Court decision alarms Southland farmers
A recent Court of Appeal decision is poised to affect farmers in Southland.
This ruling relates to Rule 24 of Environment Southland’s proposed Regional Water Plan. Essentially, Rule 24 allows for the discharge of nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment, or microbial contaminants onto or into land, provided that, after reasonable mixing, these discharges do not adversely affect the receiving waterway.
Turn your water into wetland
With the long grey winter coming to a close, spring has seen new life with leaf buds and spring flowers starting to grow. If you are a green enthusiast, enjoy gardening or have a naturally wet area on your property then why not consider fencing it off and creating a pond.
Essential Freshwater - the essentials for Southland farmers
Water has become one of the government’s number one priorities. As a result, new rules will be in place by 2020 in an attempt to stop the degradation of New Zealand’s freshwater.
With agriculture and primary production the main contributor to Southland’s economy, these new rules will no doubt have a noticeable effect on Southland and its farmers.
Overseas Investment Act and Forestry
Changes to the Overseas Investment Act 2005 will come into force on 22 October 2018. The amendments have implications for overseas persons looking to purchase residential land, and also forestry and horticulture land. This article will focus on interesting changes for the overseas purchase of forestry land.
National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry
The National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry (NES-PF) set out national regulations to manage the environmental effects of forestry.
The National Environmental Standards (NES) are regulations made under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) which:
- Set out the technical standards, methods or requirements in relation to matters under the RMA; and
- Provides nationwide consistent rules by setting planning requirements for certain specified activities.
The effect of NES is that it prevails/trumps both district and regional plan rule except in situations where the NES-PF specifically allows more stringent plan rules.
