Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf
(Environmental Effects) Act 2012
Making a marine consent application
June 2013
2
Making a marine consent application
Table of Contents
Purpose................................................................................................................................................... 3
What is a marine consent? ................................................................................................................... 3
Making an application ........................................................................................................................... 3
Content of your application .................................................................................................................. 3
Supporting information ......................................................................................................................... 4
Conditions ........................................................................................................................... 4
Environmental Management Plans (EMP) .......................................................................... 4
Economic benefits ............................................................................................................... 5
The process for making an application ............................................................................................... 5
Contact with the EPA prior to lodging an application (pre-lodgement) ......................................... 5
Lodging your application ............................................................................................................... 6
How long does processing a marine consent take?...................................................................... 6
When is an application complete? ................................................................................................. 7
What happens if we need more information? ................................................................................ 7
Requesting advice ......................................................................................................................... 8
Notifying your application .............................................................................................................. 8
What happens if your application receives a submission? ........................................................... 9
When is a hearing required? ......................................................................................................... 9
Before a hearing ............................................................................................................................ 9
At the hearing .............................................................................................................................. 10
The decision on your application ...................................................................................................... 10
Who makes the decision? ........................................................................................................... 10
What happens next?.................................................................................................................... 10
Reviewing your consent ..................................................................................................................... 10
Major marine consent review ...................................................................................................... 10
Minor marine consent review ...................................................................................................... 11
Applications and charges ................................................................................................................... 11
Where can I get more information? ................................................................................................... 12
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Making a marine consent application
Purpose
1.
The purpose of this document is to provide you with information to assist you to make an application
for a marine consent; including the content of your application and the processes we will follow in
receiving and determining your application.
2.
This document should be read in conjunction with the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf
(Environmental Effects) Act 2012 (the EEZ Act), our guide Approach to Impact Assessment, our Cost
Recovery Policy and any other guidance documents. The tables in Appendices One and Two provide
more detail for you about the various stages of the marine consent process.
What is a marine consent?
3.
A marine consent is permission from the EPA to undertake an activity that would otherwise be
restricted by section 20 of the EEZ Act.
4.
The EEZ Act identifies three classes of offshore activities; permitted, discretionary or prohibited.
5.
Permitted activities are classified in the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf
(Environmental Effects – Permitted Activities) Regulations 2013. Operators will be allowed to carry out
these activities without a marine consent, provided they meet the conditions outlined in the
regulations.
6.
There are currently no prohibited activities. This means that you will require marine consent for any
activity that is not classified as a permitted activity.
Making an application
7.
8.
The marine consent process is outlined in subpart 2, of part 3 of the Act. There are two aspects:
i.
The content of your application, and
ii.
The process for making your application.
An exception to this process is where an application is ‘cross boundary’: i.e. the activity will take place in
both the EEZ and the coastal marine area (12NM or closer to the shoreline), requiring both a marine
consent and a resource consent under the RMA. Subpart 3, of part 3 of the Act, outlines the options for
considering the consents separately, together as a joint application or through the Resource
Management Act 1991 Proposals of National Significance board of inquiry process.
Content of your application
9. In order to be accepted for processing your application must:
iii.
Be made using the EPA’s marine consent application form, and
iv.
Fully describe the proposal, and
v.
Include an impact assessment prepared in accordance with section 39 of the EEZ Act.
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10. You can download marine consent application forms from
http://www.epa.govt.nz/EEZ/working_eez/Pages/making_marine_consent_application.aspx
11. Section 39 of the EEZ Act covers what you should include in your impact assessment. Find additional
guidance for the preparation of best practice Impact Assessments for applicants at
http://www.epa.govt.nz/EEZ/working_eez/Pages/making_marine_consent_application.aspx
Supporting information
12. When preparing your application, you must provide us with sufficient information to enable decisionmakers to consider the application against sections 59 and 60 of the EEZ Act. These sections outline
the criteria that will be considered by decision-makers in making their decision. Your impact assessment
provides some of this information; you should consider providing additional supporting documentation,
such as an evaluation of the economic benefits of allowing the application or whether your proposal
would result in efficient use and development of natural resources.
Conditions
13. If granted, marine consents will impose conditions, which may require you to monitor and report on your
consent and the effects of your activity.
