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Central Government Requirements Force Freshwater Monitoring Charges
The Government’s bid to improve freshwater quality will result in new monitoring charges for permitted activities locally but the Council has done its best to be fair, equitable and transparent.
Last Thursday the full Council adopted the recommendation of the hearing panel which will see new permitted activity monitoring charges introduced from 1 July 2021 to implement the National Environmental Standards (NES) for Freshwater Activities.
This will affect a variety of property owners throughout Marlborough. Further information is available in the regulations or on the Council website under National Environment Standards for Freshwater information.
“In setting these fees, the Council has tried to be fair, equitable and transparent – this is the real cost of the Council carrying out its duties as a regulatory body to administer the NESFreshwater Activities which came into effect in September last year,” said hearing panel chair, Councillor Gerald Hope.
“We understand the pressure on the rural sector at this time. That said, the Council has to be careful not to burden the ratepayer with more cost and so we considered it appropriate that the full costs this monitoring incurs are charged to the affected individual rather than some of the cost being apportioned to the general ratepayer,” said Clr Hope.
Charges and fees have been approved for a number of activities which include an administration and notification set charge of $36.52 + GST. Sampling, and contracting of consultants, will be charged at the actual cost to the Council. An hourly rate for an Environmental Protection Officer of $134.78 + GST has also now been confirmed.
As these charges are new, the administration/notification fee and the hourly rate for an Environmental Protection Officer will be reviewed at the end of the financial year in 2022 to determine that it is a fair and reasonable charge.
The sampling and hourly charges for an Environmental Protection Officer will only be incurred in the event that site monitoring for permitted activities under the NES-Freshwater Regulations is required or non-compliance has been identified as a result of a complaint.
“If you are compliant or are not subject to a complaint, these additional charges will not apply to you,” said Clr Hope.
“The reality too though is that these new regulations do have an impact on our land-based environmental programmes and how we need to administer the monitoring fees.”
“Our sole purpose for charging is to recover reasonable costs incurred by the Council in respect of the activity to which the charge relates,” he said.
A special consultative process was undertaken earlier this year which provided an opportunity for the public to have their say on the proposed monitoring charges. Twenty three submissions were received and 10 submitters spoke to the hearing panel consisting of Clr Hope and Councillors Barbara Faulls and David Croad.
The new charges are as follows:
| NES Freshwater Activities – Administration, Monitoring and Supervision | Charge Type | Charge $(excl. GST) |
|---|---|---|
| Administration/Notification fee | Fixed Annual or One off/Notification fee | $36.52 |
| Sampling including the contracting of Consultant | Variable | Actual |
| Environmental Protection Officer | Per Hour | $134.78 |
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