NZ Impact Assessment Legislation and Guidelines Flashcards
What does section 2 of the RMA define environment as?
Environment includes
- ecosystems and their constituent parts, including people and communities
-all natural and physical resources
- amenity values
- The social, economic, aesthetic and cultural conditions which effect the matters stated above.
What does section 3 of the RMA define effect as?
- any positive, adverse, temporary, permanent, past, present, future, or cumulative effect. Any potential effect with high probability or low probability which has a high potential impact.
Key sections in the resource management act
section 6: matters of national importance
section 7: other matters
section 8: treaty of waitangi
sections 9-17: resource consents
section 30: functions of councils under this act
Role of local councils
local councils are required to manage the natural and physical resources in their area/region. This is achieved by preparing district or regional plans. New Zealand has 11 regional councils, 61 city or district councils, and six unitary councils.
Regional, district and unitary plans
- set the objectives, policies, and rules that encourage
or deter activities, depending on whether they
might harm the environment - specify what types of activities can take place as of
right, and those that need a resource consent.
Regional Plan
is created by a regional council and concerns
issues that affect the coast, air, water or land
District Plan
district plan is created by a city or district council and concerns the management of land use and subdivision in a city or district
Unitary Plan
is created by a unitary council, which has combined
city or district council and regional council functions
what is a resource consent?
A resource consent is permission from the local council for an activity that might affect the environment, and that isn’t allowed ‘as of right’ in the district or regional plan
What are the 5 types of resource consent
land use consent, subdivision consent, coastal permit, water permit, discharge permit
Resource consents and types of public involvement
publicly notified, limited notified, non-notified
Resource consents - Publicly notified
– This is generally when the council assesses if a proposal will have, or is likely to have adverse effects on the environment that are more than minor.
– The council publishes its notice of proposal on the internet, and a summary in a newspaper available in the area likely to be affected.
– Anybody can make a submission on the proposal.
– Submitters can be for or against an activity, or be neutral but wanting to provide additional information. They can ask to be heard in support of their submission. Publicly notified applications usually involve a public hearing.
Resource consents - Limited notified
– If a council does not publicly notify an application, it must still decide if there are people who will be adversely affected by the activity to a degree that is at least ‘minor’, known as affected persons.
– The council must notify them of the application unless a rule in a district/regional plan or national environmental standard prevents this. Only those people will be served notice and can make a submission on the application.
Resource consents - Non notified
– The council may decide that the general public need not be involved if the adverse effects on the environment are no more than minor and there are no adversely affected persons
– Consent applications may also be non-notified if the applicant has consulted with any potentially affected persons before application, and received their written
approval.
- not a large amount of impact on other parties
6 levels of resource consents
- permitted
- controlled
-discretionary/unrestricted discretionary
-restricted discretionary/ limited discretionary - non-complying
- prohibited
Permitted resource consent
permitted activities are allowed ‘as of right’ subject to complying with any conditions set out in the plan. A permitted activity is the only category that does not require you to apply for resource consent.
Controlled resource consent
a council must grant consent if you apply for a controlled activity unless it has insufficient information to determine whether or not the activity is a controlled activity. The council may grant consent subject to conditions that must be complied with. These conditions may only be imposed when they relate to matters specified in the plan.
discretionary/unrestricted discretionary resource consent
a council can grant or decline an application for a
discretionary activity. If granted, it can impose conditions in relation to any matter that helps to
control any of the activity’s potential adverse effects.
restricted discretionary/ limited discretionary resource consent
a council may grant or decline consent for a
restricted discretionary activity. If granted, conditions may only relate to matters specified in the
plan
Non-complying resource consent
council can only grant an application for a non-complying activity if its adverse effects are minor, or if it is consistent with the plan’s objectives and policies. If it grants consent, the council can impose conditions in relation to any matter that helps to control the activity’s potential adverse effects
Prohibited resource consent
you cannot apply for resource consent for a prohibited activity.
Stages of applying for resource consent
- preparing your application
- Lodging your application (council considers it)
- The decision
What will the decision from council outline (grant/refuse)
- reason for decision
- conditions for carrying out certain activities (if granted)
- any monitoring required (in addition to that already outlined), and who undertakes that
- expiry date of resource consent (if present)
controlled activities and resource consent decision
For controlled activities, councils must grant these applications, with a few exceptions. Even so, the council usually puts some conditions on the consent.
Council may also check to see you are following resource consent, including site visits.
