Urgent updates to regulations relating to discharge in the Resource Management Act will be welcomed by councils, industry and primary producers around the country.
DairyNZ, B+LNZ and Federated Farmers jointly wrote to the Government in April to outline the severe consequences of High Court decisions relating to sections 70 and 107 of the RMA, and included these concerns in a formal submission in June.
“A few stomping feet were about to set off an avalanche of red tape that would have effectively prohibited agriculture and horticulture in New Zealand,” DairyNZ director and Canterbury farmer Cameron Henderson said.
“The change in interpretation of the law threatened to create regulatory roadblocks that no farm or farmer could pass through.
“We strongly believe this was never the intent of the law, given permitted activities and consents come with requirements to manage risks to the environment.
“This isn’t a free pass. Farmers still need to meet national and regional regulations. These amendments simply provide clarity that the regulatory pathways regional councils have spent years and millions of dollars developing will prevail.
“Without these amendments, pastoral farming in Southland, horticultural production in Pukekohe and Horowhenua, and discharges of wastewater and stormwater by a council would have faced impossible regulatory barriers.
“This is why DairyNZ worked with multiple industry organisations to find a solution, including B+LNZ, Federated Farmers, Horticulture NZ and Irrigation NZ.
“This issue has been sparked by the implementation of national freshwater regulations, which were impractical due to a lack of consideration of regional variations, unrealistic national bottom lines, and a focus on numerical limits rather than environmental outcomes.
“For example, B+LNZ’s independent review recently showed that current minimum sediment and E coli water quality standards would be impossible to meet for many catchments, even if all agriculture were removed.
“This issue had become urgent and warranted immediate attention, and we appreciate the Government moving swiftly to ensure diffuse discharges are managed in a practical way.
“We will continue working with the Government to advise on practical and enduring policy, while making progress on healthy waterways with 80% of dairy farmers now managing a Freshwater Farm Plan,” Cameron Henderson says.
Media contact
Kelly Spring
Corporate Communications and Media Manager
p: 027 548 9741
e: kelly.spring@dairynz.co.nz