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In the Tukituki catchment?

The Regional Council is working with landowners and communities living in the Tukituki River catchment in Central Hawke’s Bay, to manage specific water quality issues. This page will help you find out more about the Tukituki Catchment Plan.

Tukituki River Catchment Plan

The aim of the Tukituki Catchment Plan Change 6 is to sustainably manage the catchment’s freshwater resources and improve its water quality. It’s a catchment-specific change to the Hawke's Bay Regional Resource Management Plan.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE TUKITUKI PROJECT HERE

Tukituki land use consents

OVERSEER REVIEW

In late 2018, the Ministry for the Environment and the Ministry for Primary Industries commissioned a review of Overseer by a Science Advisory Panel (SAP).

The panel considered Overseer’s ability to estimate nitrogen loss across a range of conditions found in New Zealand.

The outcome of the review was published in August 2021. The panel concluded that they would not have confidence in Overseer to estimate the volume/rate of nutrient loss and whether nitrogen loss was being increased or reduced as a result of on-farm actions.

In its response to the review, the Government advised the regional sector that regulatory outcomes should not be determined solely based upon nutrient budget outputs from Overseer.

In view of the SAP review of Overseer and the Government response, the Council is unable to continue with implementation of the Tukituki Catchment plan as it is currently proposed in the Tukituki Catchment Plan (PC6) Procedural Guidelines (version 3, published March 2021).

We have determined that we will be unable to reliably assess whether individual high leachers are exceeding their LUC N allowance, based on Table 5.9.1D, without the use of Overseer. Enforcement of this rule based on Overseer outputs would also be unlikely to succeed. Therefore, we do not believe that we will be able to require applications for individual high leachers that are located outside a DIN exceeding sub-catchment.

Deadline for Tukituki land use consent applications – 30th November 2021.

You will need to complete a full application for the following:

  • Properties located within the current DIN exceeding sub-catchments; Kahahakuri, Mangaonuku, Tukipo, Porangahau, Maharakeke and Upper Tukituki Corridor.
  • If you are unable to comply with the Tukituki Catchment Plan stock exclusion rules. 

Papanui sub-catchment

The Papanui sub-catchment has previously exceeded the DIN limit, however current data indicates that the level of DIN is under the 0.8 DIN mg/L limit at the lodgement date.  If monitoring shows an increase in the level of DIN and the sub-catchment again exceeds the DIN limit, then we will notify landowners within the sub-catchment of the exceedance and require a resource consent. This will be determined annually on 31 May.

National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS) 2020 and National Environmental Standards (NES-FW) for freshwater 2020.

New requirements introduced by the NES - FW came into effect on 3 September 2020.

Some landowners in the Tukituki may be affected by these new regulations.

For further information and guidance see the specific NPS/NES web pages or visit MFE here

Overseer information

Find out more about the recent Overseer review here

Tukituki Dashboard

Check out our interactive dashboard to see how your subcatchment is performing.

Tukituki Dashboard

Stock Exclusion Guidance

Tukituki Catchment - Stock Exclusion Guidance

Checklist for farmers

Check out our handy list of things you need to do and useful contact numbers.

  • Have I got a FEMP? Does it meet the requirements of Schedule xxii?
  • When are the actions due?
  • Have I got a Nutrient Budget?
  • What is my estimated N loss?  What is my N loss limit?
  • What sub-catchment is my farm in? Is the sub-catchment over or under DIN?
  • Does my farm comply with the stock exclusion requirements? If not, do I have a proposed schedule of works to indicate when this will be achieved by?

Who to talk to

If you would like to speak to someone about your application, or any other matters relating to the Tukituki Catchment Plan, please contact us:

Tukituki documents

You can find all the relevant and useful documents, including the procedural guidelines, FAQs, plan change, and other catchment related information, in 'related documents' above.

Do you need a Resource Consent?

There are three main reasons properties in the Tukituki Catchment may need a Resource Consent. You'll need to answer the questions below to find out.