14. The EEZ decision-makers can impose any conditions they consider are appropriate to deal with the
adverse effects of an activity on the environment or existing interests. Decision-makers can also
impose conditions to secure an adaptive management approach into a marine consent.
15. Include draft conditions with your application which demonstrate how your proposed mitigation can be
secured. Mitigation conditions should be outcome-based.
16. Adaptive management approaches may be part of your mitigation. An adaptive management approach
may allow an activity to commence on a smaller scale or for a shorter period than originally requested,
while effects on the environment or existing interests are monitored. Adaptive management could
include conditions requiring an activity to start in stages, with a requirement for regular monitoring and
reporting before the next stage can start. A stage could refer to the duration of the consent, the area
over which the consent is granted, the scale, intensity or nature of the activity.
Environmental Management Plans (EMP)
17. An EMP is an environmental management tool to ensure that mitigation identified in your Impact
Assessment is implemented throughout the stages of your development life-cycle if consent is granted.
18. EMPs offer an excellent means of achieving mitigation for a proposed development. They also form an
integral part of an adaptive management approach. The objectives of an EMP approach include:
 Ensuring compliance with our regulatory requirements and guidelines;
 Verifying environmental performance through information about impacts as they occur;
 Responding to changes in implementation not considered in your Impact Assessment;
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Making a marine consent application
 Responding to unforeseen events; and
 Providing feedback for continual improvement in environmental performance.
19. We recommend that you adopt an EMP approach as a tool for managing effects from your
development. Your EMP should include:
a) Descriptions of relevant environmental performance objectives and standards
b) Descriptions of the relevant activity performance standards you propose to adopt to ensure that
mitigation measures identified in your Impact Assessment are undertaken to the level required to
mitigate to the residual level of effects
c) Descriptions of the systems, practices and procedures you would adopt to monitor objectives and
standards, and how you would manage within them
d) Procedures for regularly assessing the risks (to achievement of objectives and standards) and how
you would adjust your activity if these risks increase.
Economic benefits
20. Your application should discuss the range of potential economic benefits that may arise from your
proposal. We encourage you to take a wide view of economic benefits, for example including regional
and community level economic benefits as well as national and Crown economic benefits. You should
outline the assumptions and choices you’ve made to underpin the economic benefits you’ve identified.
You might consider presenting this information in terms of scenarios.
21. You should provide information to enable the decision-makers to understand the economic benefits that:

have occurred,

are likely to occur (i.e. where there are contracts in place or negotiations underway), and

may occur (i.e. are planned).
The process for making an application
Contact with the EPA prior to lodging an application (pre-lodgement)
22. The formal marine consent process starts when we receive an application. However, we strongly
encourage applicants to engage with us prior to making an application. The purpose of this
engagement is to inform and assist potential applicants with procedural and technical matters. It also
enables us to identify in advance any further information that might be required to understand what is
proposed and what the impacts are likely to be.
23. It is an opportunity, through informal dialogue, for you to understand the consent application processes
relevant to your activity. This pre lodgement process may lead to a more timely and effective process
once the application is lodged.
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24. We will cost recover for pre-lodgement discussions. We will also provide you with a budget estimate of
the processing costs at this point. This will include any pre-lodgement discussions and processes,
commissioning of any required external experts, processing the application, preparing advice for the
decision-makers, and the hearing and consideration. We will also confirm the contact details of the
team processing your application.
25. You can help reduce the cost of your application and avoid processing delays if you:
i.
Consult with existing interests who may be affected by your proposal. We can assist you to
identify existing interests
ii.
Fill the application forms in fully and include all the required supporting information
iii.
Include evidence to support the conclusions /assertions / in your application
iv.
Provide any additional information quickly and with the required detail
26. We have developed a policy for iwi engagement and guidelines to assist applicants to effectively
engage, available http://www.epa.govt.nz/EEZ/working_eez/Pages/engaging_with_maori.aspx.
Advice is also available from Kaupapa Kura Taiao – the Maori Policy and Operations Unit at the
EPA.
