Dear Far North District Council / Tēnā koutou,

We request, under the Official Information Act, that the FNDC supply us with a copy of all documents, both paper and electronic (digital and including recordings), in possession of the Council relating to earthworks on 26 and 28 Derrick Road, Kawakawa, which commenced in September 2022, up to the date on which the Council responds to this request sent today. This includes Council’s communications with the Environment Protection Agency and any reports that Council or the EPA has produced.

We also have 5 specific questions, and ask the Council to bear in mind that the Ombudsman’s Office has determined that while Council is not required to produce new information to answer requests for information, it is required to record and provide information that is known to Council staff but has not been recorded as documents or communications. (see Ombudsman’s Office, “Information not held, a guide…”)

1) What is the most recent action that the District Council has taken to require Jeff May, owner of 26 Derrick Road, Kawakawa, to remediate the noncompliant earthworks he has performed on his property? These works affect our property see the Chesters geotech report and the Soil&Rock reports or see the FNDC 20 Dec 2022 letter instructing remediation as it affects the gully which crosses our boundary filled in up to about 3 metres in height, without any retainment by Mr May. Your own bylaw (Control-of-Earthworks-Bylaw 7.1 (a)) means that we have a right to an answer to this question.

2) Is there a holdup that prevents the District Council furthering the process of remediating the noncompliant earthworks on 26 and 28 Derrick Road? For example, is there anything that the Council requires from the owners of 22 or 28 Derrick Road, or from the Regional Council, or from Mr. May, before the District Council can take action?

3) Does the Council currently have a particular officer (or officers) responsible for furthering the process of remediating the noncompliant earthworks on 26 and 28 Derrick Road? I note that 13 Dec 2023 [RFS 4180786], in response an earlier LGOIMA request, Council declined to answer a question regarding the reasons for Council’s non-communication with us, on the grounds that it would require the creation of new information, and said that “The matter has therefore been referred on to the Monitoring Team to respond directly to you.” But the monitoring team has not responded since November 2023 when they cancelled a proposed site visit. We point out that the reason why the monitoring team does not communicate with us must be known to the monitoring team, even if that information is not in written form. We request that the monitoring team provide an explanation.

Our Official Information Act request for all forms of communication, including digital and recorded is an attempt to see why the monitoring team have repeatedly ignored our requests for remediation of the trespass and pollution on our land and why our November 2022 photographic evidence showing My May continually adding more rubble and fill was rewarded with giving him a retrospective earthworks permit within 5 working days instead of an abatement notice for continuing with unpermitted earthworks.

4) Has the issue of Mr. May’s earthworks been notified to the Mayor and Councillors? Are there relevant Council minutes or other documents or communications produced by the political arm of the District Council? If the Mayor or any individual Councilor has communicated in any way regarding these earthworks as well earthworks involving Mr May since September 2022, we would like copies of that communication and the name/s of the Councillor involved. For example if council staff of councillors have communicated with Mr May regarding earthworks on his property at 280 Hautapu Rd, that would be relevant to our situation because the rubble he dumped on our property came from somewhere.

5) The Environmental Protection Agency informed us in October 2023, that the District Council has begun action. What action was it that the District Council told the EPA it had initiated? What action has the District Council taken in regards to remediaton before it was contacted by the EPA October 2023 and afterwards?

Yours faithfully,

Sonja van Kerkhoff