ENQ-41958-C7V2C3
23 March 2022
Private Bag 63002
Wellington 6140, New Zealand
Level 10, Grant Thornton House
Environment Canterbury Limited
215 Lambton Quay
Canterbury Regional Council
Wellington 6011, New Zealand
200 Tuam Street
Christchurch Central
epa.govt.nz
Christchurch 8011
+64 4 916 2426
NZBN: 9429041901977
For the attention of: Catherine Schache (General Counsel)
Carl Diamond (Manager Biosecurity)
By email to: [email address]
Copy to: [email address]
Dear Catherine
Response to your letters of 2 February 2022 and 16 March 2022 and outcome of the request
to review the decision to issue Environment Canterbury with an advice letter
On 2 February 2022 you wrote to the EPA requesting a review of the decision to issue advice to
Environment Canterbury on 21 January 2022 following investigation of concerns raised by a
member of the public.
On 10 March 2022 the EPA wrote to you seeking further information to assist in the review of the
information and subsequently the decision to issue the advice. The EPA confirmed in the letter of
10 March 2022 it had erred in the assessment of compliance resulting in the issue of advice. The
EPA misinterpreted the information available concluding the AGRPO Green Glyphosate 510 had
been applied onto or into water. However, on review of the information it was identified the EPA
did not have a clear understanding of how AGRPO Green Glyphosate 510 is used by or on behalf
of Environment Canterbury to assess compliance with the Hazardous Substance and New
Organisms Act 1996 (HSNO Act).
The letter dated 10 March 2022 advised Environment Canterbury the EPA accepts that there is
insufficient evidence to conclude that AGRPO Green Glyphosate 510 was applied onto or into
water. The purpose of the letter was to seek, voluntarily, any further information you may hold on
the use of AGRPO Green Glyphosate 510 to ensure the review of the advice by the decision maker
contained all available and relevant information when undertaking an assessment of compliance
against the HSNO Act.
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I understand from your letter dated 16 March 2022 you have interpreted the letter of 10 March
2022 to be the outcome of a review of the decision to issue the advice. The review of the decision
had not been undertaken at the time this letter was issued and I accept this could have been
clearer. Your letter dated 16 March 2022 indicates you do not have any other information on this
matter. As a result a review of the decision to issue the advice has been undertaken.
Outcome of the review of the decision
The decision to issue advice to Environment Canterbury following an investigation into the use of
AGRPO Green Glyphosate 510 was reviewed on 23 March 2022. The documents provided by
Environment Canterbury during the investigation included the following:
1. Spray handbook, pg 3, “Fairway Spraying: Spraying is carried out to control the growth of
woody and herbaceous weeds… in the ‘active’ part of the river channel, the “fairway”, which
carries fast flowing water during floods” (email received 26 August 2021).
2. Spray tracks map example from a “comparable spray operation” provided (email received
26 August 202).
3. Resource consent conditions 19 and 21 relate to testing of water where glyphosate has
been discharged (email received 26 August 2021).
The EPA incorrectly interpreted this information to indicate AGRPO Green Glyphosate 510 was
sprayed into and onto water.
The letter issued to Environment Canterbury is cancelled and the EPA systems updated to that
effect. A copy of the cancelled advice letter is attached for your records.
The EPA initially erred in the interpretation of the information provided and this was not identified
through the quality assurance process. The EPA is reviewing the process that occurred during this
investigation to identify any learnings.
In your letter dated 24 August 2021 you conclude
“ECan is comfortable that it has acted at all times
in a legal and appropriate manner, in line with its resource consent and the EPA Approval.” This
reflects the expectations of the EPA.
The EPA does not have sufficient information to assess compliance with the HSNO Act in relation
to the use of AGRPO Green Glyphosate 510 by Environment Canterbury.
The individual approval HSR100400 that applied in 2017/2018 was reissued on 30 April 2021 with
the requirement to comply with Hazardous Substances (Hazardous Property Controls) Notice 2017
(HPC) Clause 52 which contains the same requirement for AGRPO Green Glyphosate 510 ‘
A
person must not apply an agrichemical that is in the hazard class hazardous to the aquatic
environment directly into or onto water’. Please ensure Environment Canterbury takes all
necessary steps to comply with the HPC.
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Thank you for engaging with us throughout this process.
Yours sincerely
Louise Curtis
Team Leader Compliance & Monitoring Team 1
Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement
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