Discharging Farm Dairy Effluent

Before you apply

Before you apply, please read:

• How to apply for a consent
• Technical Information on consent requirements
• Application forms

Please note that different rules apply to consents within the coastal environment governed by the Hawke’s Bay Regional Coastal Environment Plan.

Technical Information

The discharge to land of Farm Dairy Effluent requires a consent under Rules 14 and 15 of the Regional Resource Management Plan (RRMP) or Rules 20 and 21 of the Regional Coastal Environment Plan.

Application Requirements

In applying for a resource consent to discharge farm dairy effluent you will need to include:

• An Overseer Nutrient Budget prepared by an approved provider. This is someone with a certificate in advanced sustainable nutrient management from Massey University or a certified Nutrient Management Advisor.
• A Massey Pond Storage Calculation. This can be run by a DairyNZ or Fonterra representative.

Without this, the application will not be considered complete and will not be accepted by the Regional Council.

Tukituki catchment – for discharges in this catchment, you will also need to consider the how Plan Change 6 will impact your activity.

Sensitive Catchments

The RRMP and RCEP identifies a number of catchments considered to be sensitive to the discharge of animal effluent. The catchments can be viewed on our mapping tool.

• Mohaka River headwaters
• Ngaruroro River headwaters
• Maungawhio
• Hatuma Lake
• Tutira Lake
• Heretaunga Plains Unconfined Aquifer
• Ruataniwha Plains Unconfined Aquifer
• Whakaki Lake
• Tutaekuri River Headwaters
• Tukituki River Headwaters

For any discharge proposed to go into one of these catchments, additional information must be included with the application to enable the Regional Council to consider the effects on the environment from the proposed discharge:

• A cumulative assessment of effects of discharges on the land, from both the proposed dairy activity as well as other activity’s which may impact on the effects of the effluent discharge. A whole farm nutrient budget can assess this.
• A discussion of the management of other activities which may have an impact on the effects of the agricultural effluent discharge. This can include examples where the farm is employing farm management best practices such as buffer strips, the use of denitrification inhibitors etc

Helpful Links

Dairy NZs Design standards and Code of Practice (PDF) is useful when considering the design of your farm dairy effluent system. This resource gives best practice advice for the collection, storage and land application of farm dairy effluent.

How to apply

Applications can be lodged via email to the consentadvisor@hbrc.govt.nz or physically to any of our offices, please check the front page of your applications Form A for full lodgement instructions.

Administration Form 'A' 

Application Form 'B' - Discharging Farm Dairy Effluent

Contact Us

If you have any questions about the farm dairy effluent application process, please contact the Consents Advisor on +64 6 835 9200. consentadvisor@hbrc.govt.nz. 

 A resource consent is a legal document. Keep it in a safe place and check it regularly to be sure you are fully aware of conditions.