After 15 years in the making, the Plan Change is close to being finalised after an Environment Court decision last year overturned iwi efforts to re-work nitrogen (N) allocation in the catchment.
“For the lower reaches of the Bay of Plenty, the biggest issues will be around discharge from waterways in rivers running through low-lying, flood-prone regions,” Leeder said. “There could be some issues around the quality of that discharge that will require some community engagement to address under the regulations.”
The upside for Bay of Plenty was that most of the river systems were short-run rivers close to the coast and not subject to the heavy algal issues that face longer, more inland rivers.
Another area of local impact was the limit on synthetic N application to 190kg a hectare a year for pastoral use.
Bay of Plenty is a major maize growing region, and there remained devil in the detail around how N for maize silage versus grain would or could be allocated.
Rotorua Lakes farmer Neil Heather said while it looked like Plan Change 10 (PC10) for his district would go ahead as intended in reducing N losses to the lakes, he expected there would be adjustments as a result of the national regulations.
“As far as the national policy statement rules go, some of it is just impractical around the slope and pugging in particular,” he said.
“But what concerns me most, is how quickly we have a law coming into force which is having changes made to it even as it is introduced.”
Waikato uncertain on direction
A pending Environment Court decision will provide some guidance on how the Waikato Regional Council’s Plan Change one and new freshwater regulations align, says the councils science manager Mike Scarsbrook.
“Because we’re entering new territory, it’s really hard to predict exactly what it’s going to look like,” he said.
Scarsbrook says the Court will have to weigh up the Council’s rules as well as the Government’s National Policy Statement (NPS) when it deliberates.
“It is quite uncertain, but the certainty we have and the positive element that we have is that we are heading in the same direction that the Government wants regional councils to head,” he said.
Scarsbrook says the Council’s short-term priority was to try and plan its way through how it can meet the Government’s timeframes while ensuring communities had enough time to have input into the process.
“A lot of our emphasis, as it is with all regional councils around the country, is trying to identify what our plan is going to be for the implementation of the NPS and the national environmental standard for freshwater as well,” he said.
The Council was also working on what the likely costs would be to administer the reforms, which appear to be significant not just for Waikato but for other councils also, he said.
Lower NI councils urge farmers to act
Farmers in the lower North Island have been told they need to be proactive in finding out about the new freshwater rules.
Horizons (Manawatu-Whanganui) and Greater Wellington regional councils both want to work with rural communities to implement the rules but says in the meantime farmers should familiarise themselves with the regulations as much as possible.
Horizons chair Rachel Keedwell says early indications are the estimated cost to the council of implementing the rules will be more than $10 million and up to $15 million over the first three to four years, which will cover science and policy, as well as iwi capacity and advice and community engagement.
Strategy and regulation group manager Nic Peet says council officers are currently analysing the new requirements against Horizons’ Regional Policy and Regional Plan (One Plan), which sets out an integrated management framework for management of the environment.
“While the One Plan covers many of the same areas as the new requirements, changes will be required to give effect to the new national direction. A revised Regional Policy Statement and Regional Plan needs to be in place by 2024,” Peet said.
“There is much to be done to deliver this package within the ambitious timeframes set. Where possible, resourcing required to support the initial stages of implementation is being sought from existing budgets, largely through re-prioritisation of other activities.”
Peet says the council plans to engage with its communities early next year, although staff have already begun to engage with iwi, primary sector representatives and other stakeholders who have a direct interest in the freshwater reforms.
“Another priority is working with landowners on the immediate requirements with regards to new NES-FW regulations such as stock exclusion, winter grazing, and feedlots being a priority.
He encouraged landowners to be proactive about understanding their obligations.
Greater Wellington Regional Council is urging farmers to familiarise themselves with the new provisions.
Wairarapa councillor Adrienne Staples says the council realises that it will take time for farmers to get to grips with the new rules but they should work with Greater Wellington’s resource and land management advisers to get a clear understanding of the new requirements and who their farms will be affected.
She says some controls on land use intensification, such as feedlots and stock water body access exclusion requirements for new farm operations, have already come into force while other controlling activities, such as stock holding and caps on synthetic nitrogen fertiliser, will start to kick in from next year.
ECan to review its freshwater plans
Environment Canterbury is analysing the new National Environmental Standards for Freshwater 2020 (NES-F) requirements against its current planning framework to determine the relationship between the new rules, and rules in its own freshwater plans.
Once this assessment has been completed, the regional council will be able to provide specific advice on the implications of the package, says Environment Canterbury (ECan) deputy chair Peter Scott.
“ECan is well-placed to adapt to the new requirements, particularly in terms of farm environment plans and stock exclusion where we already have rules and frameworks established,” Scott said.
However, he said with ECan’s regional planning framework covering many of the same areas as the new requirements, changes will be required to existing plans to give effect to the new national direction.
“Implementation of some of the harder things, such as slope, will be resource extensive and have we got the mandate to carry on with what we do have in our regional plans, of which we are a long way down the track with,” he said.
Scott said with the NES-F becoming consent compliant, an enforcement issue will pose challenges.
“We need more people with the skills and more resources to do this,” he said.
“Further analysis is needed before we can provide clarity on the extent of the changes that will be required.”
Otago face challenges over new water rules
Otago farmers face a more challenging transition than most to meet the new freshwater regulations.
THE Otago Regional Council (ORC) has operated on an effects-based system, which means farmers did not require resource consent, provided their activities do not exceed set levels.
Council regulatory manager Richard Saunders says that will now shift to a regulatory-based system, and the council is developing a consent application process that can be filed by farmers without the need for expert consultants.
“We are aiming to have a simple system which means less time our staff need to process it and therefore less cost,” he said.
Consent applications will cost a still to be determined fee but he says eventually farm environment plans will allow consents to be granted for multiple years.
“That process is not available yet, but over time farm environment plans are a better holistic tool to enable farmers to plan for activities such as intensive winter grazing without needing resource consents,” he said.
ORC is seeking clarification from the Ministry for the Environment (MfE) on aspects such as how to measure slope, and if there is flexibility with the November 1 winter crop replanting deadline, should farmers encounter issues beyond their control.
Environment Southland has the complicated task of matching the new freshwater regulations with its own Land and Water Plan, which is under appeal before the Environment Court.
The council’s policy and planning manager Lucy Hicks says the council is working through the implications of what she described as “a hugely complex package.”
The council is also seeking guidance from MfE on how to measure a slope, issues around pugging and the definition of a feedlot, which she says could include feed pads.
Farmers have been calling the council seeking advice on intensive winter grazing, stock holding areas and stock exclusion provisions.
The council expects to employ more staff but Hicks says just how many has not been determined.
“It’s fair to say there will be significant resource implications,” she said.
“It could require prioritising some things over others or seeking more resources.”
