Resource Consent
What is a resource consent?
A resource consent is a formal approval granted by a regional or district council that permits the holder to carry out a certain activity. A resource consent may be required if the proposed activity:
- does not comply with a rule in a regional or district plan or National Environmental Standard
- if there is a specific rule stating a resource consent must be obtained for the activity.
Resource consents often contain compliance conditions and if issued by a regional council will include expiry date.
Types of resource consent
There are five types of resource consent. Those most likely to be required for farming activities are land use consents, discharge permits, and water permits. The other two types of resource consents are coastal permits and subdivision consents.
In some cases, an activity may require more than one type of resource consent and/or require consent from both regional and district council.
Why do I need a resource consent?
Central government, regional and district councils have set out rules within the National Environmental Standards, regional and district plans to manage activities that may impact the environment.
What information needs to be submitted with a resource consent application?
All resource consent applications are required to contain the following information:
- A description of the activity and the application site, applicant’s name, full name of any owners or occupiers of the application site.
- An assessment of the effects on the environment. For farming activities this will typically assess the effects on groundwater, surface water, soil, ecology and biodiversity, and any cultural matters.
- An assessment of the objectives, policies and rules of any relevant regional and district plans and/or National Environmental Standards or other Policy Statements or Regulations.
- An assessment against the Resource Management Act 1991.
Most councils also require the payment of an application fee at the time of, or prior to, lodgement of the application. Depending on the activity being applied for the application may also need to include additional information such as a farm environment plan.
How are resource consent applications prepared?
Step 1: Assessment
When engaging a Ravensdown environmental planner to prepare and lodge a resource consent application on your behalf, the Ravensdown environmental planner will firstly assess what resource consents are required and the subsequent information required for the application. When the consenting process includes documents such as a nutrient budget, Farm Environment Plan or dairy effluent storage calculation, this work is normally completed first to inform the planning assessment.
Step 2: Application
The planner will prepare an application report which includes a description of the application activity and the application site. It will also include an assessment of the environmental effects and an assessment against the objectives, policies, and rules of all the applicable plans and regulations, as well as any associated documents. This may require the planner to seek some addition information.
Once the application is prepared, the Ravensdown environmental planner, or the council, will ask the applicant to pay the council’s application fee so the resource consent application can be lodged.
What happens at Council with my resource consent application?
Once lodged with council a resource consent application will be:
- Checked to see whether it contains the required information for processing. If it is not considered complete it is returned for re-submitting with the missing information.
- Reviewed to consider whether any further information is required. This will relate to the information already submitted and is usually required to address questions or concerns the Council has over the effects of the activity. The Ravensdown environmental planner will prepare the further information requested and return it to the council.
- Reviewed to consider whether there are any affected persons and whether they have given their written approval.
- Progressed to a decision on whether application needs to be notified or not. Most applications are non-notified.
- Reviewed to check there have been no changes in the plans, regulations or in assessment models before Council decide on the application. If there have been changes then the Ravensdown environmental planner will be asked to update the application to address the changes.
- In some cases, a draft set of conditions may be issued for review. This enables the Ravensdown environmental planner to check the proposed conditions are in accordance with the application, are clear, enforceable and for a resource management purpose, while the applicant can advise they are achievable. Councils are not required to issue draft conditions and can issue a decision without comment or agreement to the draft conditions.
The Council will then:
- Prepare a report assessing the application and recommending a decision.
- Decide and issue the decision, which hopefully grants the resource consent. The Ravensdown environmental planner will advise the applicant of the consent decision and their obligations in relation to any consent and its conditions. They will also advise of any lapsing date and expiry date.
- The Council will then monitor compliance with the resource consent on an ongoing basis. This may be either formally through a regular inspection or informally on an ad-hoc basis.
What is the difference between a non-notified and a notified resource consent application?
Most resource consent applications are processed on a non-notified basis. That means the council accepts the application and usually issues a decision without a hearing.
Generally, an application is processed on a notified basis when the effects on the environment are considered more than minor by the council; or when an affected person’s consent has not been obtained. If the effects on the environment are considered more than minor, then the application is publicly notified, and anybody can lodge a submission. When the consent of one or more affected persons cannot be obtained, then the application may be limited notified to just the affected person(s) who haven’t signed, and only they can make a submission. Often notified applications proceed to a hearing.
Who is an affected person and what is an affected person’s consent?
