RRI Green Planning Archives: New Zealand

New Zealand Resource Management Act: A Summary
A New Zealand Ministry for the Environment publication summarizing the Resource Management Act (1991)

The Resource Management Act 1991 and the Crown Minerals Act were passed by Parliament in July 1991, to take effect 1 October 1991. The minerals allocation section of the Resource Management Bill was removed to become a separate Act.

The Crown Minerals Act deals with the allocation of mining and prospecting rights, and access to Crown-owned minerals. It does not deal with the environmental effects of mining or prospecting; they are covered by the Resource Management Act.

The Resource Management Act and the Crown Minerals Act deal management of natural and physical resources. They are concerned with how we use, develop and protect these resources, and the effects of human activities on the environment.

Noise, air, land, and water are also dealt with.

The Resource Management Act replaces more than 20 major statutes, including the Town and Country Planning Act 1977, water and soil legislation, the laws covering minerals (with the Crown Minerals Act), geothermal resources, air and noise pollution, and coasts.

Public discussion of the need for new resource management laws was initiated in 1988 under the Resource Management Law Reform project of the Ministry for the Environment. The environmental problems identified during this phase of the project were wide ranging. Soil erosion is severe in some parts of the country, ravaging farmland and increasing the risk of floods in many communities. Pollution affects some rivers and estuaries, and sewage continues to spoil parts of the coastline, contaminating traditional Maori fishing grounds.

Native forest cover is depleted to the point where there is only approximately a third of the original forest left. The rate of extinction of native plants and animals is among the highest in the world.

One major reason for these problems was perceived to be the practice of managing land, air and water separately. Many people became convinced of the need to manage New Zealand s resources in a way that was integrated and consistent, rather than the ad hoc and disconnected manner of the past.

In addition, the previous laws were themselves a problem. Overlapping responsibilities, conflicting laws, and unnecessarily complicated procedures often resulted in costly delays and duplication of effort for people seeking resource consents. (A consent is permission from an authority to do something that might affect the environment. or permission to use a resource in some way.)

By bringing together laws governing land, air and water resources, the Resource Management Act introduces a totally new approach to environmental management. This integration means the environment can be looked at as a whole in planning and decision making, with a standard set of requirements for all resource users.

The Act creates planning, consent and enforcement procedures that are common to most resource uses. It is also designed to fit into the new system of local government.

Decision making will focus results or "intended outcomes", rather than on the regulation of resource use. One example of this is the restriction of industrial uses to certain areas of our towns and cities. Industry has not been permitted in some areas simply because it was deemed an "industrial activity"; now the emphasis is on controlling the waste, noise and other side effects of the industry instead of controlling the activity itself.

In other words, if a particular industrial activity can meet a community's environmental standards, that business should be able to operate in any area.

Focusing on results will provide incentives for resource users to come up with efficient and creative ways of achieving good environmental standards. The new focus will give local authorities greater flexibility in the way they go about achieving environmental goals .

The Resource Management Act provides clear opportunities for community involvement in policy and decision making about the resources covered by the Act. Members of the public have the right to propose changes to plans and enforcement procedures.

The Act encourages councils to seek out the views of their residents and businesses when developing resource management plans and policies. Iwi must be consulted.

The purpose of the Resource Management Act is to promote the sustainable management of natural and physical resources. All decisions made under the legislation must take this purpose into account.

Sustainable management means "managing the use, development, and protection of natural and physical resources in a way, or at a rate, which enables people and communities to provide for their social, economic, and cultural well-being and for their health and safety ... while

• sustaining the potential of natural and physical resources (excluding minerals) to meet the reasonable foreseeable needs of future generations;
• safeguarding the life-supporting capacity of air, water, soil, and ecosystems; and
• avoiding, remedying, or mitigating any adverse effects of activities on the environment." (Resource Management Act, part II, section 5)

Everyone exercising functions and powers under the Resource Management Act must recognise and provide for the five matters of national importance listed in section 6. They must also take into account the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi (section 8).

A hierarchy of plans and policy statements is established in the Resource Management Act.

Central government can issue national policy statements on any aspect of resource management which is of national significance. An example might be national policy statements on wetlands or energy conservation.

National policy statements will provide direction for district and regional councils. The Minister for the Environment is responsible for initiating the statements, but members of the public will have the opportunity to be involved in the preparation of all statements.

The Minister of Conservation is responsible for the New Zealand Coastal Policy statement, which is mandatory.

