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Chapter 14: Discharges to Land and Water

14.10 Rules - Generic Discharge Rules

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The requirements specified in the Resource Management (National Environmental Standards for Freshwater) Regulations and the Resource Management (National Environmental Standards for Storing Tyres Outdoors) Regulations also apply, as rules, in addition to the following rules.  One Plan users must refer to the Regulations and they should be read in conjunction with the following rules.  Where there is conflict between the provisions of the Regulations and any of the following rules, the more stringent provision will apply.
 

Rule Activity Classification Conditions/Standards/Terms Control/Discretion Non-Notification
14-26 Discharges^ of contaminants^ to surface water^ The discharge^ of contaminants^ into surface water^ pursuant to s15(1) RMA, except as regulated by other rules^ in this Plan. Permitted
  1. The rate of discharge^ must be no greater than 50 m3/d.
  2. The discharge^ must not contain agricultural waste*, sewage, stormwater, cleanfill material*, contaminants^ from composting* activities, or contaminants^ from landfills*
  3. The discharge^ must not cause or exacerbate the flooding of any other property*.
  4. The discharge^ must not cause any scouring or erosion of any land^ or bed^ of a water body^ beyond the point of discharge^.
  5. The discharge^ must not alter the natural course of any water body^ or its bed^.
  6. There must be no discharge^ to any natural lake^, rare habitat*, threatened habitat*, at-risk habitat*, Site of Significance - Aquatic or reach of a river^ or its bed^ with a Schedule B Value of Natural State.
  7. The discharge^ must not cause, after reasonable mixing*, any of the following effects^ in the receiving water body^:
    1. the production of conspicuous oil* or grease films, scums or foams, or floatable or suspended materials
    2. any conspicuous change in the colour or visual clarity of the receiving water^
    3. any emission of offensive or objectionable odour.
  8. The discharge^ must not, after reasonable mixing*, cause the receiving water body^ to breach the water quality standards for that water body^ set out in Schedule E, either from the discharge^ itself or in combination with any other discharges^.
  
14-27 Discharges^ of contaminants^ onto or into land^ that will not enter water^ The discharge^ of contaminants^ onto or into land^ in circumstances that will not result in any contaminant^ entering water^, pursuant to ss15(1)(d) or 15(2A) RMA, except as regulated by other rules^ in this Plan. Permitted
  1. The rate of discharge^ must be no more than 100 m3/y per property*.
  2. The discharge^ must not contain agricultural waste* (except for run-off from a stock crossing bridge or culvert required under Rules 14-1 to 14-4), sewage, stormwater, cleanfill material*, contaminants^ from composting* activities, or contaminants^ from landfills*
  3. The discharge^ must not be located within:
    1. anyrare habitat*, threatened habitat* or at-risk habitat*
    2. the bed^ of a river^ or lake^
    3. land^ with a slope* greater than 20°
    4. 50 m from any historic heritage^ identified in any district plan^ or regional plan^.
  4. Records of the source and composition of the discharge^ must be maintained and made available to the Regional Council upon request.
  5. The discharge^ must be undertaken and maintained in a manner so as to ensure its long-term stability, and avoid the risk of erosion.
  6. The discharge^ must not cause any increase in the concentration of hazardous substances* or pathogenic organisms on or in any land^.
  7. The discharge^ must not have any acid-producing potential.
With the exception of standard (c)(i) in relation to any rare habitat* or threatened habitat* these standards do not apply to the discharge^ of live ammunition for weapons training purposes on any defence area (as defined in section 2 of the Defence Act 1990) owned by the Crown where it is undertaken in accordance with that Act.		  
14-28 Discharges^ of contaminants^ onto or into land^ that may enter water^ The discharge^ of contaminants^ onto or into land^ in circumstances which may result in those contaminants^ (or any other contaminant^ emanating as a result of natural processes from those contaminants^) entering water^, pursuant to ss15(1)(b) or 15(2A) RMA, except as regulated by other rules^ in this Plan. Permitted
  1. The discharge^ must comply with all of the conditions^ of Rule 14-26.
  2. The discharge^ must comply with all of the conditions^ of Rule 14-27, except (a).
  3. The discharge^ must be at least 600 mm above the seasonally highest water^ table.
  4. The discharge^ must comply with the following separation distances:
    1. at least 30 m from any bore*
    2. at least 20 m from any surface water body^, artificial watercourse* and the coastal marine area^.
  5. The discharge^ must not be located within any rare habitat*, threatened habitat* or at-risk habitat*.
  6. There must be no surface ponding in the area of discharge^, or run-off of any contaminant^ into a surface water body^ or its bed^, artificial watercourse* or the coastal marine area^ as a result of the discharge^.
  7. The discharge^ must not cause any more than minor reduction in the quality of groundwater.
  8. The discharge^ must not result in any airborne liquid contaminant^ being carried beyond the boundary of the property*.
With the exception of standard (e) in relation to any rare habitat* or threatened habitat* these standards do not apply to the discharge^ of live ammunition for weapons training purposes on any defence area (as defined in section 2 of the Defence Act 1990) owned by the Crown where it is undertaken in accordance with that Act.		  
14-29 Replacement consents for discharges^ of water^ and contaminants^ to water^ and land^ from existing hydroelectricity schemes The discharge^ of water^ or contaminants^ into water^ or onto or into land^ pursuant to ss15(1) or 15(2A) RMA from existing consented hydroelectricity generation schemes for which replacement consents are sought. Controlled
  1. The consent application is to replace existing consents that are expiring and there is no increase to the existing volume of discharge^ or the nature of contaminants^.
  2. The activity must not take place in any rare habitat*, threatened habitat* or at-risk habitat*
 Control is reserved over:
  1. measures to control flooding and erosion
  2. contaminant^ concentrations and loading rates
  3. measures required to comply with s107(1) RMA
  4. measures to assist with maintaining or achieving the Schedule E water quality targets* for the relevant Water Management Sub-zones*
  5. measures to avoid, remedy or mitigate any adverse effects^ on the Values of the water body^ at and below the point of discharge
  6. measures to avoid, remedy or mitigate any adverse effects on the instream geomorphical components of the natural character of the waterbody
  7. water levels, flow regime and minimum flows
  8. maintenance and contingency requirements
  9. monitoring and information requirements
  10. measures to avoid, remedy or mitigate adverse effects^ on tangata whenua^ values
  11. duration of consent
  12. review of consent conditions^
  13. Compliance monitoring.
Resource consent applications under this rule will be notified to those parties who are adversely affected in relation to the matters over which control is reserved. This clause does not preclude full public notification at the councils discretion in accordance with the RMA.

Rule Guide:
  1. The location of archaeological sites when defined by a single co-ordinate is unlikely to define the true extent of subsurface archaeological evidence. The 50 metre rule should apply from the outer perimeter of the site.
  2. Some discharges pursuant to s15(1) RMA in rare habitats*, threatened habitats* and at-risk habitats* are regulated by Rules 13-8 and 13-9.
  3. Discharges pursuant to ss15(1) or 15(2A) RMA in a reach of a river with a Schedule B Value of Natural State or Sites of Significance - Aquatic are regulated by Rule 14-25.

Discharges at other locations are regulated as follows:
  1. Discharges pursuant to s15(1) RMA that do not meet the requirements of the generic rules, and are not covered by any other rule in the Plan, are discretionary activities under Rule 14-30.

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