Smythes Quarry location straddles the boundary separating both Waikato and Hauraki District Councils.  As consequence the proposed activity is subject to not only the Waikato Regional Plan but both District Council planning frameworks.

Smythes Quarry total aggregate resource as determined by the International JORC code standards is in excess of 650 million tonnes (250 million tonnes of measured resource and 400 million tonnes of indicated resource).

Summary of environmental mitigation:

• State Highway 2 road front native planting.

• Riparian planting along eastern watercourse with general landscaping.

• As clean fill areas are completed, topped with topsoil and grassed for future grazing.

• 4.5 ha of mulching and hydro seeding for ground stabilization.

• 3.5 h of wetland enhancement planting.

• Bat survey work monitoring, evidence of bats but no roosting areas.

• Monitoring for native mudfish also known as Neochanna diversus.  No juvenile fry or adult mudfish evidence found.  Juvenile banded kokopu captured and relocated.

• Native Pohutukawa trees planted.

• Five stormwater quality ponds throughout the quarry which treat all surface water runoff before discharging into adjacent water courses.

• A state-of-the-art wheel wash facility to clean truck and trailer tyres as they leave the quarry preventing debris from entering the state highway.

• Landscaping maintenance continues to be regularly undertaken around the quarry.

Summary of environmental mitigation for the recently issued Quarry expansion will result in Smythes undertaking:

• 960m2 of wetland restoration planting providing a 2:1 compensation for the loss of 480m2 of existing wetland, and

• 7048m2 of terrestrial planting to replace existing mahoe/mapou dominated wetlands.

• Coupled with this Native fish present within the affected streams will be captured and subsequently released below the proposed works site.