Lodging your application
27. You can lodge your application with the EPA in person, via email or by post at our head office in
Wellington. Our contact details are:
Environmental Protection Authority
Level 10, 215 Lambton Quay
Private Bag 63002, Waterloo Quay
Wellington 6140, New Zealand
eez.info@epa.govt.nz
28. We require at least eight hard copies and an electronic copy of your application, in order to provide us
with sufficient copies for the EEZ decision-maker, any external advisors and for the public notification
and submission process. Failure to provide the required number of hard copies may cause delays in
consideration of your application. We encourage you to discuss the requirement for multiple copies of
your application with us during pre-lodgement.
29. If lodging via email the EPA has a 10MB limit for files. As your application documents will be posted on
our website, please separate large documents into smaller files of no more than 10MB each.
How long does processing a marine consent take?
30. The EEZ Act specifies the time allowed to process your application. Notified applications are expected
to take around 140 working days. Figure One at the end of this document outlines the statutory
timeframes for each processing stage. We can extend the timeframes if needed, or put your application
on hold if, for example we need to request further information.
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When is an application complete?
31. Once you’ve lodged your application, we’ll check it to make sure it’s complete and return it within 10
working days of receipt if it is not, with an explanation of the reasons why. In order to be considered
complete, an application must:

Be made using the EPA’s marine consent application form, and

Fully describe the proposal, and

Include an impact assessment prepared in accordance with the requirements of section 39 of the
EEZ Act.
32. Your application will be accepted as complete if it meets the requirements of section 39 in terms of
content and it has sufficient information provided in addition to the impact assessment to enable the
public and the decision-makers to understand the nature of your proposal and its predicted effects.
33. If your application is not complete we will reject it and provide you with written reasons for why it was
rejected. If you wish to obtain a marine consent, you will need to resubmit your application with the
required information. The statutory timeframe for processing your application will start again. You can
object to the decision to reject an application as incomplete.
34. Once we’ve accepted your application, we’ll write to you to confirm this. If you didn’t talk to us in the
pre-lodgement stage, we will also provide you with a budget estimate of the processing costs at this
point. We will confirm the contact details of the team processing your application. We may seek advice
from other government departments or external advisors, as allowed by section 44 of the EEZ Act, to
assist with evaluating application completeness.
35. Even though an application is accepted as complete, the EPA may request further information during
consideration of the application.
What happens if we need more information?
36. We may need more information about your proposal so we can better understand the effects of your
activity on the environment or existing interests. When seeking further information, we must ask for this
in writing. We could ask for further information at any reasonable time before a hearing or, if there is no
hearing, before a decision is made.
37. We have to set out the reasons why we are requesting further information and upon receipt, we must
provide the information to any submitters.
38. When you receive a request for further information, you have five (5) working days 1 to either:
i.
Provide the information.
ii.
Write and tell us you’ll provide the information, in which case we’ll set a timeframe for its receipt
and write and let you know this.
1
Working days means Monday – Friday, excluding any public holidays and the period from 25 December to 2 January each year.
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iii.
Write and tell us you won’t be providing the information. We will continue processing your
application; however, your application may be declined on the basis of insufficient information.
39. Processing of your application will be delayed whilst we wait for your response.
Requesting advice
40. We may request advice or commission reviews to assist us with determining whether an application is
complete, or to provide expert advice during consideration of your application. We will tell you in writing
that we intend to commission a review or report, or that we intend to seek advice. We will also tell you
our reasons for doing this.
41. You can object to our decision to commission a review or report, or seek advice. Find guidance about
making an objection - http://www.epa.govt.nz/EEZ/about_eez/Pages/making_objections.aspx
42. We will notify you and all submitters once we receive any reports, review or advice and you will be able
to view this information.
43. We can request reports, reviews or advice at any time during processing of your application until the
start of a hearing, or if there is no hearing, before a decision is made on your application.
Notifying your application
44. The process of publicly notifying your application means that anyone can make a submission either
supporting or opposing it. The EPA has 10 working days from accepting the application as complete to
notify the application. All submitters have 20 working days from the notification date to make a
submission.
45. When we publicly notify an application we will:
i.
Publish a notice in the public notices section of the main daily papers in Wellington, Auckland,
Christchurch and Dunedin, and in a daily paper in the region adjacent to the area related to the
marine consent application
ii.
Publish the application on our website at
http://www.epa.govt.nz/EEZ/having_your_say/Pages/where_to_find_applications.aspx
iii.
