Waikato - Update on Plan Change 1

What this means for you

There are several key resolutions we have identified in the court’s decision which is an interim decision stemming from months of evidence, hearings and negotiations with the courts, and other parties involved.

Resource Consent Requirements

Many dairy farmers will require consents under the proposed plan change. The decision on this has changed because of our influence. The consenting status of some higher intensity farms moved down into the controlled activity status, removing the ability for council to decline such consent. This is a practical middle ground from where the plan change started, with farmers potentially falling into discretionary activity status which could be declined, leaving them with little certainty.

Drafting gate for who requires a consent

Under the initial proposal, decisions on whether a consent was required relied on Overseer nutrient budget outputs. In turn, a farmer’s consent status determined which rules applied to the farm. While a “drafting gate” approach remains, the court has determined that this can be done using the Nitrogen Risk Scorecard (therefore drafting a farm into a permitted or consented rule). This reduces the cost for farmers to determine their activity status, which previously occurred using Overseer run by a suitable qualified person. The NRS utilises known data through your annual reporting. This also sets a valuable precedent for other regions considering reductions of nutrients via a drafting gate for activity status.

Stock exclusion

One of the more significant tools of PC1 is the regulations around stock exclusion. There have been several changes to these provisions since the original drafting of PC1. Dairy farms are required to exclude stock from all waterways with a staged approach available under a farm plan. We have maintained protection for existing fencing which may not be setback to the required standard that new fencing needs to meet (3 meters for most waterways), recognising the costs farmers have invested to date.

Nutrient management/diffuse discharge risk

The Plan’s focus is on the four main contaminants of concern in the catchment: nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment, and E. coli. Through a freshwater farm plan and via Overseer for consented farms, farmers will be required to demonstrate a reduction of overall risk from their current state. Wording like “as low as practicable” will determine how far a farmer would need to go. This is better than previous iterations tested, which would have required specific reductions via Overseer (reduce from xkg to Ykg of N).

Freshwater farm plans

During the national adoption of farm plan requirements, DairyNZ, alongside other sector organisations, has been advocating to ensure farmers only need one plan, not a regional and national version of a farm plan.

Additional requirements

• If you are in the Whangamarino catchment, you have a specific resource consenting process.
• If you are undertaking land use change, there are specific resource consent requirements. These land use change restrictions are in place now, and any farm converting land use from pines to pastural farming, or dry stock to dairy, needs a resource consent.
• If you are a mixed land use system, you will need to pay close attention to the definitions and rule status to ensure you are meeting the required regulations.