Regional councils are responsible for the mandatory regional policy statements. These statements will consider issues of significance to the region, outline the community's goals for the environment and the policies necessary to achieve these goals.

The statements will draw together land, air and water management in the region, so as to provide a much more thorough and consistent approach to problems such as soil erosion, flooding or pollution.

Regional plans (which are not compulsory) can be prepared for a particular resource or aspect of resource use. Such plans could, for example, include a water plan for the whole region or a plan for an area facing major erosion problems. These plans will set rules for people using resources in that region.

Territorial authorities will continue to be responsible for land use planning, along the lines of existing district schemes. However, their focus now must be on the effects of activities not just the activities themselves.

Other statutory reserve management plans or strategies, such as for conservation areas or fisheries management or iwi resource management documents, must be considered when they are making decisions.

There five types of resource consents:

• land use consent, subdivision consent,
• subdivision consent,
• water permit,
• discharge permit,
• coastal permit.

All applications for consents follow the same procedures. The basic rule is that the applicant, whether a land owner intending to subdivide or a farmer needing water for irrigation, should check out any relevant plans to see what provisions are made for that activity.

If more than one consent is needed (e.g, if a factory requires subdivision and water consents), there can be joint hearings where all aspects of resource use can be considered. This will speed up the process for everyone involved.

Time limits on this process are imposed by the legislation and there are constraints on the use of extensions.

Impact assessment is an essential part of consent granting and planning procedures. When making policy and plans decision makers (including central government) must carefully evaluate options, effectiveness, costs and benefits. They must identify the environmental results the policy is designed to achieve. Regulations and controls can no longer be imposed without careful thought.

Where consents are required, applicants will need to work out what impact their proposals are likely to have on the environment. This information is submitted to the consent authority as part of the consent application.

The Resource Management Act identifies the importance of coasts. These will be managed by regional councils and the Minister of Conservation.

Preserving the natural character of the coast is important: this includes recognition of those characteristics which are of special value to Maori. The Minister of Conservation will prepare a New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement to guide all coastal management.

Each regional council must prepare a coastal plan for that region. These plans will be the basis for the allocation of coastal space and controlling the effects of any use. The plans must be approved by the Minister of Conservation and must fit in with the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement.

Only one consent will be needed for coastal developments. This permit will cover the allocation, land use, water use, and discharge aspects of the activity in the coastal marine area. This process is a major improvement on the numerous consents once needed under the Harbours Act, the Town and Country Planning Act, and the Water and Soil Conservation Act.

The inland boundary of the Minister of Conservation's responsibility in approving regional coastal plans will be mean high water spring.

Regional councils will grant consents for activities once the coastal plan is approved. The exception to this will be "restricted coastal activities" - those causing significant or irreversible changes, such as a large reclamation. In these cases the Minister of Conservation will make the final decision.

The Minister's decision cannot be appealed to the Planning Tribunal, but the Planning Tribunal can review the initial recommendation of the special hearing committee and make a report to the Minister.

Water conservation orders cover water bodies of national significance rivers, lakes, and streams, cold and geothermal aquifers, and wetlands. These orders are a means of protecting the outstanding or intrinsic values attributed to a water body.

Anyone can apply for a water conservation order.

Heritage protection provisions in the Act can be used to protect the land surrounding protected water.

Water conservation orders will not affect or restrict any water rights granted before the order was made.

The Minister for the Environment will decide if a water conservation order application will be heard and will appoint a special tribunal to hear it. The decision of the tribunal can be appealed to the Planning Tribunal.

Protection of our heritage can be built into plans and policy statements and reflected in decisions on resource consents. A heritage protection order under the Resource Management Act can protect a landscape feature or a place of national, local or cultural significance.

Heritage protection orders incorporate the former Protection Notices for historic buildings and relate to the Historic Places Trust classification system under the Historic Places Trust Act.

Once issued, heritage protection orders must be publicly debated before they can come into force.

The Resource Management Act outlines the functions of regional councils and territorial authorities. This includes controls on the use of land for the purpose of preventing or mitigating any adverse effects of the storage, use, disposal, and transport of hazardous substances.

These functions are in addition to those currently carried out by territorial health authorities, the Departments of Health and Labour, and the Ministry for Transport under the Dangerous Goods Act, the Toxic Substances Act and the Transport Act. Existing hazardous substances legislation will remain in force until new legislation dealing with hazardous substances and new organisms is developed.

