Council staff appear poised to accept a government offer to work on new national freshwater policies, but have also recommended councillors ask to be involved.
After urging the council to pause work on its land and water plan since late last year, last month the government moved to block any council from approving new freshwater rules before a new national policy statement for freshwater management (NPSFM) is in place.
The council had already moved its October 23 meeting to the 230-seat Hutton Theatre at Tūhura Otago Museum, in Dunedin, in anticipation of a large public gallery to witness the vote.
But the day before the meeting, the government announced its amendment to the Resource Management Act Amendment Bill, which caused the council to abandon the vote.
The government move appeared to catch some councillors off guard, including longtime Dunedin-based councillor Bryan Scott, who resigned in protest.
Now, a staff report to councillors said through recent correspondence, government ministers had indicated the government’s ongoing interest in working with the council "collaboratively" on the review and replacement of the NPSFM.
The government had also offered to work with the council to make sure "unintended consequences" of delaying notification of the plan did not negatively affect those who used the region’s natural resources, or create unnecessary costs for Otago ratepayers.
"The issues include potential significant consequences associated with the provisions for managing rural diffuse discharges, which are unworkable, coming into effect, and the community perception of the short-term consent framework for new and existing water permits remaining in place for longer than ORC committed to," the report said.
The report said the delay in notifying the plan meant some activities related to freshwater would not be regulated after the end of this year.
"Some of these activities have previously been identified as high-risk activities in relation to their impact on water quality, including land use intensification and intensive winter grazing."
Work on a grazing management plan for the Taieri Scroll Plain should also stop, the report said.
Conversations with officials from the Ministry for the Environment indicated work on the replacement NPSFM would need to take place ahead of community consultation, expected early next year.
"Staff suggest that councillors respond to the letter, accepting the offer for staff to work with ministry officials, and also request to have specific councillor-level engagement."
A draft letter to Environment Minister Penny Simmonds, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay and RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop outlining staff’s proposed approach is attached to the agenda for tomorrow’s meeting.
