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The proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management: Questions and Answers

What is a national policy statement?
Why do we need a national policy statement?
What does the proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management want to achieve?
How does the national policy statement relate to the proposed National Environmental Standard on Ecological Flows and Water Levels and the proposed National Environmental Standard for Measurement of Water Takes?
How does the proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management relate to the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement?
What effect will the proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management have on the responsibilities of councils?
What does the requirement for councils to ‘give effect’ to the proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management mean?
What about the regions where there are already comprehensive regulations to manage water quality? Will the proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management affect existing regulations?
Will the proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management help councils to manage competing values around water?
How does the proposed National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management take tangata whenua values and interests into account?
Will Māori rights be affected by the proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management?
How will the proposed National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management deal with the impacts of land use such intensive agriculture or subdivision on water quality?
Will the proposed National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management lead to extra compliance costs for water and land users?
What happens now? How can I make a submission on the proposed National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management to the board of inquiry?

1. What is a national policy statement?

National policy statements are tools available under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) to help achieve the purpose of that Act. They provide objectives, and policies, and targets to help guide and direct local authorities on how to manage nationally significant resources – such as fresh water.

2. Why do we need a national policy statement?

New Zealand is facing a number of challenges in the management of freshwater resources. These include ensuring there is sufficient water in our lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands and aquifers; protecting freshwater ecosystems, in limiting and remediating degradation of water quality and in ensuring that society gains the greatest benefit from the allocation of available water.

The proposed national policy statement will assist in achieving the key outcomes of the Sustainable Water Programme of Action, which include: improved water quality, more efficient use of water, and management of the increasing demands for water.

3. What does the proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management want to achieve?

The proposed statement aims to improve freshwater management in New Zealand.

It contains objectives and policies for councils on how to manage fresh water within policy statements, plans, resource consent and designation decisions under the Resource Management Act. This will give an increased focus to freshwater management issues than would have otherwise been the case, in planning for and managing activities that impact upon fresh water.

The goal is to help councils to determine how competing national benefits and local costs of the use and impacts on fresh water are managed. The proposed national policy statement seeks to:

address existing and future constraints on the availability of freshwater resources
address the effects of existing and future discharges of contaminants to freshwater resources
provide more certainty in respect of competing demands on New Zealand’s freshwater resources and facilitate opportunities to increase benefits from the use of freshwater resources, within the above constraints on availability
meet the recreational aspirations of New Zealanders, including that freshwater resources are swimmable
address matters of national significance relating to the sustainable management of freshwater resources; and
improve the integrated management of freshwater resources by territorial authorities, regional councils, and others whose activities affect the freshwater resources.

4. How does the national policy statement relate to the proposed National Environmental Standard on Ecological Flows and Water Levels and the proposed National Environmental Standard for Measurement of Water Takes

The proposed national policy statement provides the context and objectives for freshwater management in New Zealand. The two national environmental standards are tools that directly support the proposed national policy statement by setting minimum standards related to specific aspects of water management.

5. How does the proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management relate to the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement?

The Resource Management Act provides a range of tools for regional councils to manage water. We will look at how some of these tools are being used, and make them work better where needed. On top of this, we want to explore the opportunities to enhance the tools for local government where needed.

The Government wants to give local government more backup and support for local management of water resources. We will work with local government to develop solutions that suit regional circumstances.

6. What effect will the proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management have on the responsibilities of councils?

The proposed statement will provide guidance and direction to local government on the management of freshwater resources. It does not set rules or standards for managing fresh water. Councils will still be responsible for setting rules and standards, but will be guided by the proposed national policy statement when doing so.
The effect of the proposed statement will be that councils must give effect to the national significance of fresh water in their regional policy statements and regional and district plans, and otherwise must have regard to it in day-to-day resource management activities relating to fresh water, including the consideration of resource consent applications, designations or plan changes.

7. What does the requirement for councils to 'give effect' to the proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management mean?

The proposed statement, once approved, will require local government to make amendments (where necessary) to existing regional policy statements and regional and district plans within specified timeframes.
Local government consultation process around changes to policy statements and plans will allow communities to express their social, economic and environmental aspirations so that local authorities can also take those into account when determining the best use of fresh water in their region.

8. What about regions where there are already comprehensive regulations to manage water quality? Will the proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management affect existing regulations?

Each council will need to consider the proposed national policy statement against their RMA planning documents, and identify where any amendments are required to give effect to the proposed national policy statement. This will include a review of existing regulations. In some cases, amendments may not be required to be made where existing regulations or provisions are already found to give effect to the proposed national policy statement.

9. Will the proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management help councils to manage competing values around water?