An affected person is someone considered by the Council to be affected by the activity for which a resource consent has been applied. This usually relates to an owner or occupier of the application site where they are not the applicant, or an adjoining property owner. However, sometimes, people some distance away or bodies/groups such as the Department of Conservation, Fish and Game or local iwi can be considered affected depending on the location, extent and environmental effects of the activity.
Once the Council has determined a person or body is affected, their unconditional written approval must be obtained for an application to be processed on a non-notified basis. Where it cannot be obtained, the application would be required to be processed on a notified basis.
What is the difference between a lapsing date and an expiry date on a resource consent?
Most Regional Council resource consents have an expiry date. After this date the activity is no longer consented unless a new resource consent has been applied for or issued. It is recommended that you seek advice at least 12 months, preferably 18 months, prior to the expiry date with regards to applicable legislative requirements and whether any resource consents need to be obtained. For a consent to automatically remain active while a new consent is sought, the new consent is required to be lodged with the regional council no later than six months prior to the expiry date of the existing consent.
All resource consents lapse five years after being granted unless
- a shorter lapsing date is given in the resource consent
- they have been given effect to.
To give effect to a resource consent you need to have carried/be carrying out the activity the consent is for, ensuring all conditions of the consent are complied with. In the case where a consent has not been ‘given effect to’ prior to the lapsing date - e.g. the construction of a dam has not been completed before a specified lapsing date in the consent - then an extension of time may be sought. If you think your consent may lapse, then you should contact a Ravensdown environmental planner before the lapsing date.
Permitted activity
Is my farming or farming related activity permitted?
For a farming or farming-related activity to be permitted it must comply with all the permitted activity standards in all relevant regional plans, district plans and National Environmental Standard regulations. It must not specifically require a resource consent. In some cases, activities may be permitted in a regional plan but require a resource consent under the district plan, or vice-versa.
Prohibited activity
Why can’t I get a resource consent for a prohibited activity?
A prohibited activity is just that. It is not allowed in any circumstance. You cannot apply for a resource consent for a prohibited activity.
For example, grazing farmed cattle, deer or pigs in the bed or on the banks of a spring-fed plains river identified in the Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan is a prohibited activity.
Land use consent
What is a land use consent?
This is a type of resource consent and relates to an activity that uses land. Examples of activities that may need a land use consent are farming, earthworks, clearing vegetation or installing a feedpad.
Farming resource consents
What sorts of farming activities might I need a resource consent for?
Under the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater (NES-FW) resource consents may be required for
- Increasing the area of land used for dairying, dairy support, and/or intensive winter grazing
- Increasing irrigated land for dairying
- Changing land use to pasture from plantation forestry
- Using land for intensive winter grazing
- Feedlots
- Stock holding areas such as feedpads, standoff pads and loafing pads
- Applying more than 190kg N/ha/yr to pasture or as an average across all pastoral (grazed) land
- Installation of new culverts or work on culverts installed after 3 September 2020
- Activities within 100m of a wetland.
Under a regional or district plan the activities that may need a resource consent will vary between councils, but activities that may require consent from one or both councils include:
- Farming
- Earthworks including those adjacent to or within rivers or wetlands, or those related to the construction and maintenance of drains, bridges, culverts and tracks
- Vegetation clearance or planting, including adjacent or within rivers or wetlands, adjacent to roads or related to the construction and maintenance of drains, bridges, culverts and tracks
- Animal effluent storage systems and disposal
- Water abstraction
- Water diversion
- Application of water to land
- Construction of offal, rubbish or silage pits
- Stockholding areas
- Construction of bridges or culverts
- Construction of soak holes or soakpits
- Construction of dams
- Gravel extraction
- New structures (e.g. milking shed, implement shed).
If you are unsure whether you might require a resource consent, then you should seek the advice of a Ravensdown environmental planner before undertaking the activity.
I have a discharge permit; do I still need to get a resource consent to farm?
A discharge permit is a specific resource consent for a specific activity. In some regions a consent is also required related to the whole farming activity. This may be due to the amount of nitrogen loss, the type or extent of the farming activity or its location. This requirement varies both between regional councils and within a regional council’s area.
For example, a discharge permit for spreading liquid dairy effluent in Hawke’s Bay’s Kahahakuri sub-catchment will still require a land use consent to farm within a sub-catchment that exceeds the dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) limit.
Intensive winter grazing
Is my intensive winter grazing activity permitted?
This depends on whether you meet all the relevant rules in the Regional Plan and the National Environmental Standard for Freshwater (NES-FW).