While established by the Resource Management Act. the Hazards Control Commission does not come into force at the same time as the Resource Management Act. It is intended that part XIII of the Resource Management Act. which deals with the Hazards Control Commission, hazardous substances and new organisms (i.e. imported and/or genetically modified plants, animals or micro-organisms) will be removed to form the nucleus of separate legislation

Those who discharge any waste to the environment must have a permit or permission under a resource management plan. The consent authority can impost conditions to minimise adverse effects on the environment, including conditions on emergency discharges.

Polluters must endeavour to reduce or eliminate any adverse effects of discharges on the environment rather than simply meeting minimum environmental standards.

In examining applications, consent authorities can request further information to ensure an integrated approach t pollution control is achieved. This will ensure all discharges to the environment are considered together.

An integrated approach will also deal with the problem of "cross-media" pollution. This occurs when, for example, factory smoke is cleaned by using water which is then discharged, achieving cleaner air but creating pollution in a waterway.

Settlement patterns, building methods and economic activities all affect the extent to which natural events such as storms, floods and earthquakes change the lives of people and the functions of communities.

Under the Resource Management Act local authorities must gather and make available information about natural hazards. This will be considered in their policy statements and plans, with the aim of avoiding or lessening the impacts of disasters.

Natural hazards will also be considered when granting resource consents. For example, a subdivision consent should not be granted if the authority finds that the land is prone to flooding or to landslips.

Subdivision applications will follow the same standard consent procedures that apply to other resource consents. District plans will detail the community s required standards.

The definition of the term "subdivision" now includes long-term leases, company leases, cross leases and unit titles. Reserve levies will be detailed in the district plan. so that they reflect the impacts of the proposal on that area rather than being fixed numeric levels set down by law. As with all conditions on resource consents, it will be possible to impose bonds to ensure compliance.

Consent notices are now recorded on titles, to ensure that ongoing conditions apply to subsequent landowners; for example, where land stability restricts building sites. The Survey Plan provisions of the existing legislation will continue.

Local authorities now have greater responsibility for esplanade reserves. The Resource Management Act specifies the aims and purpose of these reserves.

To ensure appropriate attention is given to Maori interests in resource management, the Act makes specific reference to certain dimensions in particular sections. The Act provides for explicit consideration of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and application of the principle of kaitiakitanga (guardianship).

All decision makers will be required to recognise and provide for the relationship of Maori and their culture and traditions with their ancestral lands, waters, waahi tapu sites, and other taonga.

The Resource Management Act sets out transitional arrangements for statutory plans, consents, and consent applications affected by the new Act.

District and maritime planning schemes, existing consents and water conservation orders will be carried over.

Where there are new responsibilities, procedures for changes to management plans will allow current district schemes to be brought into line with the new law. The plans will be reviewed in terms of the requirements of the new law as they fall due under the current five-year rule.

As regional responsibilities are greatly altered, regional planning schemes are not carried over. However, controls such as those made under the existing water and soil legislation will become transitional rules. These will remain until regional councils have prepared regional policy statements and plans.

Other regulatory controls, such as bylaws, noise abatement notices and enforcement notices under the Town and Country Planning Act, will continue to have effect, or will be deemed to be plans, rules or notices under the new law - as long as they are consistent with the Resource Management Act.

Existing consents also carry over. The transitional provisions detail how to deal with applications already in train.

Local authorities have an obligation to ensure compliance with their policies and rules.

The Act's teeth include

• abatement notices;
• enforcement orders; and
• penalties for offences.

Where urgent problems need immediate action, interim enforcement orders can be applied for from a Planning Judge, sitting alone in a District Court. In emergency situations council enforcement officers can enter premises and take immediate action to remedy problems affecting the environment.

The Act emphasises that prevention is better than cure. For example. councils can require a bond from an applicant as part of the consent conditions.

The Act provides for effective prosecution where damage does occur. The offences provisions provide for strict liability - it is not necessary to prove that a person intended to offend for a prosecution to proceed. Fines of up to $200 000, community service sentences, and imprisonment can be imposed.

Effective monitoring requires a good information base, which can be used both by the council and the community. The Resource Management Act insists that records, which includes information about consent applications, must be kept.

The Minister for the Environment will monitor the effectiveness and implementation of the Resource Management Act, including National Policy Statements and water conservation orders. The Minister of Conservation will monitor the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statements and the coastal permits issued by the Minister.