PNRP provisions relating to treated wastewater discharges WWTP - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

PNRP provisions relating to treated wastewater discharge’s

WWTP consents in the Wairarapa • Carterton, Martinborough, Greytown and Featherston examples • discharge of treated wastewater to water with gradual reduction over time to land • all have significant adverse effects on waterbodies and Section 107 issues

Policy Framework • NPSFM – maintain or improve water quality • PNRP – needs objectives and policies to implement both maintenance and improvement • RMA - Section 107 links in to this – effects and intent of the plan

Objectives • O23 – water quality maintained or improved • 024 – contact recreation and maori customary use • 025 – aquatic ecosystems • objective framework is good - needs to work with policy framework for the ‘how’

Objectives - Discharges • overall intent of the plan – discharge to land over water (O49) and discharges of wastewater to water are reduced (O50) • t hese objectives go ‘one step’ towards helping us improve water quality

P71- as notified • critical policy for processing existing WWTP discharges to water • existing WWTP discharges, discharging to water and all having significant adverse effects • enables us to manage effects to an acceptable level and meet intent of the plan

P71- as notified • gave effects interpretation at a local scale (s107) • PNRP needs to help ‘pull effects up’ to acceptable levels (s107, P71)

P71- as proposed • makes it very difficult to improve water quality – leads to legal arguments • n eed to ensure no ‘degrade down to’ situation – not likely now but possible in future

P71 – issues with recent WWTP applications • Martinborough and Greytown – had no policy guidance – problematic • Featherston example

Other policies • P80(a) – limits, targets and standards – needs P71 to define • P70(a)(ii) – helpful to have limits for conditions of consent to improve water quality – cant leave it to good management practice • P67(e) as notified – worked well with P71

New discharges versus existing discharges • WWTP – have existing authorised consents at time of lodging application for new resource consent • However definition of new discharge says ‘ …or otherwise altered by a new resource consent ’ • A ll ‘ altered ’– non-complying activities

New discharges versus existing discharges • Section 42a proposed change to definition of new discharge defines ‘ in volume or contaminants ’ but still says ‘ or otherwise altered ’ • ‘Altered’ - defaults to scale intensity, character