Find out your DIN limit here

 Is you farming system ‘low intensity’*? 

Your answer: Whether you need a resource consent:
YES  No consent required, but you may need one in the future
NO  Yes, you will need to apply for a Resource Consent

FIND OUT HOW TO APPLY FOR A RESOURCE CONSENT HERE

*NOTE: You do not need to apply for a consent if your farm is located within a sub-catchment that exceeds the instream DIN target, but it is a Low Intensity Farming System. A low intensity farm is defined as:

Low intensity farming system

Farm properties or farming enterprises with no more than eightstock units per hectare including:

  • permanent horticultural and viticultural crops (such as orchards, vineyards) and lifestyle properties; but does not include:

a) Properties used for the production of rotational vegetable crops;
b) Dairy farms;
c) Grazed forage crops.

If in doubt, please contact a consent planner to discuss further, or find out more about whether you qualify for low intensity farming here.

Low Intensity Guidance

We expect farmers to identify all areas required to have stock exclusion and fence these areas by 31 May 2020. If stock exclusion has not been completed, a consent is required. We expect farmers to hold appropriate consents for their operations. Where stock exclusion is not reasonably practicable, alternative mitigation measures should be implemented. 

Find out your Stock exclusion requirements here

Your answer:

Whether you need a resource consent:

NO  You will need to apply for a Resource Consent
YES

 You don't need a resource consent but you may need one in the future.  

FIND OUT HOW TO APPLY FOR A RESOURCE CONSENT HERE

Your answer:

Whether you need a resource consent:

NO  You will need to apply for a Resource Consent
YES

 You don't need a resource consent but you may need one in the future.  

FIND OUT HOW TO APPLY FOR A RESOURCE CONSENT HERE

Contact our team

Email us: consentadvisor@hbrc.govt.nz

 

Glossary of terms

A FEMP is a Farm Environment Management Plan. It summarises the potential risks in a farming operation, and describes how these risks will be managed and reduced over time.

All properties in the Tukituki catchment area are required to have a Farm Environmental Management Plan (FEMP).

Dissolved inorganic nitrogen is immediately available for plant uptake which in turn can cause nuisance algal growth in the streams and rivers. The limit for DIN was set to five years of data to ensure that any climatic variability has been curtailed by the data length/duration. This approach targets only the catchments that are under pressure from excessive nitrogen leaching. In the Tukituki the over allocated sub-catchments are up to five times over the limit.

Nutrient budgets allow nitrogen leaching rates and phosphorus losses to be worked out for a particular farm property of farming enterprise. It is generated using a nutrient budgeting model, such as OverseerFM, and forms part of the requirements of a Farm Environmental Management Plan (FEMP).

 

An agricultural management tool that assists in understanding nutrient use and movements on a farm which can help landowners optimise production and environmental outcomes. Overseer is owned and administered by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), the Fertiliser Association of New Zealand and Ag Research.

Here is more guidance to explain.

Land Use Capability Classification is a system in use in New Zealand since the 1950s to try and achieve sustainable land development and management on farms. The system classifies all of New Zealand’s rural land into one of eight classes, based on its physical characteristics and attributes. Class 1 land is the most versatile and can be used for a wide range of land uses. Class 8 land has a lot of physical limitations, it may be extremely steep, and not generally suitable for arable, pastoral or commercial forestry use.

An Assesment of Environmental Effects is a written statement which identifies the effects of your proposed activity or activities on the environment so that the likely impact of the proposal can be assessed. The AEE should also describe the ways in which any negative effects are to be remedied, avoided or mitigated.

 

Means farm properties or farming enterprises that contain no more than 8 stock units per hectare including:

  • permanent horticultural and viticultural crops (such as orchards, vineyards) and lifestyle properties; but does not include:

a) Properties used for the production of rotational vegetable crops;

b) Dairy farms;

c) Grazed forage crops.

Find more guidance information here.

Tukituki Map

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