Editor's introduction
Welcome to the November 2009 edition of the Consents E-Newsletter.
With the recent changes to the Resource Management Act, the main focus of the newsletter will be on how these changes effect you when submitting applications to Environment Canterbury.
In addition, this month's newsletter also offers guidance on arranging pre-application meetings, and provides an update on the revised Stormwater Discharge application booklets.
As always, your feedback is valuable to us. Please do take advantage of the Newsletter Feedback link to let us know your thoughts on this facility. Our next E-Newsletter is scheduled for release in January 2010.
The New RMA - Whats Changed?
The consents section has been busy working through the many amendments to the RMA. The biggest changes to the Act affect the consenting process, and the time for implementation has been really tight.
New procedures are being documented and implemented, new standard letters and report templates are being gradually introduced, staff around the council are being briefed on changes to their responsibilities, and the way we manage our processes is being continually reviewed and modified.
Anything in process before 1 October will still be processed as though the changes to the Act had not occurred, but changes will affect applications made from 1 October.
The main changes are:
1. There are now three different places where the decision to grant or decline your resource consent application can be made:
- An application can come to us and we decide it;
- An application can come to us, and if it is notified, the applicant can request that it be decided by the Environment Court; or
- An application that is for a matter of ‘national significance’ can be applied for to the new Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and if accepted, a board of enquiry will decide it.
We still have to prepare officers or planning reports for the Environment Court and EPA applications, and may also act as a submitter for applications to the EPA. We may also sign up as a s274 party to an Environment Court hearing.
2. Timeframes have changed and penalties are to be introduced
New timeframes have been added for the closure of hearings, with the hearing having to close within 10 days of the applicant exercising their right of reply. We also have less discretion about when timeframes can be extended.
From 1 July 2010, we will be required to meet the requirements of a new regulation to discount processing fees if a consent application is processed outside of statutory timeframes, and that the fault lies with the council. This regulation is being developed by the Ministry for the Environment and has yet to be circulated.
Timeframe compliance was one of the matters that drove changes to the RMA, and we are working hard to ensure that timeframe compliance is always achieved.
Meeting timeframes- an example
If an application is to be notified, this has to happen within 10 working days of lodgement. Some of the tasks that have to be completed within this time period are to:
- load up the application in our records system;
- check the application for completeness;
- carry out of the audit of the information in the application;
- make the decision on whether to notify;
- prepare the notification wording; and
- prepare the advertisement for the newspaper.
For consents being advertised in the large newspapers, we generally have to have the advertisement with them at least a couple of days before publication. For smaller newspapers, that time is even longer. We also like to have the applicant check over the wording of the notification to ensure they are comfortable that it reflects the activity they are proposing.
What this means, is that we will be looking to make the actual notification decision within 5 days of an application being lodged, so we have 5 days to get the notice prepared, checked and published. It is therefore very important that we get a complete and accurate application to enable this to happen. You can help to speed this process by:
- Requesting notification where it is appropriate;
- Offering wording for the notification with your application; and
- Providing a complete list of potentially affected parties and any parties you have been consulting with.
3. Notification rules and definitions of an affected party are changed
The previous default to notification has now been replaced by discretionary tests.
Public Notification is required when the adverse effects are or are likely to be more than minor (excluding consideration of the effects on persons who own or occupy the land of the activity or any land adjacent to that land). If there is no public notification, there must be Limited Notification if there are affected persons (who have not given written approval).
An affected person is now defined as one where the activity’s adverse effects on the person are minor or more than minor (but are not less than minor). These tests all require more certainty than previously. Again this means that we will be looking for very complete and accurate information with every application to give us the confidence to make these decisions correctly.
4. Information requests may have different outcomes
There are three important changes when a request for further information (a s92 request) is made:
- The right of the applicant to object to a S92 request is now removed.
- If a request is either not responded to, or the information is not received by the due date, the application is required to be publically notified. We are not able to exercise any discretion on this matter, so if you are having difficulty complying with the request by the due date, it is important to discuss the matter with us.
- If we do not receive enough information, we are still required to make a decision on the application. S104 has been amended so that a consent authority may decline an application on the grounds it has inadequate information.
We look forward to working with you as we work through the amended RMA and as our processes change. In the first instance you will probably notice different correspondence, changes to application forms and information booklets. Let us know if you have matters you want to discuss with us about changes to the RMA, either through the Consultant Questions and Guidance Link on this page, or through our Customer Services Section.
Requesting a Pre-Application Meeting
Before submitting an application, you are welcome to request a pre-application meeting with a member of staff from the Consents Section to discuss your project. An element of a pre-application meeting is free of charge, and can help to identify any missing information required to process your application. Arranging a pre-application meeting can therefore reduce the time and cost of processing your application.
The Consents Section has four consent processing teams, with each team responsible for processing different types of activities. If you undertake an activity for which multiple consents are required, the application could be processed by people from more than one team. Before requesting a pre-application meeting, make sure you advise us of all the consents that are required for your project so that we can make sure all teams that will be involved in the processing of your applications have an Investigating Officer present at the pre-application meeting. This approach will ensure you will get comments from us on all the applications you will be submitting and will reduce the likelihood of your applications failing the section 88 receipting check.
In order to get the most benefit from the pre-application meeting we will request the following draft information from you at least three days prior to the meeting:
-
Details of the proposal;
-
Plans showing where the activities will occur on the site;
-
Details of the receiving environment; and
-
A list of all consents required if known.
Having this information will allow us to give you more detailed and thorough advice. If you would like to arrange a pre-application meeting please contact our Customer Services Section.
Revisions to Stormwater Guidebooks
- Application forms, standard conditions, guidance notes
The “Calm before the Storm” Volumes 1 and 2 have both undergone an update. The major changes include:
-
new rules in the Planning section;
-
new details on ECan’s approach to auditing;
-
new application forms and standard conditions; and
-
extended Construction Phase theory.
Both application forms have been fully reworked. There are now new sections on site history and previous contamination; more explanations are required in the AEE part; and there is a requirement for signed Written Approval forms from Councils for discharges into networks.
Our sets of example standard conditions have been updated to reflect recent hearing decisions and new best practice.
Given the changes to the application forms and conditions, two supplementary notes have been prepared to give you background information and helpful advice.
The new versions of the Stormwater application booklets can be downloaded here from our website.
Previous issues of The Hub
Catch up on previous issues of The Hub.