[16 Sept]

Draft Rules

In September 2013, the Regional Council adopted an integrated framework which included both rules, incentives and a gorse programmes to meet the sustainable nitrogen limit for the pastoral sector by 2032. These programmes work collaboratively to deliver a sustainable rural sector and a healthy lake as required in the Oturoa Agreement.

These rules are one component of the Integrated Framework and by themselves will deliver less than half the required reduction in Nitrogen. The process of developing rules has involved a range of consultation initiatives and this has helped refine the draft rule structure. We are still seeking feedback on these draft rules.

For example, In response to the feedback received in October 2014, significant changes were made to the proposed draft rules. This included reducing the number of properties the proposed draft rules applied to. Information on consultation undertaken to date can be found here: http://www.rotorualakes.co.nz/consultationupdate .

Protect Rotorua has the smallest membership or contact list of all the groups we are in consultation with. We welcome feedback on these draft rules.

Incentives Board

The Incentives Scheme is designed to operate up to 2022. This fund has been made available now, by the Crown and the Regional Council, to maintain a sustainable rural sector. It does not reward the largest polluters.

Lake Rotorua is one of the Deed Funded lakes where the Crown is contributing funding to the Lakes Programme. A total of $45.5 million has been made available to support land management and change associated with Nutrient Discharge Allowances (NDAs). Of this $40 million has been allocated by the funding partners (Council and Central Government) to be used to purchase nutrients from landowners wishing to reduce their losses of nitrogen below their NDA. The other $5.5 million is to provide advice and support to land owners. These two funding areas are referred to as:

1. Providing financial assistance above the line to assist pastoral farmers to meet their NDAs (up to $5.5 million); and

2. Incentivising land use change and land management change below the line to reduce the nitrogen discharge to the lake by 100t/year (up to $40 million)

The Rotorua Lakes Incentives Board is chaired by Judith Stanway. Mrs Stanway is the managing partner of BDO Rotorua Ltd, Chartered Accountants and Advisers, and sits on the boards of BDO New Zealand, Charities Commission and Scion. She has previously been chairwoman of Lakeland Health, deputy chairwoman of Te Puia and president of the Rotary Club, Rotary Sunrise, to name a few.

STAG

The Stake Holder Advisory Group (StAG) have not controlled the process to date. StAG was formed in September 2012 to provide input, advice and recommendations on the development of new rules and the incentives to help landowners meet them.
StAG is only one of the advisory groups used to give advice on how to improve water quality in Lake Rotorua. Their advice is also in addition to the wider consultation that has been undertaken within the Rotorua Community

a) The Stakeholder Advisory Group (StAG) membership includes:

• Lake Rotorua Primary Producers Collective

• Lakes Water Quality Society

• Te Tumu Paeroa Office of the Maori Trustee

• Forestry sector

• Te Arawa landowners

• Small block owners

• Bay of Plenty Regional Council

• Te Arawa Lakes Trust

• Rotorua Lakes Council

b) Land Technical Advisory Group to provide independent technical science & economic advice on land-based nutrient management solutions for water quality.

• Mr David Clark, Principal Scientist at Dairy NZ, awarded the Lincoln University Medal for contributions to the Dairy Industry.

• Dr Greg Lambert: Grazing Systems Scientist (ex AgResearch), awarded the NZ Grasslands Ray Brougham Trophy for hill country pasture research

• Dr David Houlbrooke: Soil Scientist (AgResearch) specialises in farm dairy effluent

• Mr Phil Journeaux: Joined AgFirst iin 2012 after 35 years with Ministry of Agriculture & Forestry, experienced in economic analyses.

• Dr Neels Botha: AgResearch, agricultural extension and innovation adoption

• Dr Tim Payne: Principal Scientist (sustainable forestry)& Research Leader (Economics, Ecosystems & Climate) at SCION

• Dr Suzie Greenhalgh: Senior Economist at Landcare Research

• Gina Mohi – Independent Hearings Commissioner

c) Water Technical Advisory Group - Established ten years ago to provide an informal forum of experts providing technical advice on lake science. This is comprised of representatives from:

• SCION

• GNS Science

• The University of Waikato

• National Institute of Water and Atmosphere

• Bay of Plenty Regional Council

• Te Arawa Lakes Trust

• Rotorua Lakes Council

d) In addition to these the Council funds a Chair in Lakes Management and Restoration (Prof David Hamilton) at the University of Waikato to ensure the Council is informed by independent scientific advances.

StAG Representation

StAG membership was defined by the members. For example there are currently 2 small block holder representatives and a deer farmer representative on StAG. Also, the Lake Rotorua Primary Producers Collective current membership includes 3 diary and 2 drystock farmers whereas the Māori Trustee representative is a drystock famer as is one of the Māori landowner representatives. Sharon Love is a member of StAG. Sharon’s email expresses her opinion of this advisory group. I have included Tanira Kingi (Chair of StAG), Gisele Schweizer (Rotorua Farmers Collective) and Graham West (Small Black Owners) on this response, should you be inclined to seek other opinions.