Serve a copy of the application on the following parties:
a. Ministers with responsibilities that may be affected by the activity for which consent is sought
b. Maritime New Zealand
c.
Iwi authorities the EPA considers may be affected by the application
d. Customary marine title groups the EPA considers may be affected by the application
e. Protected customary rights groups the EPA considers may be affected by the application
f.
Other persons with existing interests the EPA considers may be affected by the application
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g. Regional councils whose regions may be affected by the application.
46. Timeframes can be extended in special circumstances. Generally applications are processed in the
timeframes outlined in the EEZ Act. We have an obligation to deal with applications as promptly as is
reasonable in the circumstances.
What happens if your application receives a submission?
47. After the submission period closes, we’ll send you a list of all the submissions we received. Submitters
should send you a copy of their submission directly at the same time or closely after sending it to the
EPA.
48. Submitters are required to state whether they support or oppose your application and what conditions, if
any, they would like to see on a marine consent if it is granted. They must also indicate whether they’d
like to be heard at a hearing.
49. We encourage applicants and submitters to talk to each other about how concerns could be addressed.
We may arrange for a pre-hearing meeting, or direct the applicant and submitters to attend mediation
about particular issues.
50. Submitters may commission experts to prepare information on their behalf. These experts may also be
involved in pre-hearing meetings or mediation.
When is a hearing required?
51. A hearing takes place if the applicant or one or more submitters asks to be heard, or if the EPA thinks
it’s necessary or desirable to hold a hearing. A hearing must take place within 40 working days after
the submission period closes unless the time limit has been extended.
52. The EPA will decide the location for any hearing.
Before a hearing
53. We will give you and all submitters wishing to be heard at least 20 working days’ notice of the hearing
start date, start time and location.
54. EPA staff will prepare a staff report prior to any hearing. The applicant and any submitters will be
advised when the report is available. This staff report is considered to be advice, and so we have to tell
you in writing that we intend preparing it and our reasons why. You can object to our decision to have a
staff report.
55. We may make directions prior to a hearing about when briefs of evidence are required from you and
from submitters wishing to be heard. These briefs of evidence will need to be circulated in advance of a
hearing
56. We may also require that the applicant and some or all submitters attend a pre-hearing meeting and/or
mediation. The purpose of these meetings or mediation is to resolve disputes before a decision is
made.
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At the hearing
57. All hearings are open to the public, including the media (unless it is necessary to protect sensitive
information). However, only you, submitters who wished to be heard, EPA staff and the EEZ decisionmakers can speak. Applicants and submitters can bring expert witnesses to help them present their
views.
The decision on your application
Who makes the decision?
58. Your application will be decided by a committee of decision-makers, made up of a member of the EPA
Board and other suitably qualified individuals. The decision-makers are appointed by the EPA Board on
an application by application basis.
What happens next?
59. The EEZ committee will make a decision within 20 working days of the end of the hearing. The decision
will be sent to the applicant, all submitters, Nga Kaihāutu Tikanga Taiao (the EPA Maori Advisory
Committee) and any other person we consider appropriate.
60. We will also publish a notice in the public notices section of the main daily papers in Wellington,
Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin, and in a daily paper in the region adjacent to the area related to
the marine consent application giving a summary of the decision and advising where the full decision
can be inspected. All decisions will be put on our website.
61. The decision will be in writing and it will include reasons for the decision. If the decision-makers have
decided to grant the marine consent, the decision will include conditions which specify the required
outcomes and standards to be achieved. The decision will also include a condition requiring an EPA
certified Environmental Management Plan which shows how the consent holder will meet the conditions
of the marine consent.
62. There is a 15 working day period for appeals to be lodged against a decision. If there are no objections
or appeals and we have granted the marine consent, we will send you your consent notice after this 15
working day period ends. The consent notice specifies the conditions of the marine consent and
confirms that the marine consent can commence. If an appeal is lodged, your marine consent cannot
commence until the High Court determines the appeal, or any appeals are withdrawn.
Reviewing your consent
Major marine consent review
63. We can review the duration and conditions of a marine consent at any time. The timing of a review will
either be set as a condition of the marine consent or at our discretion if additional information becomes
available or monitoring evidence shows there have been unanticipated effects on the environment or
existing interests, or the scale or intensity of the effects are greater than anticipated.
