ENVIRONMENT REGULATION
Existing national bottom lines for nitrate and ammonia toxicity attributes will be strengthened to protect 95% of species from toxic effects.
Balanced waterways policies, but details to come Words by: Keri Johnston
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ast year the Government released its “Action for Healthy Waterways” discussion document. It outlined the much-anticipated, proposed changes to our national freshwater management framework. The document resulted in more than 12,000 submissions being received for consideration by a Government appointed expert panel. The recommendations by the expert panel were approved by Cabinet and released at the end of May. They are essentially a suite of broad policies that are final, and so no further opportunity exists to have input on them. It would be fair to say that the overall result is a much more balanced, practical suite of changes but there is still a lot of detail to come, 68
as discussed later, and the odd quirk that wasn’t expected. The broad policies are as follows: • Councils will be able to maintain water quality attributes below the national bottom line to “secure the benefits” of the existing structures in the Waikato, Tongariro, Waitaki, Manapouri, and Clutha hydro schemes. • Limits and how they are to be expressed will be defined in planning documents. • Water quantity limits must be linked to ecosystem health outcomes. • Territorial authorities will be required to manage the effects of urban land development on freshwater bodies and coastal marine environments. • Clarification of what Te Mana o Te Wai means and how it is to be implemented, both nationally and regionally. • Councils will be required to involve
tangata whenua actively in council processes for policy and plan development and decision making. • Regional council policies and plans must include mahinga kai as a value. • Amendments ensure that regional authorities manage all aspects of ecosystem health, not just water quality and quantity. • New attributes with national bottom lines: - Macroinvertebrates - Submerged plants in lakes - Dissolved oxygen - Suspended sediment - Deposited sediment - E. coli at swimming sites during the bathing season. • New attributes without national bottom lines: - Fish species Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | July 2020