Benchmarking
Rules were introduced in 2005 which capped nutrient losses at their 2001-2004 levels. Known asRule 11, these rules set a discharge limit called a benchmark for properties in the Rotorua surface water catchment based on each property’s land use between 2001-2004.
Rule 11 didn’t reduce nitrogen levels to the lake, but stopped nitrogen inputs to lake increasing. When the new nitrogen limiting rules for the Rotorua catchment become operative, Rule 11 will no longer apply to this catchment.

Process

These draft rules have not been defined. An infographic showing the process and where we currently are in that process ( http://www.rotorualakes.co.nz/what_will_happen_next) clearly shows that there is still consultation occurring.

Overseer
OVERSEER is currently the only methodology acceptable to the Environment Court for use in regional plans in regulating nutrient losses.
- The alternative to using OVERSEER is to dictate limit inputs and nutrients going onto the farm. This is used in Europe and prevents any land innovation.
- The Council is proposing an adaptive rule model, to enable adjustments with technological or scientific advances.

There are other factual inaccuracies in the email you received this morning that other people may also wish to correct.
I am only responding to those inaccuracies relating to the Regional Council.

I have outlined further information below, and am readily available should you wish to discuss any of this further.

Kind regards,

Sue-Ellen

Further information:

The Rotorua Te Arawa Lakes Program is a joint partnership between Rotorua Lakes Council, Te Arawa Lakes Trust and Bay of Plenty Regional Council with funding provided by Ministry of the Environment.

Why is a reduction in Nitrogen required?

• In 2008 the Resource Management Act, National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management and the Regional Policy Statement set legislation on water quality to protect and enhance the Lakes of Rotorua.

• This legislation shaped the The Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s Regional Land and Water Plan (2012) which defined that the desired water quality in Lake Rotorua would be achieved by reducing Nitrogen loss by 320T.

• All research reports and papers outlining the options considered in this development of this legislation are available on www.boprc.govt.nz

How will this reduction be achieved?

• Over half the required reduction in Nitrogen will be delivered through voluntary initiatives.

• There are four distinct components (referred to as the ‘integrated framework’) to deliver the 320t reduction in nitrogen entering Lake Rotorua. These are:

1. 50T will be achieved through engineering initiatives undertaken through the RTALP (P-locking, Ohau Wall and Zeolite/Tikitere trials)

2. 100T achieved through voluntary land use change. A funding pool of $40m has been provided for this purpose and the Incentives Board was established in 2014 to manage the distribution of these funds.

3. 30T achieved through the voluntary removal of Gorse within the Rotorua catchment. In 2014 the Gorse Conversion Project was established to fund the conversion of mature gorse to production forestry, native bush or other low nitrogen leaching activities.

4. 140T achieved through implementing land use rules on properties within the catchment of a size where land use change was feasible. This is the proposed draft rules.

Were alternatives to these proposed draft rules considered?

Alternatives to land-use rules were investigated. These were:

• Implementing additional land use taxes

• Increasing rates

• Purchasing nitrogen

After thorough investigation, implementing rules was determined to be the most appropriate approach as it would deliver the remaining reduction in nitrogen required, with less impact on fewer people than any other alternative.

Eight different approaches were independently evaluated before BOPRC voluntarily took the proposal (in its draft form) out to the community for feedback in 2014. In response to the feedback received at that time, significant changes were made to the proposed draft rules.

OVERSEER
OVERSEER is jointly owned by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), the Fertiliser Association of NZ and AgResearch Limited.
It was not originally intended to be used as a regulatory tool, but now that it has become one it has been given a recent funding boost to enable it to be revamped and work accordingly.

Consultation and timing
(from Council Press Release issued 7 August 2015):
Bay of Plenty Regional Council Chairman Doug Leeder said that over the last two and a half years they have been listening and consulting with the Rotorua community on ways to achieve a reduction in nutrient discharges into Lake Rotorua, and the form of rules “to achieve a clean lake that we can all be proud of”.

“It is important for council to continue to listen and engage with all small block owners within the Rotorua catchment as we recognize their divergent views. We will continue to give consideration to this feedback before public notification of the proposed draft land use rules”.

Small block owners have had a number of representatives involved in this process to date, and the Council will now broaden these conversations to enable all small block owners to discuss these draft rules.

He also said that council has invested in this collaboration and consultation process “as we are funded by ratepayers we would like to avoid diverting any funds to finance potentially unnecessary legal bills”. Timing for public notification has not been set.

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