| Environmental Setting | WNP Wharekirauponga Underground Mine - Assessment of Effects of Discharges to Air | 4397169-66885702-23 | | 22 3.3 Air Shed Status The National Environmental Standards for Air Quality (NESAQ) requires regional councils to identify areas where air quality is likely or known to not meet the national air quality standard. These areas are known as airsheds. The Willows Road site is located outside the Waihi Airshed as gazetted by the NESAQ. All of the surface and underground facilities are located in the airshed comprised of the rural areas within the Waikato Region that are not specifically included in a specifically gazetted airshed. Figure 3-2 shows the boundaries of the Waihi Airshed. Therefore, the site is not identified as being within a potentially polluted airshed and the restrictions on granting an air discharge permit under Regulation 17 of the NESAQ do not apply. Figure 3-2 Boundaries of the Waihi Airshed (shown as a blue shade area) 3.4 Background Air Quality The main land use in the vicinity of the Willows Road site is pastoral farming and the only sources of air contaminants are those typical of rural areas such as unsealed roads, unvegetated fields, domestic heating and pollen. During periods of low rainfall and strong winds, background dust concentrations may increase due to the natural and agricultural sources in the area.
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