Regulation in the Agriculture Sector – North Canterbury
A snapshot summary
Summary
There are numerous rules and regulations that apply to the agriculture sector,
emanating from District Councils, Regional Council and the many arms of central
Government. This summary focuses on issues associated with land and water
use.
The collaborative Canterbury Water Management Strategy, which at the local
level is being given effect to via Zone Committees, is a non-statutory process.
Accordingly, a Zone Implementation Programme (ZIP) developed by a Zone
Committee is not a definitive planning document – it is informative, but not
prescriptive. In the words of a hearing commissioner “We are entitled, but not
obliged to take the provisions of the ZIP into account (when considering
submissions on a regional plan, but) ..….where the expectations of the ZIP are at
odds with the requirements of the Resource Management Act, or higher order
documents, the latter must prevail”
This commentary does not consider ZIPs in North Canterbury, rather it is a
summary of the two regional plans (the Land and Water Regional Plan (LWRP),
and the Hurunui Waiau River Regional Plan (HWRRP) which have been recently
released and which will have significant impact on the agricultural sector in
North Canterbury in the future. In short the LWRP applies to all of Canterbury,
but is trumped by the more specific river regional plans (such as the HWRRP)
where these have been released. For the Waimakariri District, there is no
equivalent river regional plan evolving from the Waimakariri ZIP.
LWRP – Key elements affecting agriculture
The LWRP is a proposed plan, applying to all of Waimakariri District and those
parts of the Hurunui District, outside of the Hurunui and Waiau catchments. The
LWRP, having been released for submissions in August 2012, is now at the
hearings stage. Hearings are expected to conclude by October 2013 and when
decisions are released thereafter, the Plan will become operative, replacing the
Natural Resources Regional Plan (NRRP). Until the LWRP becomes operative,
land users must have regard to both the NRRP and the LWRP, but the latter is
clearly more prescriptive.
The most significant impact of the LWRP on agriculture, relates to nutrient
management:
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Under this proposed Plan, existing land use activities are permitted for 5
years, subject to recording N losses
Within sensitive areas, in addition to recording N losses, farmers are also
required to implement a farm environmental plan (which is to be
externally audited)
Prepared by: David Viles
Date: May 2013
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Land use change is more difficult. Change is defined as the new, or
increased, use of water for irrigation on the property; or an increase of
more than 10% in the loss of nitrogen from land used for a farming.
New activities outside sensitive areas are permitted if there is an N
leaching condition attached to the relevant water consent, if N losses are
recorded, and if an environmental plan is implemented and audited
If there is no N leaching condition on the relevant water consent (and
mostly there isn’t), then a consent will now be required.
New land use activities without an N leaching condition, in a nutrient red
zone (such as the Waipara catchment), are non-complying, which means
there has to be exceptional circumstances in order to get a consent
In the first 5 years of the Plan there is an opportunity for primary sector
groups to develop nutrient discharge limits, based on good management
practice, and which will then populate a “look-up” table in the Plan
From 1 July 2017, farming continues to be permitted if N losses do not
exceed the new “look-up” table value, and subject to recording N losses (if
less than 20 kg/ha/yr) or implementing a farm environmental plan (if N
losses are greater then 20 kg/ha/yr).
If N losses exceed the “look-up” table value, a consent will be required.
In sensitive areas, all farming activities will require a discretionary
consent, even if their estimated N losses are less than the “look-up” table
value
Farming activities will be non-complying if their N losses exceed the
“look-up” table value and they are within a red zone
All of the above applies from August 2012, but the proposed Plan may be
subsequently varied following hearing commissioners’ consideration of relevant
submissions.
HWRRP – Key elements affecting agriculture
The HWRRP applies only to the Hurunui, Waiau and Jed catchments. The HWRRP
is still a proposed plan having been through the submission and hearing
processes, and with the hearing commissioner’s decisions released on 27 April
2013. There is now an appeal period (limited to points of law), and the plan
becomes operative once appeals (if any) are dispensed with (by the High Court
or by negotiation).
Again land users must have regard to both the NRRP and the HWRRP, but the
latter is given more weight in any planning decisions because of its advanced
status.
The HWRRP applies to:
 Taking, using, damming and diverting of surface water and ground water
 Discharge of water for non-consumptive activities
 The use of land which may result in the discharge of nitrogen or
phosphorus to water
Prepared by: David Viles
Date: May 2013
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If the HWRRP does not expressly provide for an activity, the NRRP/LWRP then
continues to apply. Where the HWRRP does provide for an activity also included
in the NRRP/LWRP, then the HWRRP overrides the NRRP/LWRP.
The most significant impacts of the HWRRP on agriculture are:
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Land Use
Existing land use is permitted (to continue) provided that prior to 1
January 2017, the landowner joins an audited self management scheme
Audited self management schemes are to be community based (rather
than based on individual farm plans)
Effective immediately, any proposed land use change must meet the N & P
load limits
After 1 January 2017, land use changes (defined as those leading to a
>10% increase in N or P loss) are permitted, if catchment N & P load
limits are not exceeded, and the landowner adopts audited self
management – otherwise any change is a restricted discretionary activity.
Water use efficiency - 80% application efficiency is required
There is now no target area for irrigation (previously 100,000ha was seen
as potentially irrigable) - now the Plan simply allows for “a larger area of
land to be irrigated”
Hurunui Catchment Nutrient Levels
Catchment nutrient limits are set to maintain water quality at or about
the same standard for the Hurunui River as measured at SH1 (there is no
such provision for the Waiau catchment):
o N levels are permitted to increase by 25%
o P levels are not permitted to increase
o Periphyton biomass limits are set at the 95th percentile of monthly
measurements
Catchment nutrient limits become the principle de facto control on any
proposed land use change
River flow regimes
Flow regimes for the Hurunui and Waiau Rivers allow abstraction of
water for irrigation use, but with increased minimum flows effective
immediately
Existing irrigators’ run-of-river takes are given A block status and are
therefore the most reliable
New irrigators can access B & C block water, but because of the lower
availability of water in these blocks, need storage to achieve acceptable
reliability.
Groundwater abstraction limits are set (but there is not much of this
resource in the two catchments)
Water storage zones
Zones for potential water storage are identified as prohibited (this
includes the earlier proposal for Lake Sumner/South Branch);
Prepared by: David Viles
Date: May 2013
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conditionally appropriate; generally suitable (this includes Waitohi as the
preferred major storage site); and unknown (includes Jed).
Inter-catchment transfer of water is allowed so long as it is culturally
sensitive and consistent with flow regimes
Conclusion
Without doubt, the management of agricultural land use in North Canterbury has
changed dramatically for both existing and proposed new land uses. There is
now an increased requirement for agricultural activities to comply with more
specific provisions in regional plans. These plans have the purpose of promoting
the sustainable management of rivers and streams, in conformity with national
policy standards and delivering on the outcomes sought through the Canterbury
Water Management Strategy. Landowners, industry groups, and those seeking to
develop agricultural activities in the region, must now engage in both statutory
and non-statutory processes to a greater extent than in the past to ensure that
the region’s economic potential in the primary sector is maintained or enhanced.
Types of Activities – Resource Management Act:
Prepared by: David Viles
Date: May 2013
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