Some months burn brighter than others when it comes to addressing environmental discharges to land, air, and water in Tasman. That’s why our Compliance and Investigation staff are there to extinguish bad practices throughout the year.
Along with two staff who handle after-hours on-call duties – Kathy Richardson is the sole dedicated officer in this role for the District, a public face for the Council in responding to pollution complaints, monitoring compliance with resource consent holders, and proactively patrolling outdoor burning activities to ensure compliance with our permitted activity rules.
“I love my job, and my passion lies in liaising with a diverse range of community members, implementing the Tasman Resource Management Plan rules and Resource Management Act, and preventing pollution to safeguard our community and environment.”
Adopting a ‘here to help’ approach in her work, Kathy takes pride in collaborating with community members, horticulturists, agriculturalists, hop growers, viticulture and various industries to reduce/cease pollution (discharges) and explore alternative methods for better environmental outcomes.
One of the current engagement projects involves working with industries in Beach Road and Fittal Street in Richmond, concerning stormwater discharges that end up in the Jimmy Lee stream and estuary.
The work even extends to evening patrolling in the winter months around the Richmond Airshed area to ensure compliance with our wood burner regulations.