Hawke’s Bay Regional Council is inviting feedback on draft amendments to the Regional Policy Statement (RPS) so that public views can be considered before a more formal proposal later this year.
The Draft Land Use and Freshwater Management (Change 5) aims to include new policies and amend existing policies relating to freshwater in the Regional Policy Statement.
Change 5 will provide clearer direction to decision-makers about how future land use and water management decisions will be made.
Written feedback on the draft Change 5 needs to be with HBRC by 5pm Friday 24 August 2012. People can also email feedback to submissions@hbrc.govt.nz. Information is available from Hawke’s Bay Regional Council or go to www.hbrc.govt.nz and look under POPULAR CONTENT.
The amendments are necessary to action both the Hawke's Bay Land and Water Management Strategy, which was adopted by HBRC in November 2011, plus National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, introduced by central government in 2011. The National Policy Statement has set a new direction for improving water quality and protecting life in New Zealand’s rivers, lakes, streams and aquifers.
Public feedback on the draft Change will be useful for further drafting and preparation of a proposed RPS Change which is aimed to be publicly notified in October 2012.
In summary, the draft Change proposes clearer guidance and direction on how conflicting values and uses of freshwater resources will be managed and states an overall objective for how land use and water will be managed across the region. This includes a clearer policy regarding land-based disposal of wastewater, solid waste and other waste products.
In the draft change a small number of ‘outstanding freshwater bodies’ have been identified where water quality must be protected.
Catchment-based regional plan changes will be development for the Heretaunga, Mohaka and Tukituki catchment areas, and Change 5 outlines how differing values ought to be given varying degrees of emphasis. Also included is a range of non-regulatory methods that would be used to improve management of land use and freshwater in Hawke's Bay.
The RPS Change 5 is not intended to comprehensively implement the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management – that will largely be done through a series of changes to regional plans.