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64. We can also serve notice of a review if we become aware that marine consent conditions have been
breached.
65. If we propose to review consent conditions or duration, we must serve a notice on the consent holder as
specified in section 77 of the EEZ Act. We can either propose new consent conditions or a duration
period or invite the consent holder to propose new conditions. If we invite a consent holder to propose
new conditions, they have 20 working days to do this.
66. We must publicly notify the review (section 78 of the EEZ Act) as if it were a marine consent application.
This means we will call for submissions and there may be a hearing. We would publically notify 10 to
30 days after serving notice on the consent holder, depending on whether the consent holder is invited
to propose new conditions or not. In certain circumstances, we also have the ability to cancel a marine
consent.
67. A consent holder can object to our decision to change or cancel conditions or duration of a marine
consent. Otherwise the consent holder must implement the changed conditions within the timetable we
set.
Minor marine consent review
68. If we consider that we only need to review consent conditions, and any changes would be minor, we
don’t need to publicly notify this. The consent holder would have the opportunity to make a submission
to a minor review and request a hearing.
69. We can’t cancel a marine consent under a minor consent review, or make significant changes to
conditions.
Fees and charges
70. All actual and reasonable costs of processing an application, including pre-lodgement discussions, are
recovered from an applicant on the basis of hourly rates. Our hourly rates can be found in the Exclusive
Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Fees and Charges) Regulations 2013. They are replicated in
Table 1.
Table 1 – EPA hourly rates
Position
Hourly rate
Project Administrator
$97.43
EPA Advisor
$103.75
EPA Senior Advisor
$116.12
Project Leader
$140.80
Principal technical advisor
$290.00
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71. More detail can be found in the EEZ Act and Cost Recovery Regulations – www.legislation.govt.nz,
and in the EPA Cost Recovery Policy http://www.epa.govt.nz/EEZ/about_eez/Pages/cost_recovery.aspx
Where can I get more information?
72. Please contact us if you need more information:
Environmental Protection Authority
Level 10, 215 Lambton Quay
Private Bag 63002, Waterloo Quay
Wellington 6140, New Zealand
eez.info@epa.govt.nz
64 4 916 2426
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Figure One - Statutory timeframes for processing EEZ marine consent applications
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Making a marine consent application
Appendix One: Process for considering an application for a marine consent under the EEZ Act
Part of the process
Timing
What happens at this stage in the process
Applicant role
An operator has a permit under the Crown Minerals Act regime and is currently thinking about or
ready to move onto stages of the operation which require a marine consent from the EPA.
1. Pre-lodgement
No fixed timing
Having contact with the EPA before an application is officially lodged allows the potential applicant
to receive guidance about the EPA’s marine consent process and information requirements before
the application is lodged and comes under time pressures. Early engagement also means EPA staff
can advise potential applicants about whether their application is likely to be considered
comprehensive and complete when formally lodged.
The EPA has developed a policy for iwi engagement and is currently consulting on guidelines to
help implement this policy. Three sets of guidelines will be created to assist industry and EPA staff
to effectively engage with iwi and vice versa.
The operator approaches the EPA to discuss their potential or impending application. After this
discussion, if the operator wishes to engage with the EPA prior to lodgement, they will confirm this
officially through a letter to the EPA notifying their intent to lodge an application with the EPA. This
allows the EPA to set up internal processes such as cost codes and a project team to work on the
application.
From this point until lodgement the potential applicant will work on preparing their application for
lodgement.
The applicant will meet regularly with the EPA to discuss progress and to seek answers or guidance
to queries arising as the application is prepared.
At this stage the potential applicants are encouraged to start engaging with iwi, other relevant parties
and existing interests.
Draft application documents will be provided to the EPA who will undertake preliminary completeness
checks and further information reviews. Doing this before the application is lodged will decrease the
likelihood that the application will be deemed incomplete.
Pre-lodgement is carried out at the expense of the potential applicant (s143(2)(a)).
2. Lodgement of
application with
EPA
0-10 working
days (max)
The EPA has an
obligation to deal
with applications
promptly (s40)
The EPA officially receives the application for a marine consent and assesses whether the
application is complete or not (s41).
 If the application is complete, the EPA sends a written letter of acceptance to the applicant and
prepares to notify the application.
