Councillors approved a letter to Resource Management Act Reform Minister Chris Bishop, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay accepting their offer to be a part of the review and replacement of the national policy statement on freshwater management (NPSFM).
The ministers spent months urging the council to pause work on its plan to manage the region’s environment until a new NPSFM was in place.
Nevertheless, it scheduled a vote to notify the plan and was ultimately stymied on the eve of the vote last month after the government amended legislation, requiring the new NPSFM be in place first.
Council chief executive Richard Saunders said staff were "not even clear" what the process for the review of the NPSFM would be, but there was an offer for engagement
"What I would hope would come out of this is that there will be opportunities for, collectively, staff and council.
"There will probably be opportunities for staff to be engaging on certain topics and certain things, because there's broader engagement on the NPS than just with ORC.
"But also ... it shouldn't restrict councillors.
"There was an invitation through the meetings, and through the letters we had, for engagement with ministers as well.
"So this wouldn't prevent you making the most of those things as well. So there'd still be a little bit of work to do just to establish exactly what this means.
"I don't think it locks us into one way or the other, because it's really just a letter back to the ministers to get them to give some direction to ministry officials about the process."
A letter from the ministers attached to this week’s council agenda said the review and replacement of the NPSFM was expected to be complete by the middle of next year.
"We are keen to work together collaboratively on freshwater matters going forward, including drawing on your experience and expertise in our review and replacement of the NPSFM."
A draft response urged councillor involvement.
"We consider our staff well suited to assist with exploring ideas and providing feedback on proposals, alongside how they may work in the Otago context.
"As councillors closely engaged with our community, we are also keen to share our experiences to help shape the land and freshwater framework."
