By Kay Keam - 1 Nov 2012
A recent Environment Court decision limiting effluent flow from
farms has come hot on the heels of a Ministry of Environment report
finding that the water quality at more than half the recreational
swimming spots it monitors is poor or very poor.
The Environment Court decision on the Horizons Regional
Council's 'One Plan' will inevitably have an impact on current
farming intensity practices and after a lengthy period of
consultation, hearings and litigation, the Council has won the
right to control the impact that everyday farming practice has on
rivers and lakes. The draft One Plan was first released in 2010 and
interested groups were given the opportunity to appeal aspects of
the Plan which were of concern. The appeals process has now come to
an end, and the Environment Court has released its decision.
For years farmers have been aware that resource consents are
needed to manage the flow of effluent from dairy sheds. However,
the One Plan goes one step further. It sets hard limits on the
volume of nutrients allowed to drain from the soil and into
waterways and sets up a regime where a resource consent will be
needed in order to discharge contaminants from the soil into lakes
and rivers. At this stage it would appear that contamination is
defined as that caused by fertilizer run-off and livestock
defecating on soil. To cut a long story short, it effectively
requires a consent to farm!
The One Plan also requires farmers to meet increasingly
stringent "leaching" limits over the next 20 years, using a
nutrient budgeting program to monitor nitrogen losses from the
soil. These leaching limits will vary depending on the type of
land, which is classified using a system which takes into account
the soil type, geology, slope and climate. The land is then given a
rating, with the result that the flatter the land the higher the
leaching allowance will be. Certain advocacy groups are hoping that
this will discourage farmers from converting steep or porous land
to intensive dairying, which causes much higher rates of nitrogen
leaching than alternative forms of pastoral farming.
The above issues will raise fresh concerns for those
contemplating a purchase of rural land within those areas governed
by the One Plan. A diligent purchaser will want to confirm that the
landowner has the necessary resource consents in place in order for
the farming operation to continue smoothly after settlement. The
purchaser will also want to ensure that any penalty for breaching
the "leaching limits" prior to settlement will be the
responsibility of the previous owner. The potential expiry date of
any such resource consent and the cost of reapplying for any
substitute consent should also be given consideration.
Contact
Elise
Markwick