Answer ... (a) Air
The National Environmental Standards for Air Quality 2004 are a core set of regulations comprising interrelated standards. The standards:
- ban activities which discharge specific contaminants to the air;
- set standards for ambient air quality;
- require wood-burning devices to be of a certain design; and
- require large landfills to collect greenhouse gases.
Local authorities are responsible for monitoring and planning for air quality under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA).
National direction is also currently being developed to adopt the recent amendments to the RMA requiring local authorities to consider the effects of greenhouse gases. Whether these regulations will be set as national policy or constituent standards, or both, is yet to be confirmed; but the intent is to assist local authorities when making decisions about planning for and consenting to air discharge permits. The proposed national direction aims to set nationally consistent rules to phase out carbon-fuelled processes.
(b) Soil
National direction is currently being developed for the management of highly productive land and soil quality under the RMA. The Ministry for Primary Industries is leading the development of this scheme with support from the Ministry for the Environment. The purpose of the proposed regulations is to provide national direction and standards. It is anticipated that the standards will:
- direct local authorities in how they consider the use of highly productive land within an area suitable for primary production; and
- protect such land from inappropriate use, development or subdivision.
National Environmental Standards for Storing Tyres Outdoors were recently passed and took effect on 20 August 2020. The purpose of these standards is to manage the adverse effects of storing large quantities of used tyres outside. All local and regional plans will need to be updated to be consistent with the new standards.
(c) Fresh water
Freshwater is protected by the RMA and national direction, being the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 (NPSFM). The NPSFM requires that freshwater be managed in a way that gives effect to Te Mana o te Wai, which is Te Ao Māori or a view that encompasses the Maori world. Te Mana o te Wai prioritises the health and wellbeing of water bodies before all other needs, including the essential drinking needs of people. If Te Mana o te Wai is effectively implemented in decision making, then freshwater may be used for those other requirements to the extent that its quality is sustained. The NPSFM also aims to improve degraded waterbodies and maintain all others using environment bottom lines, which limit the ability to use freshwater beyond the criteria defined in the NPSFM.
The National Environmental Standards for Freshwater 2020 (NES-F) also implement the NPSFM by setting requirements for carrying out certain activities that pose risks to freshwater environments. Everyone must comply with the standards. All lower-order planning documents, such as regional or local plans, must be consistent with the NES-F.
(d) Sea water
The New Zealand Costal Policy Statement 2010 (NZCPS) is the only compulsory national policy statement under the RMA, which requires that an NZCPS be in effect at all times. The Department of Conservation is the leading agency responsible for managing and implementing the NZCPS with support from the Ministry for the Environment. Local authorities must ensure their planning instruments implement to NZCPS.
The NZCPS applies to all coastal environments, being the coastal marine area and islands within that area; and extends to landward areas, such as intertidal areas, estuaries, coastal wetlands, dunes and land at risk from coastal hazards. The NZCPS also applies to coastal vegetation and the habitats of indigenous coastal species and migratory birds. One of the NZCPS’s policies is to adopt a precautionary approach if the effects of an application are uncertain, unknown or little understood, but could be significantly adverse. This policy has resulted in the decline of applications for coastal permits, including where the coastal environment was vulnerable to climate change.
Aquaculture is a significant component of New Zealand’s primary industries and is regulated by the National Environmental Standards for Marine Aquaculture 2020 (NES-MA) and regional coastal plans. The NES-MA are a set of national standards which replace regional rules for existing marine farms. The standards aim to ensure that existing operations meet environmental best practice and protect the environment when determining replacement permits. Proposals for new marine activities are not governed by the NES-MA; the applicable regional coastal plan will apply to such applications instead.
The Economic Exclusive Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Act 2012 (the EEZ Act) was enacted to promote the sustainable management of natural resources in the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf around New Zealand. The purpose of the EEZ Act is to promote the sustainable management of natural resources in the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf as well as protect this area from pollution and marine dumping.
The EEZ applies to the area of ocean extending between 12 and 200 nautical miles from the shore of New Zealand including the seabed and subsoil in this zone. The EEZ Act also covers the continental shelf of New Zealand out to the continental margin, except for the first 12 nautical miles from shore, as this coastal marine area is covered by the RMA (see above).
The Ministry for the Environment administers the EEZ Act. However, the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) is responsible for the day-to-day management and operation of the EEZ Act. This includes duties such as monitoring, enforcement and making decisions on marine consent applications for activities regulated by the EEZ Act.
Where activities will be situated on both sides of the 12 nautical mile boundary, the EEZ Act provides for a joint decision-making procedure so that the EPA and Regional Councils can determine the application under the RMA and the EEZ Act as they apply to each area.