Freshwater national direction
Overview
The Government is consulting on proposals to amend the:
- National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 (NPS-FM)
- Resource Management (National Environmental Standards for Freshwater) Regulations 2020 (NES-F)
Further consultation will be undertaken through an exposure draft process, which will have more detail, later this year.
We are seeking feedback on proposals including:
- Rebalancing freshwater management through multiple objectives
- Rebalancing Te Mana o te Wai
- Providing flexibility in the National Objectives Framework
- Enabling commercial vegetable growing
- Addressing water security and water storage
- Simplifying wetlands provisions
- Simplifying fish passage regulations
- Addressing remaining issues with the farmer-facing regulations (ie, synthetic nitrogen fertiliser)
- Including mapping requirements for drinking water sources.
Your feedback is also sought on whether proposed changes should be implemented now under the RMA, or incorporated into the upcoming RMA replacement legislation.
Read the package 3: Freshwater discussion document
See the interim Regulatory Impact Statements for national direction
Other consultations
We are consulting on other proposals for national direction:
- Consultation on infrastructure, development, and primary sector.
- Consultation on going for housing growth: Providing for urban development in the new resource management system
Note proposed changes to the Resource Management (Stock Exclusion) Regulations 2020 and specific amendments to freshwater national direction instruments relating to quarrying and mining only are set out in Package 2: Primary sector.
Webinars
We hosted four online webinars on the proposals in packages 1, 2 and 3 and to answer questions.
Package 2: Primary sector and Package 3: Freshwater
View Package 2: Primary sector and Package 3: Freshwater
Start the video at the freshwater section
Slide pack for - Package 2 and 3 (PDF, 1MB)
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