 If the application is incomplete, the EPA returns the application to the applicant with a written
explanation of why it was found to be incomplete.
If the application is subsequently resubmitted to the EPA it will be considered as a new application.
Lodges application with the EPA. Section 38 sets out that the application must:



Be made in the prescribed form2;
Fully describe the proposal; and
Include an impact assessment which complies with the criteria of section 39.
Applicants are able to object to the EPA’s assessment that an application is incomplete (see (d)
below).
If the EPA is satisfied the application is complete, under s45 it must publicly notify the application on
the EPA’s internet site and publish notifications in the daily newspapers of the following areas:
3. Notification


Applications must
be notified within
10 working days
after the date
EPA is satisfied
the application is
complete (s45(2))
Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin; and
The region adjacent to the area.
The public notice must give a summary of the application for consent and specify where the
application is available for inspection.
In addition the EPA must specifically notify the following people identified in the Act, if the EPA
considers they may be affected by the application:
 Ministers with responsibilities which may be affected
 Maritime NZ
The applicant should have already undertaken consultation during pre-lodgement with individuals and
parties identified as being affected by the application.
 Any of the following as appropriate: iwi authorities, customary marine title groups, protected
customary rights groups
 Other persons the EPA considers to have existing interests that may be affected
 Regional councils whose regions may be affected
Submissions open once the application is publicly notified, and remain open for twenty working
days.
4. Submissions
(s46)
20 working days
As soon as reasonably practicable after the closing date for submissions the EPA will provide the
applicant with a list of all submissions received (s48).
2
Prescribed forms will be available on the EPA website for download
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Applicants should expect to receive copies of submissions from the submitter soon after they have
been served on the EPA.
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Making a marine consent application
Part of the process
Timing
What happens at this stage in the process
Applicant role
Dispute resolution (s49):
5. Prehearing
There may be cases where a dispute between certain submitters and the applicant are unlikely to be
resolved during the hearing process. Under s49 the EPA has authority to request the parties meet to
discuss or enter into mediation if the situation requires it. This provides an opportunity for issues and
concerns to be clarified and potentially resolved before the hearing begins.
Notification of
hearing must
occur 20 working
days prior
(s51(3))
The mediator of these sessions must write a report setting out the matters discussed and whether
they were agreed to or not. This report is given to both the EPA and the attendees of the meeting or
mediation session. Note the report does not include anything communicated on a ‘without prejudice
basis’ which means information given under these terms cannot be used as evidence at the hearing.
Attend meetings and mediation sessions with submitters on matters of dispute as directed. In addition
the applicant may choose to meet with submitters without being directed to.
If the EPA chooses not to conduct a hearing, and the applicant does not agree with this decision,
under s50(b) the applicant can request the EPA holds a hearing.
Hearing date and notice:
Section 50 gives the EPA discretion to conduct a hearing if it is considered to be necessary or
desirable. However, if the applicant or a submitter requests a hearing, the EPA must hold one.
Under s51 the EPA must give at least 20 working days’ notice of the commencement date, time and
location of the hearing to the applicant and every submitter who stated on their submission they wish
to be heard and have not subsequently advised the EPA differently.
6. Hearing
40 working days
(max) for hearing
(s52)
The hearing must start no later than 40 working days after the closing date for submissions.
EPA has powers to control how hearings are run and how evidence is given (s56).
When making a decision on a marine consent the EPA decision maker:
7. Consideration
 Must take into account and have regard to the criteria in ss59-61 when considering a marine
and Decision
consent application.
 Factors the EPA must take into account include: the effects on existing interests and the
environment; biological diversity and integrity; economic benefits; industry best practice
techniques; and other regimes and applicable laws.
 In addition the EPA must have regard to submissions received, reports and advice sought
and received.


20 working days
(max) (s68)
Must base decisions on best available information, and where information is uncertain or
inadequate favour caution and environmental protection. If this approach means an activity could
be refused, an adaptive management approach must be considered first (s61).
Has the ability to add conditions (s63) to the granting of an application, for example bonds (s65),
monitoring requirements (s66) and/or an adaptive management (s64) approach on the decision.
