Saturday, March 30, 2024

Feds wary of water plan changes

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Federated Farmers are concerned the Government’s new laws around freshwater management will mean a reset for regional councils’ own water plan changes across New Zealand.
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This would result in years of work and millions of dollars wasted in some regions, the group’s water spokesman Chris Allen said.

“It has reset the whole discussion. All of these plans that we have got in place, we will now have to re-do them to the new national bottom lines to the new elevation of Te Mana o te Wai,” he said.

This is a concept that refers to water’s importance and seeks to restore and preserve the balance between it, the wider environment and the community.

“The planning process that we have all gone through in the past doesn’t count for much at all. Where it’s cost councils and landowners millions over the last 10 years. It will have to be reset, and we’ll have to do it all again,” Allen said.

The Government gazetted its National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management on August 5, meaning it will come into force on September 3. Some of the new rules will take effect from September 3 while others take a longer timeframe.

The new rules include putting controls on winter grazing, stock exclusion from waterways and feedlots, require farm environmental plans and setting a 190kg/ha cap on nitrogen fertiliser usage.

Allen believed the reforms meant water quality levels now had to match pre-human levels.

He based this claim on the NPS’ appendix on compulsory values, which said:

“In a healthy freshwater ecosystem, all 5 biophysical components [water quality and quantity, habitat, aquatic life and ecological processes] are suitable to sustain the indigenous aquatic life expected in the absence of human disturbance or alteration (before providing for other values).”

“You’ll be setting over the next generation a pathway to get to pre-human water quality,” Allen said.

How that statement could be interpreted meant huge uncertainty for farmers in the next 4-5 years.

“There is the distinct possibility of facing costly legal action as councils work out how to implement the regulations without established case law to assist in translating these directions,” he said.

Some of the new rules will take time to adjust. 

Allen said the new environmental standard on winter grazing meant pugging could exceed a depth of more than 20 centimetres.

When asked if farming was still possible under the new rules, he said: “It’s going to be a huge cost. We are going to need lawyers, consultants for resource consent applications – there’s going to be thousands of resource consents.”

On his Mid Canterbury farm, Allen said the pugging caused by cattle entering and exiting his adjacent paddocks of kale and fodder beet as they travel to graze these crops was now in breach of the new rules.

“I am now technically in violation of the national environmental standards,” he said. 

“There are no exceptions, exemptions or ways to farm around that because it says one part of the paddock will have pugging for more than 20 centimetres deep.”

He was also concerned that stock exclusion rules on low sloping land (under 10 degrees) on high country farms would push up fencing costs on these farms.

Other sector organisations were more positive.

DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle was encouraged that the Government had allowed more time for some of the policies to be introduced.

“We are keen to ensure that timeframes for all regulations are fair and reflect the considerable effort made by dairy farmers to date.”

The new rules also allowed for special provisions in the vegetable growing areas of Pukekohe and Horowhenua, a move welcomed by Horticulture New Zealand chief executive Mike Chapman.

These provisions meant councils could maintain water quality below some national bottom lines while ensuring that improvements are made. These provisions will, however, expire after 10 years.

Environment Minister David Parker said the regulations delivered on the Government’s commitment to stop further degradation, show material improvements within five years and restore waterways to health within a generation.

Fish & Game New Zealand chief executive Martin Taylor said the new standards were a significant step forward in reducing pollution in waterways.

“The rules, if enforced, will achieve the aim of preventing further decline by focusing on ecosystem health as a bottom line to protect our waterways,” he said.

“While today is an important milestone, to stop the degradation of our waterways the implementation will be critical.

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