Water Quality Michelle Conland RMA provisions of particular - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Water Quality Michelle Conland

RMA provisions of particular relevance • Section 15 - Discharge of contaminants into the environment Has a ‘restrictive presumption’ that states that no person may discharge any contaminant or water into water or to land where it may enter water unless the discharge is expressly permitted by a rule in a plan, an NES or a resource consent has been granted

RMA provisions • Section 69(3) Section 69(3) states that standards cannot be set in a plan which result or may result in a reduction of the quality of water in any waters after reasonable mixing

RMA provisions • Section 70 – Rules about discharges Section 70(1) states that a regional council must be satisfied that none of the effects listed in section 70(1)(c)-(g) will occur as a result of including a permitted activity rule for a discharge of a contaminant or water into water, or to land which may result in that contaminant entering water

Provisions in my evidence • Issue 2 – Definitions of river, tributary, surface water body and point source discharge • Issue 9 – P68, P70 and P71 • Issue 10 – Rules R42-R47, R67-R69

Focus of this presentation • Key issues and recommendations • Outstanding issues

Definitions • Words that are defined in the RMA are not redefined in the proposed Plan • Surface water bodies – Inclusion of drains and water races – Estuaries

Estuaries

Recommendations • Surface water body A river, lake, wetland, estuary outside of the coastal marine area, open drain or water race, and its bed. For the purpose of the Plan, surface water body does not include ephemeral flow paths and bodies of water designed, installed and maintained for any of the following purposes… • Zone of reasonable mixing

Policy P68 Policy P68: Inappropriate discharges to water Discharges to fresh and coastal water of: (a) untreated wastewater , except as a result of extreme weather-related overflows or wastewater system failures or from recreational boating activities, and (b) animal effluent from an animal effluent storage facility or from an area where animals are confined, and (c) untreated industrial or trade waste, and (d) untreated organic waste or leachate from storage of organic material shall be avoided.

Policy P68 – officer’s recommendation Policy P68: Inappropriate discharges to water Discharges to fresh and coastal water of: (a) untreated wastewater , except as a result of extreme weather- relatedheavy rainfall event overflows or wastewater system failures or from recreational boating activities, and (b) animal effluent from an animal effluent storage facility or from an area where animals are confined, and (c) untreated industrial or trade waste, and (d) untreated organic waste or leachate from storage of organic material shall be avoided.

Policy P70 Policy P70: Managing point source discharges for aquatic ecosystem health and mahinga kai Where an objective in Table 3.4, Table 3.5, Table 3.6 or Table 3.8 of Objective O25 is not met, point source discharges to water shall be managed in the following way: (a) for an existing activity that contributes to the objective not being met, the discharge is only appropriate if: (i) the application for resource consent includes a defined programme of work for upgrading the activity, in accordance with good management practice , within the term of the resource consent, and (ii) conditions on the resource consent require the reduction of adverse effects of the activity in order to improve water quality in relation to the objective within the term of the consent, and (b) for a new activity, the discharge is only appropriate if the activity would not cause the affected fresh water body or area of coastal water to become any worse in relation to the objective. In assessing the appropriateness of a new or existing discharge, the ability to offset residual adverse effects may be considered.

Policy P70 – officer’s recommendation Policy P70: Managing point source discharges for aquatic ecosystem health and mahinga kai Where an objective in Table 3.4, Table 3.5, Table 3.6, Table 3.7 or Table 3.8 of Objective O25 is not met, point source discharges to water shall be managed in the following way: (a) for an existing activity discharge that contributes to the objective not being met, the discharge is only appropriate if: (i) thean application for a resource consent includes a defined programme of work for upgrading the activitydischarge, in accordance with good management practice , within the term of the resource consent, and (ii) conditions on the resource consent require the reduction of adverse effects of the activitydischarge in order to improve water quality in relation to the objective within the term of the consent, and (b) for a new activity discharge , the discharge is only appropriate inappropriate if the activitydischarge would not cause the affected fresh water body or area of coastal water to become any worse worsen in relation to the objective.

Policy P70 - definitions • Definitions of existing and new discharge - recommended amendment to include point source discharges (S42A report: Wastewater discharges to water) • Makes clear when and how P70 applies

Policy P70 – existing discharges • For existing discharges, the requirement to upgrade the discharge occurs if the discharge is contributing to the objective not being met.

Policy P70 – new discharges • For new discharges, the discharge is inappropriate if it causes the affected water body or coastal water to worsen in relation to the objectives in Tables 3.4 to 3.8.

Policy P71 Policy P71: Quality of discharges The adverse effects of point source discharges to rivers shall be minimised by the use of measures that result in the discharge meeting the following water quality standards in the receiving water after the zone of reasonable mixing : (a) below the discharge point compared to above the discharge point: (i) a decrease in the Quantitative Macroinvertebrate Community Index of no more than 20%, and a change in pH of no more than ±0.5, and a decrease in water clarity of no more than: 1. 20% in River class 1, or 33% in River classes 2 to 6, and (ii) a change in temperature of no more than: 1. 2°C in River classes 1 or 2, or 2°C in any river identified as having high macroinvertebrate community health in Schedule F1 (rivers/lakes), or 3°C in any other river, and (b) a 7-day mean minimum dissolved oxygen concentration of no lower than 5mg/L, and (c) a daily minimum dissolved oxygen concentration of no lower than 4mg/L. All water quality standards apply at all flows except (a)(iii) which applies at less than median flows , (a) applies at all times of the year, (b) and (c) apply only between 1 November and 30 April each year.

Policy P71 • Differs from P70 – relates to managing individual (not cumulative) point source discharges – only applies to rivers

Policy P71 concerns • Some standards are NOF bottom lines – dissolved oxygen • A decrease of QMCI of 20% could lower the water quality class • Potential to lower the discharge quality down to these water quality standards • pH standard is the limit for permitted activity rule condition • For most point source discharges the standards will be too lenient

Policy P71 recommendations • The standards be deleted • Whaitua process be used to set appropriate limits for each freshwater management unit • In the interim, appropriate limits be set on a case by case basis through the consent process • Policy applies where the objectives of Table 3.4 of O25 are met

Policy P71 – recommended text Policy P71: Quality of discharges – clean version Where all of the objectives in Table 3.4 of Objective O25 are met, the adverse effects of point source discharges to rivers, excluding discharges from the stormwater network and wastewater network , shall be minimised by the use of measures that result in the discharge maintaining water quality in the receiving water after the zone of reasonable mixing, when measured below the discharge point compared to above the discharge point, having particular regard to the following indicators of ecosystem health: (a) the Quantitative Macroinvertebrate Community Index (b) pH (c) water clarity (d) temperature (e) the 7-day mean minimum dissolved oxygen concentration (f) the daily minimum dissolved oxygen concentration.

Policy P71 – recent developments • Removal of limits for all types of point source discharges • Exclusion of wastewater and stormwater discharges from this policy

Discharge rules – general recommendations • Includes an amendment to the introduction to clarify that if there are rules for a specific activity these are the rules that apply rather than more general catch-all type rules

Rule cascade – specific rules example The discharge of dye or salt tracer, excluding radioisotope tracers, into water, or to land in a manner that may enter water Does it meet the permitted activity conditions of Rule R46? Permitted by Controlled by Rule R46 Rule R47