Mount Air Quality Working Party | Bay Of Plenty Regional Council

In response to the Ministry for the Environment deeming the Mount Industrial area a polluted airshed, the Mount Air Quality Working Party was established in December 2020.

This group has representatives from Whareoa Marae, five industrial businesses (Lawter, Ballance, J.Swap, Port of Tauranga, and Waste Management), Clear the Air community group, Ministry for the Environment, Tauranga City Council, Bay of Plenty District Health Board and Bay of Plenty Regional Council.

This Working Party creates a platform for identifying key issues, determining the appropriate group(s) to resolve these issues, sharing information and contributing to initiatives. The group meets four times per year. It gives iwi partners, organisations and stakeholders a quarterly forum and engagement opportunity for those interested in this airshed’s community, health and environmental outcomes.

Ultimately, the group aims to clear the air in the Mount Maunganui Industrial Area and reduce discharges by enabling involvement and participation from key groups.

Agency roles and responsibilities in ensuring clean air

Multiple agencies play a part in protecting communities’ and the environment’s health with their legal responsibilities around the air that we breathe. The four organisations below are represented in this Working Party.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council - Controls the discharges of contaminants to air.
Ministry for the Environment – Sets national limits and rules for air quality, and monitors Council performance.
Tauranga City Council - Controls the effects of land use, and impacts on environmental health.
Bay of Plenty District Health Board - Directs actions to protect environmental health, and promotes actions to improve health.

Key actions for the Working Group

Short term

Monitor air quality 24/7 to detect any immediate issues of concern as well as understand long-term patterns
Notify health impacts in order to respond to immediate issues as well as understand long term effects
Share lived experiences of the community so agencies and industry understand effects of activities and decisions
Provide inventories of contaminants and discharges to improve general understanding of what’s in the air
Undertake compliance to ensure existing rules are followed.

Medium term

Support community initiatives such as planting to improve the lived experience
Process consents using best available and up to date information, and acknowledging the specific issues and cumulative effects facing the Mount Industrial Area
Industry upgrades and initiatives to be progressed to ensure best practice and reduce impacts
Science and trends of air quality to be reported in order to make good decisions
Investigation of managed retreat to be progressed by hau kainga to look at possible future outcomes.

Long term

World Health Organisation guidelines to be adopted and reflected in national, regional and local policies and rules
Revised National Environmental Standards for Air Quality standards and limits to be finalised and given effect to
New district and regional policies and rules set that reflect both national direction and the issues facing Mount Maunganui.

Reports and information

Title	Overview	Organisation and report writer
Monitoring in the Mount Industrial Airshed – May 2022	Infographic with examples of four key monitoring areas to manage air quality and pollution.	Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Ambient Air Quality Data Update 2020	Significant report across all air quality measures.	Bay of Plenty Regional Council - Shane Iremonger and Max Mackay
Summary of Air Quality matters and pollution – October 2021	Fact sheet sumarising air quality matters in the Mount industrial area.	Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Terms of Reference for the Working Party	Vision, mission, purpose, membership and more background to the Working Party.	Mount Air Quality Working Party
Reporting template	Template for recording monthly observations and notifications.	Bay of Plenty Regional Council

Meetings

Please note these minutes become an accurate capture of meetings once they are confirmed at the following meeting, so the most recent minutes may be updated.

Date	Agenda	Minutes	Supporting documents
21 February 2025	Agenda	Minutes	Paul Cooney presentation AQWP Stolthaven - IXOM - Presentation Mark Hamilton presentation Sam Weiss IPAR presentation Reece Irving presentation
12 December 2024	Agenda	Minutes	TCC Presentation Science and Data Presentation Regulatory Compliance Presentation Policy Presentation Public health presentation MMA compliance update
10 October 2024	Agenda	Minutes	Presentation 1 - Priority One Mt Industrial Blueprint and Environmental Accord Presentation 2 - Port of Tauranga PM10 monitoring results Presentation 3 - Rachael Zame Air Quality IPAR presentation
17 June 2024	Agenda	Minutes	John Morris Presentation Carl Lucca Presentation 3. Mark Hamilton Air Quality Policy in the MMA - current and future NAQWG Airshed Presentation improvements in the airshed 2024
15 November 2023	Agenda	Minutes	Presentation 1 - Port of Tauranga Presentation 2 - BoPRC Science Ambient Air Quality Data Update Presentation 3 - Jenny Simpson Tonkin + Taylor Mt Maunganui presentation Presentation 4 - BoPRC PC13 Presentation 5 - Mount Industrial Planning Study
17 July 2023	Agenda	Minutes	Toi Te Ora presentation Cruise Line Association Presentation Higgins presentation Higgins Part 2
22 February 2023	Agenda	Minutes	Prority One Mount Industrial Network Waka Kotahi presentation - Will Bamford Karen Parcell PC13 Interim Decision Table of all PM10 exceedances
22 November 2022	Agenda	Minutes	Waka Kotahi Connecting Mount Maunganui Ministry for Environment National Planning Framework BOPRC Air Quality monitoring trends and developments Wednesday Challenge
23 August 2022	Agenda	Minutes	Health and Air Pollution in New Zealand Tauranga City Council presentation Clear the Air Community Group presentation Ballance Agri nutrients presentation
17 May 2022	Agenda	Minutes	BOPRC Compliance presentation Mount Maunganui Air Quality Working Party BOPRC Consents presentation Mount Air Quality working Group DHB presentation to Air Quality Working Party TCC Update from Policy and Environmental Planning for Mount Maunganui Air Quality Working Party
1 March 2022	Agenda	Minutes	Ngai Tukairangi Ecocific presentation Toi Moana response - a year in review
11 November 2021	Agenda	Minutes	Colin Maunder Timberlands Debarker presentation Port of Tauranga Methyl Bromide presentation Dr Chris Hill EPA Reassessment decision presentation
9 September 2021	Agenda	Minutes
18 May 2021	Agenda	Minutes	Port Presentation on particulate matter mitigation May 2021
6 April 2021	Agenda	Minutes
3 March 2021	Agenda	Minutes	Bay of Plenty Regional Council presentation Bay of Plenty District Health Board, Western Bay of Plenty Primary Health Organisation, Toi te Ora Public Health presentation Ministry for the Environment presentation Tauranga City Council presentation Whareroa presentation
7 December 2020 - Inaugural meeting	Agenda	Minutes