Jane Nees BOP Regional Councillor www.janenees.co.nz

It's more than two years since the Rena went aground on the Astrolabe Reef. Since then a huge amount of work has been done by many people – salvors, scientists, central and local government agencies, iwi and many volunteers – to mitigate environmental damage, reduce and make safe the wreck, and plan for the future of the wreck.

In the next week or so the accommodation block on the Rena will be removed by cutting it into two sections using chain to cut through the steel, and then lifting the pieces so they can be tethered to a barge, towed to calmer waters and then lifted onto a larger barge for transport into the Port for cutting up and recycling.

The Regional Council has been assured that the salvors have systems in place to capture any debris that comes from the structure during the process and that any fluid, other materials or odours will be contained during the process of dismantling the structure while it is in the Port. This is expected to take about a month.

Diving down to work on the wreck is very dangerous and the barges and tugs required during the removal process need space to operate safely.

As a result, the harbourmaster will be enforcing a moving 500metre exclusion zone around the barges and tugs doing the work, whether they are moored or in transit.

Unfortunately this may temporarily inconvenience some recreational fishermen and commercial operators but it is important to ensure that a safe working environment is maintained during the salvage process.

This exclusion zone will be policed and any offenders will be issued with an infringement notice.

No decision has been made about the fate of the rest of the Rena. This needs to go through due process – and the key to that is a full assessment of the risks and effects of leaving or removing some or all of what is left of Rena.

If the owners desire to leave some of the Rena on the reef, resource consent will be needed and members of the public are sure to have an opportunity to have their say.

If you have any views on this or any other issue, please contact me on neesj@xtra.co.nz or ring me on 07 579-5150.