Glossary

Glossary of RMA Definitions

Amenity values means those natural or physical qualities and characteristics of an area that contribute to people’s appreciation of its pleasantness, aesthetic coherence, and cultural and recreational attributes.

Benefits and costs includes benefits and costs of any kind, whether monetary or non-monetary.

Best practicable option, in relation to a discharge of a contaminant or an emission of noise, means the best method for preventing or minimising the adverse effects on the environment having regard, among other things, to-

1. The nature of the discharge or emission and the sensitivity of the receiving environment to adverse effects; and

2. The financial implications, and the effects on the environment, of that option when compared to other options; and

3. The current state of technical knowledge and the likelihood that the option can be successfully applied.

Biological diversity means the variability among living organisms, and the ecological complexes of which they are a part, including diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems.

Climate change means a change of climate that is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and that is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods.

Coastal marine area means the foreshore, seabed, and coastal water, and the air space above the water]---

(a) Of which the seaward boundary is the outer limits of the territorial sea:

(b) Of which the landward boundary is the line of mean high water springs, except that where that line crosses a river, the landward boundary at that point shall be whichever is the lesser of---

(i) One kilometre upstream from the mouth of the river; or

(ii) The point upstream that is calculated by multiplying the width of the river mouth by 5.

Consent authority means the Minister of Conservation, a regional council, a territorial authority, or a local authority that is both a regional council and a territorial authority, whose permission is required to carry out an activity for which a resource consent is required under this Act.

Contaminant includes any substance (including gases, liquids, solids, and micro-organisms) or energy (excluding noise) or heat, that either by itself or in combination with the same, similar, or other substances, energy, or heat---

(a) When discharged into water, changes or is likely to change the physical, chemical, or biological condition of water; or

(b) When discharged onto or into land or into air, changes or is likely to change the physical, chemical, or biological condition of the land or air onto or into which it is discharged.

Contaminated land means land of 1 of the following kinds:

1. If there is an applicable national environmental standard on contaminants in soil, the land is more contaminated than the standard allows; or

2. If there is no applicable national environmental standard on contaminants in soil, the land has a hazardous substance in or on it that-

(i) Has significant adverse effects on the environment; or

(ii) Is reasonably likely to have significant adverse effects on the environment.

Effect includes-

(a) Any positive or adverse effect; and

(b) Any temporary or permanent effect; and

(c) Any past, present, or future effect; and

(d) Any cumulative effect which arises over time or in combination with other effects

regardless of the scale, intensity, duration, or frequency of the effect, and also includes—

(e) Any potential effect of high probability; and

(f) Any potential effect of low probability which has a high potential impact.

Environment includes---

(a) Ecosystems and their constituent parts, including people and communities; and

(b) All natural and physical resources; and

(c) Amenity values; and

(d) The social, economic, aesthetic, and cultural conditions which affect the matters stated in paragraphs (a) to (c) of this definition or which are affected by those matters.

Historic heritage (a) means those natural and physical resources that contribute to an understanding and appreciation of New Zealand’s history and cultures, deriving from any of the following qualities:

1. Archeological

2. Architectural

3. Cultural

4. Historic

5. Scientific

6. Technological; and

(b) Includes –

1. Historic sites, structures, places, and areas; and

2. Archeological sites; and

3. Sites of significance to Maori, including wahi tapu; and

4. Surroundings associated with the natural and physical resources.

Intrinsic values, in relation to ecosystems, means those aspects of ecosystems and their constituent parts which have value in their own right, including---

(a) Their biological and genetic diversity; and

(b) The essential characteristics that determine an ecosystem's integrity, form, functioning, and resilience.

Joint management agreement means an agreement that-

(a) Is made by a local authority with 1 or more-

(i) Public authorities, as defined in paragraph (b) of the definition of ‘public authority’

(ii) Iwi authorities or groups that represent hapu; and

2. Provides for the parties to the joint management agreement jointly to perform or exercise any of the local authoritiy’s functions, powers, or duties under this Act relating to a natural or physical resource; and

3. Specifies the functions, powers, or duties; and

4. Specifies the natural or physical resource

5. Specifies whether the natural or physical resource is in the whole of the region or district or part of the region or district; and

6. May require the p[arties to the joint management agreement to perform or exercise, a specified function, power, or duty together; and

7. If paragraph (f) applies, specifies how the parties to the joint management agreement are to make decisions; and

8. May specify any other terms or conditions relevant to the performance or exercise of the functions, powers, or duties, including but not limited to terms or conditions for liability and funding.

Kaitiakitanga means the exercise of guardianship by the tangata whenua of an area in accordance with tikanga Maori in relation to natural and physical resources; and includes the ethic of stewardship.

Natural and physical resources includes land, water, air, soil, minerals, and energy, all forms of plants and animals (whether native to New Zealand or introduced), and all structures.

Public notice means a notice published in a newspaper circulating in the area likely to be affected by the proposal to which the notice relates.

Water ---

(a) Means water in all its physical forms whether flowing or not and whether over or under the ground:

(b) Includes fresh water, coastal water, and geothermal water:

(c) Does not include water in any form while in any pipe, tank, or cistern.

Working day means any day except:

(a) A Saturday, a Sunday, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day, Labour Day, the Sovereign’s birthday, and Waitangi Day; and

(b) A day in the period beginning 20 December in any year and ending with 10 January in the following year.