 An adaptive management approach allows an activity, which would otherwise likely be
declined, to commence in stages to allow the effects of the activity to be tested and
monitored. The effects are then assessed to determine whether the activity should be
discontinued, or allowed to continue to the next stage, either with or without amendment.
This is an iterative process until the EPA can be confident the effects are able to be managed
to an acceptable level.
 Must publish the decision in writing, including reasons for the decision.
Section 70 directs who specifically the EPA must give a copy of the decision to.
 The EPA must publicly notify the decision, providing a summary of the decision and where a
copy of the full decision is available for inspection. In addition the EPA must give a copy of its
decision to the applicant, all submitters, the Maori Advisory Committee and any other person or
organisation that the EPA considers appropriate.
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Powers to appeal decision:
Applicants can appeal the decision of the EPA to either grant, decline or impose conditions on a
consent to the High Court on points of law.
See row (d) in table 3 below for more details.
Appendix Two: Important provisions in the marine consent process
Part of the process
a) Requests for
further
information (s41)
Timing
Any reasonable
time before a
hearing or if a
hearing is not
being held, before
the EPA makes a
decision
The EPA can request further information from the applicant by setting out reasons for the request in
writing. If the applicant responds positively the EPA must write to let the applicant know when to
provide info by (this must be a reasonable timeframe).
Even if the applicant does not respond, or responds negatively to the request, the EPA will still have to
consider the application under s59.
The EPA must provide the information provided to submitters – either as soon as reasonably
practicable after the info is received or where the EPA has already received the information, on receipt
of submission.
Applicant
Within five working days of request must either provide info, write to the EPA either providing the
information or agreeing or refusing to provide the information at a future date. If the applicant agrees to
provide the information at a future date, the EPA will set a reasonable timeframe for the information to be
provided within.
The applicant can object to the EPA’s request for further information under s101 of the Act (see (c)
below).
The Act sets out who from and how the EPA may obtain advice. The EPA can:
b) Obtaining advice
(s44)
Description
Any reasonable
time before a
hearing or if a
hearing is not
being held, before
the EPA makes a
decision

Commission an independent review of the impact assessment

Commission a report or seek advice from any person on any aspect of an application for a marine
consent or the activity to which the application relates.

Seek advice from Nga Kaihautu Tikanga Taiao on any matter related to the application.
The applicant can object to the EPA’s decision to obtain advice (for more details see (c) below).
The EPA must inform the applicant in writing of the intention to commission a review, report or to seek
advice, and include reasons for wanting the advice.
As soon as reasonably practicable after receiving the advice or report, the EPA must inform the
applicant and every submitter that it is available to view at the EPA office.
c) Objections (s101)
Can be made no
later than 15
working days
after the EPA has
made a decision
about application
completeness or
decision to seek
advice.
When considering an objection, the EPA must give the objector the opportunity to be heard.
The EPA must consider and decide to dismiss, or uphold – in full or in part, the objection within 20
working days.
No later than five days after making the decision, the EPA must notify the objector and any other
person the EPA considers appropriate, including reasons for the decision reached.
Applicants can object to the EPA’s decision to:
 Return an incomplete application
 Commission a review or report, or seek advice.
The reasons for an objection must be made in writing to the EPA no later than 15 working days after the
EPA has advised the applicant of a decision concerning one of the above. This notice of objection must
set out the reasons for the objection.
The applicant can only appeal the EPA’s decision through an objection to the High Court on points of law.
Applicants can appeal the decision of the EPA to either grant, decline or impose conditions on a consent
to the High Court on points of law.
d) Appeals (s105)
Can be made no
later than 15
working days
after being
notified of the
EPA’s decision to
grant or refuse
the application.
An appeal must be filed with the Registrar of the High Court in Wellington and a copy of this notice served
on the EPA, within 15 working days of being notified of the EPA’s decision. It must also be served on any
submitter on the application no later than five working days after the appeal is filed.
Notice must specify:
As soon as reasonably practicable after receiving notice of an appeal, the EPA must send a copy of
the whole decision being appealed against to the Registrar of the High Court.
 The decision or part of the decision appealed against; and
 The error of law alleged by the appellant; and
 the grounds of appeal with sufficient particularity for the court and other parties to understand them;
 And the relief sought.
NOTE: anyone who made a submission on the application also has the ability to appeal the EPA’s
decision.