What is the current status of national environmental standards?
Air quality
Fourteen national environmental standards for air quality have been established by the Resource Management (National Environmental Standards relating to Certain Air Pollutants, Dioxins and Other Toxics) Regulations 2004 as amended. The standards ban the following activities from 8 October 2004 in order to reduce the release of toxic materials such as dioxin into the air:
- Burning of tyres, oil and coated wire in the open
- Burning of bitumen for road maintenance
- Burning of refuse at landfills
- New high-temperature hazardous waste incinerators
School and hospital incinerators must obtain resource consent by September 2006 or will be similarly banned.
The standards also address ambient air quality in respect of fine particles, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and sulphur dioxide. They provide that regional councils must monitor air quality, where the ambient air quality standards are likely to be breached, and publicly report if the level of pollutants exceed prescribed ambient standards. The standards also place restrictions on the grant of resource consents where the quality of the affected air fails to meet the prescribed standards.
In addition, two design standards have been adopted. The first is for new domestic wood burners in urban areas and it came into effect on 1 September 2005. The second is for the collection and destruction of landfill gases at large new landfills to control the discharge of methane, one of the most important greenhouse gases.
Human drinking water sources
The National Environmental Standard for Human Drinking-water Sources came into force on 20 June 2008. It requires regional councils to ensure that effects on drinking water sources are considered in decisions on resource consents and regional plans. Specifically, councils will be required to:
- decline discharge or water permits that are likely to result in community drinking water becoming unsafe for human consumption following existing treatment
- be satisfied that permitted activities in regional plans will not result in community drinking water supplies being unsafe for human consumption following existing treatment
- place conditions on relevant resource consents requiring notification of drinking water suppliers if significant unintended events occur (e.g. spills) that may adversely affect sources of human drinking water.
Telecommunications facilities
The National Environmental Standards for Telecommunications Facilities came into force on 9 October 2008. It provides that:
- An activity (such as a mobile phone transmitter) that emits radio-frequency fields is a permitted activity provided it complies with the existing New Zealand Standard (NZS2772.1:1999 Radio-frequency Fields Part 1: Maximum Exposure Levels 3kHz-300GHz).
- The installation of telecommunications equipment cabinets along roads or in the road reserve is a permitted activity, subject to specified limitations on their size and location.
- Noise emitting from telecommunications equipment cabinets located alongside roads or in the road reserve is a permitted activity, subject to specified noise limits.
- The installation of masts and antennas on existing structures alongside roads or in the road reserve is a permitted activity, subject to specified limitations to height and size.
Other standards in development
The Ministry for the Environment is currently developing a national environmental standard for ecological flows and water levels, electricity transmission, future sea-level rise, measurement of water takes and on-site wastewater systems. More information can be found at www.mfe.govt.nz/laws/standards.