The proposed statement will require councils to identify “notable values” of outstanding and degraded freshwater resources and set freshwater quality standards and environmental flows and levels for the protection of those values. This will clarify management objectives for water resources and the standards for their protection.

10. How does the proposed National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management take tangata whenua values and interests into account?

Māori have played a significant role in the process that developed the statement, providing considerable input on key issues and concerns. This is reflected in the nature of key provisions. For example:

For example:

The Preamble acknowledges and recognises the Treaty of Waitangi relationship between the Crown and Māori. It also acknowledged the inclusion of iwi and hapu in the future management of freshwater
Each objective under the proposed national policy statement is to be viewed with equal weighting to and in respect of the other objectives
Objective 8 of the proposed Statement seeks to ensure that iwi and hapu are involved, and Tangata Whenua Values and Interests are identified and reflected, in the management of Freshwater Resources. This objective is reinforced by policies that require councils to identify and recognise Tangata Whenua Values and Interests when preparing policy statements and plans under the Resource Management Act (1991) (RMA)
Proposed policy 8 specifically requires councils to make publicly available records of the process that they used to identify the Tangata Whenua Values and Interests in Fresh Water Resources of the region, including the identification of the relevant iwi and hapu.

Māori involvement in the process that developed these provisions includes:

the establishment in 2004 of a Māori Advisory Group on freshwater management to provide advice on the Sustainable Water Programme of Action
Māori participation in the Ministerial Advisory Group Minister which reports to the Environment and the Minister of Agriculture
A programme of 17 consultation hui in 2005 to identify Māori issues with freshwater management

At the same time the Government acknowledges that the statement is one step in a wider programme of engagement with Māori on the management of freshwater. Other areas of activity include historical settlements such as the Te Arawa Lakes agreement and the programme to reverse the degradation of Lake Taupo. The Treaty of Waitangi provides the overall framework within which this engagement takes place.

11. Will Māori rights be affected by the proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management?

The proposed Statement gives positive effect to Māori rights by providing a better and more effective management framework for fresh water. This will improve the way fresh water is currently managed and benefit Māori and all New Zealanders.

12. How will the proposed National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management deal with the impacts of land use such intensive agriculture or subdivision on water quality?

The proposed statement will require councils to improve the management of the undesirable effects of land use on water quality by tying together policies of water quantity, water quality and land-use development so that council planning takes place in an integrated and strategic manner.

The proposed statement addresses the impacts of land use development through directing:

Setting of freshwater quality standards and environmental flows and levels (Policy 1(c);
Considering the sensitivity of each freshwater resource to adverse effects including the effects of land use development (Policy 4(b));
Councils to effectively manage land use development and discharges of contaminants (Policies 1(h) and 5(a));
Integrated management, including the development of infrastructure (Policies 1(j), 3(b), 5(c)) and 6(d);
Inclusion of consent conditions to protect water quality from degradation (Policies 2(c), 3(b), 6(b)
The use of the use of industry good practice (Policies 2(c), 3(b), 5(b) and 6).

13. Will the proposed National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management lead to extra compliance costs for water and land users?

It is possible that the proposed national policy statement will result in extra compliance costs due to changes in practice to improve water quality and ensure availability of supply.

The primary impact of the proposed statement will be to bring forward costs and changes to regional policy statements, and regional and district plans that are otherwise likely to have occurred at a later date, rather than generate new costs. However, bringing forward the costs will increase the net present value, and will possibly result in the costs falling on different parties with varying distributional impacts.

The greatest cost of the proposed statement is expected to fall on affected landowners, particularly those within the primary sector, as certain activities will be constrained as a result of amendments to the regional and district plans.

14. What happens now? How can I make a submission on the proposed National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management to the board of inquiry?

On 20 September 2008 the Board of Inquiry publicly notified the proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management and called for submissions. Information about the Board of Inquiry and how to make a submission is available on the Board of Inquiry for the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management web pages.

Judge David Sheppard has been appointed as chairperson and Kevin Prime, Jenni Vernon and Dr Jon Harding as members of the Board of Inquiry.

As part of its work, the board will establish a process for receiving public submissions, both written and oral. The process, including the time and place of hearings, will be notified through public notices in national and local newspapers. The board may also commission reports. How long the hearings take depends on the number and nature of submissions.

Once New Zealanders’ views have been heard, the board will provide its independent report to the Minister for the Environment. The Minister will then consider the report, as well as a final section 32 evaluation report and Regulatory Impact Statement, and may make any changes as the Minister sees fit. The final step is the approval of the national policy statement by the Governor-General and gazetted.

Last updated: 16 July 2009