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Chapter 14: Discharges to Land and Water
14.2 Policies
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Policy 14-1
: Consent decision-making for
discharges^ to water^
When making decisions on
resource consent^
applications, and setting
consent conditions^
, for
discharges^
of
water^
or
contaminants^
into
water^
, the Regional Council must specifically consider:
the objectives and
Policies 5-1 to 5-5
and
5-9
of Chapter 5, and have regard to:
avoiding
discharges^
which contain any
persistent contaminants^
that are likely to accumulate in a
water body^
or its
bed^
,
the appropriateness of adopting the best practicable
option^
to prevent or minimise adverse
effects^
in circumstances where:
it is difficult to establish
discharge^
parameters for a particular
discharge^
that give effect to the management approaches for
water^
quality and
discharges^
set out in Chapter 5, or
the potential adverse
effects^
are likely to be minor, and the costs associated with adopting the best
practicable option^
are small in comparison to the costs of investigating the likely
effects^
on
land^
and
water^
, and
the objectives and policies of Chapters 2, 3, 6, 9 and 12 to the extent that they are relevant to the
discharge^
.
Policy 14-2
: Consent decision-making for
discharges^
to
land^
When making decisions on resource
consent^
applications, and setting consent
conditions^
, for
discharges^
of
contaminants^
onto or into
land^
the Regional Council must have regard to:
the objectives and policies of Chapter 5 regarding the management of groundwater quality and
discharges^
,
where the
discharge^
may enter surface
water^
or have an adverse
effect^
on surface
water^
quality, the degree of compliance with the approach for managing surface
water^
quality set out in Chapter 5,
avoiding as far as reasonably practicable any adverse
effects
^ on any sensitive receiving
environment^
or potentially incompatible land^ uses, in particular any residential buildings, educational facilities, churches, marae, public areas,
infrastructure^
and other physical resources of regional or national importance identified in
Policy 3-1
,
wetlands^
, surface water
bodies^
and the coastal
marine area^
,
the appropriateness of adopting the best
practicable option^
to prevent or minimise adverse
effects^
in circumstances where:
it is difficult to establish
discharge^
parameters for a particular
discharge^
that give effect to the management approaches for
water^
quality and
discharges^
set out in Chapter 5,
the potential adverse
effects^
are likely to be minor, and the costs associated with adopting the best practicable
option^
are small in comparison to the costs of investigating the likely
effects^
on
land^
and
water^
,
avoiding
discharges^
which contain any persistent
contaminants^
that are likely to accumulate in the soil or groundwater, and
the objectives and policies of Chapters 2, 3, 6, 9 and 12 to the extent that they are relevant to the
discharge^
.
Policy 14-3
: Industry-based standards
The Regional Council will examine on an on-going basis relevant industry-based standards (including guidelines and codes of practice), recognising that such industry based standards generally represent current best practice, and may accept compliance with those standards as being adequate to avoid, remedy or mitigate adverse
effects^
to the extent that those standards address the matters in
Policies 14-1
,
14-2
,
14-4
and
14-5
.
Policy 14-4
: Options for
discharges^
to surface
water^
and
land^
When applying for consents and making decisions on consent applications for
discharges^
of
contaminants^
into
water^
or onto or into
land^
, the opportunity to utilise alternative
discharge^
options, or a mix of
discharge^
regimes, for the purpose of mitigating adverse
effects^
, applying the best practicable option, must be considered, including but not limited to:
discharging
contaminants^
onto or into land^ as an alternative to discharging
contaminants^
into
water^
,
withholding from discharging
contaminants^
into surface
water^
at times of low flow, and
adopting different treatment and
discharge^
options for different receiving
environments^
or at different times (including different flow regimes or levels in surface water
bodies^
).
Policy 14-5
: Management of intensive farming
land^
uses
In order to give effect to
Policy 5-7
and
Policy 5-8
, intensive farming
land^
use activities affecting groundwater and surface
water
^ quality must be managed in the following manner:
The following land uses have been identified as intensive farming
land^
uses:
Dairy farming*
Commercial vegetable growing*
Cropping*
Intensive sheep and beef farming*
The intensive farming
land^
uses identified in (a) must be regulated where:
They are existing intensive farming
land^
uses, in the targeted
Water Management Sub-zones*
identified in
Table 14.1
.
They are new (ie., established after the Plan has legal effect
1
) intensive farming
land^
uses, in all
Water Management Sub-zones*
in the Region.
Nitrogen leaching maximums have been established in
Table 14.2
.
Existing intensive farming
land^
uses regulated in accordance with (b)(i) must be managed to ensure that the leaching of nitrogen from those
land^
uses does not exceed the
cumulative nitrogen leaching maximum*
values for each year contained in
Table 14.2
, unless the circumstances in
Policy 14-6
apply.
New intensive farming
land^
uses regulated in accordance with (b)(ii) must be managed to ensure that the leaching of nitrogen from those
land^
uses does not exceed the
cumulative nitrogen leaching maximum*
values for each year contained in
Table 14.2
.
Intensive farming
land^
uses regulated in accordance with (b) must exclude cattle from:
A
wetland
^ or
lake
^ that is a
rare habitat*
,
threatened habitat*
or
at-risk habitat*
.
Any
river
^ that is permanently flowing or has an
active bed*
width greater than 1 metre.
All places where cattle cross a river that is permanently flowing or has an
active bed*
width greater than 1 metre must be culverted or bridged and those culverts or bridges must be used by cattle whenever they cross the river.
