Resource Management Act Flashcards
Integrated Management
The RMA sought to integrate the management of air, land, fresh water and marine areas into one piece of legislation.
Structure
- Part 1: Interpretation and application
- Part 2: Purpose and Principals
- Part 3: Duties and Restrictions
- Part 4: Powers and Functions of Central and Local Govt
- Part 5: Standards, Policy Statements, and Plans
- Part 6: Resource Consent
- Part 7: Coastal Activities
- Part 8: Designations and heritage orders
Purpose of RMA
The purpose of the Act is to promote the sustainable management of natural and physical resources.
Sustainable Management
Managing resources in a way that enables people to provide for their social, economic and cultural well-being and for their health and safety while:
- Sustaining the potential of natural and physical resources for future generations
- Safeguarding the life supporting capacity of air, water, soil and ecosystems
- Avoiding, remedying or mitigating any adverse effects of activities on the environment
Effect Based Approach
RMA focuses on managing the effects of activities rather than regulating the activities themselves.
RMA adopts an enabling approach, which seeks only to intervene when there is an unacceptable environmental impact.
Can result in environmental planning being reactive rather than proactive and in poor management of cumulative and diffuse impacts.
Definition of Effects
- any positive or adverse effect
- any temporary or permanent effect
- any past, present or future effect
- any cumulative effect
Treaty Considerations
In achieving the purpose of this Act, a person exercising functions and powers under it, in relation to managing the use, development, and the protection of natural and physical resources, shall take into account the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi)
Part 3: Duties and Restrictions (How resources are to be managed) Sections
- Section 9: Land use
- Section 10: Uses of Lan protected
- Section 11: Subdivision of Land
- Section 13: Works in bed of lakes and rivers
- Section 14: Water
- Section 15: Discharges
- Section 16: Noise
Definition of Water
- means water in all its physical forms whether flowing or not and whether over or under the ground
- includes fresh water, coastal water, and geothermal water
- does not include water in any form while in any pipe, tank, or cistern
Contaminant
Contaminant includes any substance or energy or heat, that either by itself or in combination with the same, similar, or other substances, energy, or heat
- when discharged into water, changes, or is likely to change the physical, chemical, or biological condition of water’ or
- when discharged onto or into land or into air, changes or is likely to change the physical, chemical, or biological condition of the land or air onto or into which it is discharged
Types of Councils
- Regional Councils
- City and District Councils
- Unitary Authorities
Key Organisations and Functions
- Environmental Protections Agency (EPA)
- Ministry for the Environment
- Department of Conservation
- Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment
Regional Councils
Regional Plans have rules which control for which consent may be required
- Canterbury Regional Council (commercially known as Environment Canterbury)
District Councils
- 9 district councils in canterbury
Monitoring/Enforcement
- Consents require monitoring and compliance checks
- May include taking samples and measurements, analyses, inspections or investigations
- May include contingency plan to be implemented in the event that pre-determined compliance conditions are not met.
