants and sediment into water, avoiding bed and bank erosion and instability, and recognising and avoiding the effects of non-point discharges on the relationship tangata whenua as Kaitiaki have with water. The policy also seeks to avoid, remedy or mitigate adverse effects on rivers and their margins to maintain and enhance natural character. Of particular note: As described in Section 5.10 of this AEE, runoff and seepage from the WRS will be intercepted by a seepage drain system and collection pond which will be pumped to the WTP for treatment prior to discharge into the Ohinemuri River. This will minimise the potential for leachate and contaminates to enter water;139 While residual leachate may enter groundwater, GHD (2022) concludes that the effects of this on groundwater and surface water quality will be less than minor and within RWQC; 140 135 Objective 3.5.2(a) and (b) and Policy 2(a), Section 3.5, Waikato Regional Plan. 136 Objective 3.5.2(e), Section 3.5, Waikato Regional Plan. 137 Objective 3.5.2(c), Section 3.5, Waikato Regional Plan. 138 Policy 2(b) and (c), Section 3.5, Waikato Regional Plan. 139 Policy 1(a), Section 3.9, Waikato Regional Plan. 140 Policy 1(a), Section 3.9, Waikato Regional Plan.
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