1. Collaborative decision making for freshwater resources in Greater Heretaunga and Ahuriri catchments
James Palmer, HBRC
The Future of Our Water; Community Symposium
June 2017

2. Greater Heretaunga and Ahuriri
Land and Water Plan Change
(TANK)
Catchments defined from surface water boundaries
Tutaekurī
Ahuriri
Ngaruroro
Karamū

3. The TANK project arose from this land and water strategy, published in November 2011 – which was developed using a reference groups process and public symposiums not unlike this one.
Still relevant.
Acknowledges the wise range of interests in land and water – as well the range of roles and responsibilities from all the parties involved.

4. NPS Freshwater 2014 Directs the regional council to:
maintain or improve the overall quality of fresh water within a region
set objectives and limits on resource use by 2025
follow the National Objectives Framework for water quality attributes

5. RMA Plan Changes Specific legal requirements in the Act;
Process must include:
Consultation
Submissions and Hearings
Appeals

6. RMA Consultation Obligations only on Regional Council;
Council to provide relevant information in a reasonable format
Manner of consultation relevant to party being consulted
Council to accept views with open mind, and due consideration
NPSFM also now requires Council to involve iwi in water management
Must consult with Ministers, local authorities, tangata whenua through iwi authorities …
May consult with others that Council considers relevant.

7. Consultation… traditional approach
Several iterations of draft documents and feedback processes
Public meetings
Lots of information provided
Direct engagement with specified and other key parties
While the Act did not preclude more innovative ways of carrying out consultation and stakeholder involvement, the main mechanisms tended to be
somewhat limited to traditional consultative procedures and hamstrung by the “high stakes” appeal processes.

8. Consequences of traditional approach
Consultation was between council and specific parties but not amongst parties.
Positions formed early on and defended throughout process:
No real opportunity for stakeholders to understand or debate alternative positions or adopt other values.
End game often played out in Environment Court.
– the consequences of the prescribed process

9. What the TANK project is:
The TANK Group is a community-based collaborative approach to developing a regional plan (land and water management) for the Ngaruroro, Tutaekuri, Ahuriri and Karamu catchments.
The TANK group will consider what management options will meet objectives;
Limits
Minimum flows and allocation limits for water
Contaminant management
Land management
Consent expiry

10. The TANK project will:
Develop agreement about important shared freshwater values and how to provide for them
Enable better understanding of the science and the issues
Encourage collective responsibility for outcomes
Result in more enduring and possibly innovative solutions
Reduce areas of contest in plan change process

11. TANK Project is more than a Plan Change
Better relationships
Enduring beyond the plan change process
Shared responsibility for Plan implementation
A process of changing social norms about land and water management

12. TANK Group Membership: wide range of people and interests represented

13. Navigating the various interests, expectations and issues.

14. Water quantity issues About 2000 consents expiring over next 10 years
Economic + social impacts of water restrictions
Consequences groundwater takes on stream flows
Over-allocated in some catchments
No groundwater allocation limits in Regional Plan
Priority end uses

15. Water quality issues
Tutaekurī – some nutrients, algae and sediment issues
Ahuriri – sensitive environment. Significant impacts from urban and rural activities
Ngaruroro – good nutrient quality, sediment issues
Karamū – Significant degradation. Urban and rural
Groundwater – localised issues

16. Council Commitment
Council has given a “good faith undertaking to implement any consensus recommendations”
Regional Planning Committee to “have particular regard to any consensus recommendations from the TANK Group”
Councillors and RPC members
On-going interest in and support of the group’s work
Council will ensure good information
Extensive science programme, resources and staff support for group

17. The TANK Group will: Review limits: and manage:
Minimum flow limits
Water allocation limits
Water quality standards and targets
Limits or controls on discharge activities and diffuse discharges
and manage:
urban and rural land use affecting water quality especially urban stormwater
water storage or augmentation
sediment reduction
riparian land management
priority water allocation
A key driver for the review occurring now is that there are a large number of water permits due to expire in 2015 and soon thereafter and we expect most people to seek replacement permits. Ideally we would have the review completed and a plan change notified so that these consent applications can be assessed with a great deal of certainty as to their impacts and under a more up to date management regime. The current plan was adopted in 2006 but the majority of the information feeding into it e.g. scientific was completed in So we know a lot more now and need to incorporate this knowledge into our decisions

18. December 2017

19. Community Engagement Identified as very important and a key challenge;
TANK bulletins, webpage updates, more opportunities for questions and feedback etc etc….
Encourage people to get interested , get involved

20. If you want to keep up with TANK progress sign up for Think TANK;