Progress on the draft nitrogen rules

Some changes have been made to the draft nitrogen rules for the Lake Rotorua catchment as a result of feedback received by BOPRC during the July to October 2014 consultation. A detailed consultation report can be found here.

Although the overall rule structure is still similar, the thresholds have changed for “permitted activities” i.e. situations where no resource consent is required. The draft rules now have two categories of permitted activity:

• under 10 hectares – permitted except for specified “intensive” land uses
• 10-40 hectares – a delay until 2022 before landowners either meet the 10 kgN/ha limit or apply for resource consent (similar to requirements for properties over 40 ha).

It’s more complicated than that, and some things still need more definition. For example, the BOPRC staff report notes that intensive land use is “yet to be defined but will include dairy, intensive beef, nurseries and cropping, or land use that is part of a larger farm enterprise”.
You can read the BOPRC staff report here.

The staff recommendations were accepted by BOPRC’s Regional Direction and Delivery Committee on 9 December. However, on 10 December the Rotorua Te Arawa Lakes Strategy Group asked for more time to consider the report. The Strategy Group includes Rotorua District Council and Te Arawa Lakes Trust.