1
The Plan has legal effect in the case of
dairy farming
* from 24 August 2010 and for
commercial vegetable growing
*,
cropping
* and
intensive sheep and beef
* it has legal effect from 9 May 2013.
Policy 14-6
: Resource consent decision-making for
intensive farming land^
uses
When making decisions on resource
consent^
applications, and setting consent
conditions^
, for intensive
farming land^
uses the Regional Council must:
Ensure the nitrogen leaching from the land is managed in accordance with
Policy 14-5
.
An exception may be made to (a) for existing intensive
farming land^
uses in the following circumstances:
where the existing intensive farming
land^
use occurs on land that has 50% or higher of LUC Classes IV to VIII and has an average annual rainfall of 1500 mm or greater; or
where the existing intensive farming
land^
use cannot meet year 1
cumulative nitrogen leaching maximums*
in year 1, they shall be managed through conditions on their resource consent to ensure year 1
cumulative nitrogen leaching maximums*
are met within 4 years.
Where an exception is made to the
cumulative nitrogen leaching maximum*
the existing
intensive farming land^
uses must be managed by consent conditions to ensure:
Good management practices to minimise the loss of nitrogen, phosphorus, faecal contamination and sediment are implemented.
Any losses of nitrogen, which cannot be minimised, are remedied or mitigated, including by other works or environmental compensation. Mitigation works may include but are not limited to, creation of wetland and riparian planted zones.
Ensure that cattle are excluded from surface water in accordance with
Policy 14-5
(f) and (g) except where landscape or geographical constraints make stock exclusion impractical and the effects of cattle stock movements are avoided, remedied or mitigated. In all cases any unavoidable losses of nitrogen, phosphorus, faecal contamination and sediment are remedied or mitigated by other works or environmental compensation. Mitigation works may include (but are not limited to) creation of wetland and riparian planted zones.
Policy 14-7
: Management of
discharges^
of
domestic wastewater*
When making decisions on
resource consent^
applications, and setting consent
conditions^
, for on-site
discharges^
of
domestic wastewater*
, the Regional Council must generally ensure that the
discharge^
is in accordance with the
Manual for On-site Wastewater Systems Design and Management
(Horizons Regional Council 2010).
For
discharges^
that are not in accordance with the
Manual for On-site Wastewater Systems Design and Management
(Horizons Regional Council 2010) the Regional Council must make decisions on
resource consent^
applications, and set consent
conditions^
, for on-site
discharges^
of
domestic wastewater*
, to ensure that:
the
site*
is suitable for the intended on-site wastewater management system,
the
discharge^
does not result in actual or potential contamination of:
groundwater at any point of abstraction utilised for irrigation, stock or domestic drinking
water^
,
surface
water bodies^
,
stormwater drains,
artificial watercourses*
, or
neighbouring
property*,
the
discharge^
does not constitute a public health threat,
the
discharge^
does not cause any offensive or objectionable odour beyond the
property*
boundary, and
a sufficient area of
land^
is set aside as a reserve disposal area.
Policy 14-8
: Monitoring requirements for consent holders
Point source
discharges^
of
contaminants^
to
water^
must generally be subject to the following monitoring requirements:
the regular monitoring of discharge^ volumes on
discharges^
smaller than 100 m3/day and making the records available to the Regional Council on request,
the installation of a pulse-count capable meter in order to monitor the volume
discharged^
for
discharges^
of 100 m
3
/day or greater,
the installation of a Regional Council compatible telemetry system on
discharges^
of 300 m
3
/day or greater, and
monitoring and reporting on the quality of the
discharge^
at the point of
discharge^
before it enters surface
water^
and the quality of the receiving
water^
upstream and downstream of the point of
discharge^
(after
reasonable mixing*
) may also be required. This must align with the Regional Council’s environmental monitoring programme where reasonably practicable to enable cumulative impacts to be measured.
Policy 14-9
: Consent decision making requirements from the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management
This policy applies to any application for the following
discharges
^ (including a diffuse
discharge
^ by any person or animal):
a new
discharge
^; or
a change or increase in any
discharge
^ of any
contaminant
^ into fresh
water
^, or onto or into
land
^ in circumstances that may result in that
contaminant
^ (or, as a result of any natural process from the
discharge
^ of that
contaminan
t^, any other
contaminant
^) entering fresh
water
^.
When considering any application for a
discharge
^ the Regional Council must have regard to the following matters:
the extent to which the
discharge
^ would avoid contamination that will have an adverse effect on the life-supporting capacity of fresh
water
^ including on any ecosystem associated with fresh
water
^; and
the extent to which it is feasible and dependable that any more than minor adverse effect on fresh
water
^, and on any ecosystem associated with fresh
water
^, resulting from the
discharge
^ would be avoided.
This clause of the policy does not apply to any application for consent first lodged before the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2011 took effect on 1 July 2011.
When considering any application for a
discharge
^ the Regional Council must have regard to the following matters:
the extent to which the
discharge
^ would avoid contamination that will have an adverse effect on the health of people and communities as affected by their secondary contact with fresh
water
^; and
the extent to which it is feasible and dependable that any more than minor adverse effect on the health of people and communities as affected by their secondary contact with fresh
water
^ resulting from the
discharge
^ would be avoided.
This clause of the policy does not apply to any application for consent first lodged before the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2014 took effect on 4 July 2014.
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