 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||
Resource Management
The Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) promotes the sustainable management of natural and physical resources. The Ministry for the Environment is responsible for administering the RMA and ensuring that it is implemented effectively.
Plans
Under the RMA, councils have to prepare plans to manage the environment in their area. Regional policy statements set the basic direction for environmental management in the region. Regional plans tend to concentrate on particular parts of the environment like the coast, a river or air; and district plans set out the policies and rules that a council will use to manage the use of land in its area.
When central government wants to give local councils some direction on environmental issues, it can issue national policy statements or set environmental standards.
Resource consents
You need to apply for a resource consent if the RMA or a council plan requires it.
When you apply for a resource consent you must give the council an assessment of the environmental effects your project might have. Councils can process a consent with or without the public being involved. Proposals that might have an effect on the environment that is ‘more than minor’ (about five percent of resource consent applications) are generally publicly notified. If the council considers the effects of your proposal are minor, it may invite only affected parties to make a submission and participate in any hearing.
The council considers the environmental effects of the application, any submissions it receives, and any relevant policy statements and plans, and makes a decision on whether or not to grant a resource consent and what, if any, conditions to impose. If you don’t like the council’s decision, you can ask the Environment Court to overturn it. The Court is made up of judges and commissioners and it reviews the case.
National environmental standards
The Ministry for the Environment is developing a package of national environmental standards that will apply across New Zealand.
The Ministry proposes that the first suite of national standards comes into effect in September 2004. These standards are designed to improve air quality and how we manage landfill gas.
National environmental standards will:
- create a level playing field for industry
- provide consistency and certainty in decision-making
- provide a minimum level of protection for human health and for the environment.
The Taranaki Regional Council facilitates meetings and undertakes consultation
with Māori as part of resource consent.
If you have any specific queries about the RMA your local council
should be able to help you.
The Ministry for the Environment can also be of assistance.The
Ministry’s website – www.mfe.govt.nz – has
information on the RMA and other environmental issues, as well as publications
that you can download or order. You can also refer to www.qualityplanning.org.nz