Progress continues on freshwater management

Further protection and enhancement of Taranaki waterways is taking place and will continue to take place as the Taranaki Regional Council continually adapts and refines its approach to freshwater management.

The Council is making good progress in its existing programmes, policies, strategies and rules to pursue its objectives, which include a regional switch to land-based treatment and disposal of dairy effluent, and completion of Taranaki’s Riparian Management Programme. A new Regional Freshwater and Land Management Plan for Taranaki, however, is still a number of years away.

In the meantime, the existing Freshwater Plan for Taranaki remains in force, and it gives the Council scope to make adjustments to its freshwater management regime to change the way things are done in line with a direction of travel that the Council has clearly signalled to the community.

The effectiveness of the current Plan is borne out in the Council’s five-year State of the Environment Report published in July, which reported that trends in both the ecological health and the physical and chemical state of the region’s waterways are the best ever recorded.

What is happening with the review of the Freshwater and Land Management Plan?

The Council’s Policy and Planning Committee today approved a revised timeline for its review of its current Fresh Water and Soil Plans, which are being merged into a Regional Freshwater and Land Management Plan for Taranaki. A Proposed Plan will go out for public consultation as soon as reasonably possible but within five years.

The Committee also formally adopted an implementation programme for new requirements under the Government’s latest National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management.

The Council is doing this now because it has a statutory obligation to inform the Government and the community by the end of the year of its progress in reviewing the plan, and in implementing the National Policy Statement requirements.

Why has the timeline been revised?

There has already been widespread targeted consultation as part of the Plan review, and the revised timeline allows an opportunity for further consultation and work on issues already identified to date. Several parties have requested more discussion.

It also allows time to factor in the Government’s recent freshwater management reforms, further changes yet to be announced, and reform of the Resource Management Act and other legislation announced today by the Minister for the Environment, Hon Nick Smith. Today’s announcements include:

• Changes to the way such Plans are made, including the introduction of collaborative planning processes, aimed at speeding up the process.
• Changes and simplifications to the consenting process and doing away with the need for consents in some instances.
• National regulations on stock exclusion from waterways.

The Council has a duty to produce the best possible Plan for Taranaki, and it would not be prudent to rush into a new one when the legislative framework is still undergoing major changes. In particular, the reforms of the plan-making process and the stock exclusion measures announced today will potentially have a major impact on the Taranaki Plan.

Will Taranaki still get the changes it needs for progress to be made?

Definitely. The Council’s objectives, business and work with resource users are still being progressed. The direction of travel is clear and widely accepted.

Good progress is being made on a number of objectives, including:

• Farm dairy effluent treatment and disposal: There is already a marked swing towards land-based treatment and disposal of dairy effluent, and away from the discharge of treated effluent into waterways. Land-based systems are regarded as best practice and the Council’s existing rules allow it to require consent holders to follow best practice. There is strong industry support for land-based systems, and farmers have been delivered a clear message that it is the way of the future.

• Riparian (streamside) fencing and planting: The Council’s Riparian Management Programme has achieved widespread buy-in from the farming community and is being implemented in a substantial way. Last year, 378,000 native plants were supplied under the programme, taking the total to 3.9 million since the scheme began. The Council is confident that this massive, transformative project will be largely completed by the end of the decade, with or without Council regulation. This is particularly so given that it aligns with industry requirements, and with proposed legislation outlined by the Government today.

• Protection and enhancement of native biodiversity: The Council is committed to this work and has increased the resourcing for its Biodiversity Strategy. It works closely with landowners in successful protection and enhancement programmes targeting key native ecosystems. Working alongside landowners is the key to success with biodiversity on private land.

Basil Chamberlain
Chief Executive
Taranaki Regional Council

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