Hon Todd McClay
Minister of Agriculture

Clarifications to discharge consenting provisions in the Resource Management Act will provide certainty for agricultural and horticultural producers, making sure councils continue to manage discharge consents in a practical way, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today.

“Recent High Court decisions on sections 70 and 107 of the Resource Management Act (RMA) threaten to make the law unworkable by reducing councils’ ability to manage discharges from a range of activities,” Mr McClay says.

“This would restrict councils’ ability to issue, or re-issue, consent for discharges from activities by industry, farming, meat processing, as well as wastewater discharges.

“Cabinet this week agreed to make time critical amendments to section 107 of the RMA so that councils and consent applicants have legal clarity, and the certainty they need to plan ahead.

“This needs to be addressed urgently because a large number of consents could be declined or put on hold, which will cost councils, industry and many primary sector producers, and could mean activities such as large-scale irrigation schemes can’t operate.

“The court decisions could result in more discharges needing consents, more consent applications being declined, and consent conditions becoming more restrictive, reducing the ability to improve freshwater quality over time.

“Some discharges that previously could have received a consent may be unable to in future.

“The Government believes councils and local communities are best placed to determine the timeframes and methods for achieving those outcomes,” Mr McClay says.

Notes:

• The High Court decisions, from March and April this year, affect permitted rules for discharges under section 70 and discharge consents under section 107 of the RMA.
• The cases were: Federated Farmers Southland Incorporated v Southland Regional Council [2024] NZHC 726 [9 April 2024], and Environmental Law Initiative (ELI) v Canterbury Regional Council [2024] NZHC 612 [20 March 2024].
• The RMA requires a regional council to be satisfied that the discharge of a contaminant will not result in any significant adverse effects on aquatic life, among other matters, before it can permit (section 70), or issue a consent (section 107) for that discharge.
• Environment Canterbury estimates at least 525 consents will be impacted in Canterbury alone before mid-next year and this includes famers needing consent to continue operating and a global stormwater consent for Geraldine.

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