27 August 2020
LGOIMA No. 8140007202
(Please quote this in any correspondence)
J Bruning
Sent by emai
l: [FYI request #13413 email]
Tēnā koe Jodie
Local Government Official Information And Meetings Act 1987
Foamstream and Glyphosate use
I refer to your request dated 29 July 2020 asking for information Auckland Council holds on
the use of Foamstream and Glyphosate.
The details of your request and our response is below.
“Please can you supply emails, reports, analyses, memos or submissions:
1. Relating to the risk of foam technologies, such as FoamStream, including
discussion of ingredients used in the foam solution: including sugar and plant oil.”
By way of background, any herbicide considered for use on public land must:
• meet contractual specifications
• be compliant with all Auckland Unitary Plan rules
• have approval from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Foamstream is approved for use in parks in Auckland, however approval for use within the
road corridor has additional criteria reflecting the different infrastructure, such as stormwater.
Foamstream in the road corridor
As part of continuous improvement and best practice, Auckland Council’s contractors
investigated non-agrichemical weed control methods including Foamstream and its potential
for use in the road corridor. Please find attached:
• Otara-Papatoetoe Weed Management Memo January 2019
Before Foamstream could be used, the following needed to be established:
• Risk of mobilization of pollutants in the road corridor from the foam including
hydrocarbons
Private Bag 92300, Auckland 1142 |
aucklandcouncil.govt.nz |
Ph 09 301 0101
• Compliance with the
Unitary Plan 2016, specifically sections E34 - Agrichemicals and
vertebrate toxic agents, E4 - Other discharges of contaminants and E8 - Stormwater
Discharge and diversion
Investigations into the use of Foamstream in the road corridor were conducted. Please find
attached
• Staff advice on application for approval to import or manufacture Foamstream V4,
Environmental Protection Agency, August 2018
• Foamstream assessment, August 2019
• Foamstream assessment - further information, September 2019
Following investigations, it was proposed that Foamstream be trialed. Please find attached:
• Foamstream V4 Trial Letter from Auckland Council to Auckland Transport November
2019
• Trial of Foamstream for the management of weeds in the road corridor memo
February 2020
Earlier this year a trial of Foamstream application was conducted. A condition for the use of
Foamstream was that it is not to be applied during rainfall. This is to mitigate the risk of foam
being discharged into the stormwater which is not permitted under the Unitary Plan. During
the period of the trial Healthy Waters Lifecycle Teams monitored the stormwater to ensure
there was no foam discharged into the stormwater network or any mobilization of pollutants.
At this stage a memo is being prepared for the Local Board on the outcome of the trial and
Healthy Waters recommendations for its ongoing use within the road corridor. The memo is
due to be release in September 2020.
2. Relating to the risk of glyphosate formulations.
The council’s herbicide use is guided by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA has
granted approval for the use of glyphosate-containing substances in accordance with their
code of practice. Please refer to the
latest communication from the EPA.
In 2017 council requested a review of commercially available glyphosate options to ensure
we were using the least toxic glyphosate product for weed management. Please find
attached:
• Glyphosate Options Prepared for Auckland Council, 2017
• Project Streetscapes, Weed management memo, 2018
o Attachment A - Examples of vegetation in the road corridor
o Attachment B - Weed Control Methodology Table
o Attachment C – Weed management policy
Note that certain items have been withheld under section 7(2)(b)(ii) of the Local Government
Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 would be likely unreasonably prejudice to the
commercial position of the person who supplied or who is the subject of the information.
The decision by Auckland Council to release the information contained in this response was
made by Jennifer Rose, Head of Business and Performance - Community Facilities.
Private Bag 92300, Auckland 1142 |
aucklandcouncil.govt.nz |
Ph 09 301 0101
I hope you find this information useful. Should you believe Auckland Council has not
responded appropriately to your request you have the right to seek a review of the decision
from the Ombudsman.
If you have any further queries please contact me on 09 301 0101, quoting LGOIMA No.
8140007202.
Ngā mihi,
Fernanda Maciel
Privacy & LGOIMA Business Partner
Democracy Services
Private Bag 92300, Auckland 1142 |
aucklandcouncil.govt.nz |
Ph 09 301 0101