To be a permitted activity under the NES-FW you need to meet the following:
- The farm must have been used for intensive winter grazing between 1 July 2014 and 30 June 2019
- The intensive winter grazing area will not be above the maximum annual area used between 1 July 2014 and 30 June 2019; and
- The total area used is 50ha or less, or for properties over 500ha 10% or less; and
- The mean slope of any paddock used is 10 degrees or less; and
- Pugging beyond a 10m area around the gateway or a fixed water trough is less than 20cm deep; and
- Pugging greater than 5cm deep does not cover more than 50% of the paddock; and
- Grazing must be more than 5m from a waterbody or drain (regardless of whether there is any water present); and
- The grazed area must be replanted before 1 October (or for Otago and Southland regions 1 November).
I have a resource consent to farm; do I still need to get a consent for intensive winter grazing under the National Environmental Standard for Freshwater (NES-FW) if I can’t meet requirements above?
Yes, at this point in time it is considered that no regional council has rules in their regional plan that are more stringent than the rules in the NES-FW for intensive winter grazing. If you cannot meet the permitted activity standards set out in the NES-FW, you will need a resource consent under those regulations. The rules in the NES-FW are in addition to any rules within regional or district plans.
There are different definitions and rules for winter grazing, which do I need to meet?
The different definitions relate to how the rules apply and the definition only applies to the plan or document that it relates to.
The rules in the NES-FW are in addition to any rules within regional or district plans unless the regional or district plan contains a rule(s) for the same activity that are more stringent than those in the NES-FW.
When do I need to lodge a resource consent for intensive winter grazing?
The rules relating to intensive winter grazing in NES-FW currently apply from 1 May 2022. However, for 2022 some farmers will be able to carry out intensive winter grazing as an existing use.
This means that you will have an additional six months to apply for your resource consent so your resource consent application would need to be lodged by 30 October 2022 instead of 1 May 2022.
For existing use rights to apply, your intensive winter grazing activity for 2022 needs to be a permitted activity under your regional plan or you already have a resource consent granted for that activity, and the character, scale and intensity needs to be the same or similar for 2022 as it was in 2021.
Example: in 2021 you set stock grazed sheep on 20ha of kale, but if in 2022 you wish to (a) either increase your intensive winter grazing area or (b) breakfeed bulls on your 20ha of kale, then you cannot claim existing use rights.
Application of the 190kg N/ha/yr fertiliser cap
I have a resource consent to farm; do I still need to get a consent to apply more than 190kg N/ha/yr to pasture or as an average across my pastoral (grazed) area?
Yes, the rules in the NES-FW are in addition to any rules within regional or district plans unless the regional or district plan contains a rule(s) for the same activity that are more stringent than those in the NES-FW.
At this point in time, it is considered that no regional council has rules in their regional plan that relate to the amount of fertiliser applied, therefore a resource consent will be required if you wish to exceed the nitrogen fertiliser cap.
Can I apply for a resource consent to apply more than 190kg N/ha/yr to pasture and/or as an average across my pastoral (grazed) area?
There are two types of resource consent that can be applied for. Both are non-complying activities, as such the application must show that either the effects on the environment are minor or the activity will not be contrary to the objectives and policies of the plans.
The first type of consent provides for a staged reduction of the amount of fertiliser applied so that the nitrogen limits are met by 1 July 2023.
The second provides for nitrogen fertiliser to exceed the nitrogen limit for a maximum of five years. For this consent to be granted, the application would need to show that the environmental impacts will be the same or less than if the nitrogen limit had been applied. It is considered this consent would be more difficult to obtain.
It is strongly recommended that you seek resource consent advice from a Ravensdown Environmental Planner if you plan to exceed the nitrogen fertiliser limit.
When do I need to lodge a resource consent application if I’m planning to apply more than 190kg N/ha/yr?
The rules relating to nitrogen fertiliser use in NES-FW apply from 1 July 2021.
It is strongly recommended that you seek resource consent advice from a Ravensdown Environmental Planner if you plan to exceed the nitrogen fertiliser limit.
Do I need to report my fertiliser use to Regional Council?
Dairy farmers are required to report annual use of nitrogen fertiliser beginning 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022. This needs to be supplied to your regional council by 31 July 2022.
The Ministry for the Environment and regional councils are working with industry on a reporting template.
Ravensdown’s HawkEye farm mapping software team have been part of this working group to ensure that the N-cap reporting being created in HawkEye will be fit for purpose and meet all requirements set out by regional councils nationwide.
To find out more about what the HawkEye team have been doing to help farmers get ready for the 31 July deadline, read our interview with HawkEye Product Manager Phil Barlow.