Environmental Management: The Resource Management Act - Term Paper Example

Environmental Management: The Resource Management Act Assignment Teacher           Environmental Management: The Resource Management Act Assignment Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 An Overview of the Principles and Intentions of the RMA 3 The Processes and Considerations Undertaken by a Regional Council When They Assess Resource Consents 5 How the RMA Promoted the Sustainable Management of New Zealand’s Natural and Physical Resources for Each of the Te Uku Windfarm, the Fonterra Tirau Dairy Factory, and the Escarpment Mine Project: 8 The Te Uku Windfarm Project 8 A.Escarpment Mine Project 11 The purpose of the Escarpment Mine Project on the Denniston Plateau in New Zealand was for the extraction of coal in order to increase the country’s coal exports by an estimated 63% each year. With 200 hectares devoted to coalfield mining, the company required 24 resource consents (Save the Denniston Plateau, 2011). Moreover, the company also applied for an access arrangement from the Department of Conservation in order to gain permission to operate an opencast coal mine. The project also had to comply with the Crown Minerals Act of 1991 in order to allow mining operations for coal and other minerals. The Crown Minerals Act of 1991 is the legislation that governs the exploitation of goal, coal, gas and other mineral resources. However, it is the provisions of the RMA that serve as the ultimate guide in monitoring the environmental effects of the site’s mining operations (Permissions Mining Report, 2013). 11 The coal mining operations of the Escarpment Mine Project also had some challenges at first, but this was solved by a comprehensive rehabilitation program. The operations had to release a lot of harmful chemicals like heavy metals, methane and carbon dioxide. However, in order to remedy this, the government of New Zealand recommended the use of the Emission Trading Scheme and so a comprehensive rehabilitation plan was utilized in order for the resource consent to be approved. The rehabilitation plan had the purpose of providing conditions in order to allow good management for the runoff, a stable environment that is resistant to erosion, a suitable fauna to take over the rehabilitated surfaces, and productive and diversified vegetation that can sustain itself. Moreover, the rehabilitation also included an engineered landform program, or ELF, in order to maintain a stable environment and to reduce the risk associated with geotechnical operations. 11 The company is tasked to utilize the ELF in order to reduce the volumes of AMD, or acid mine drain coming from acid-forming rocks. There is also a comprehensive water management plan that seeks to ensure water quality in the area through the water treatment plant that is expected to run for 35 years (Permissions Mining Report, 2013). Moreover, the company has a proposal to undertake funding for community and recreational facilities as well as reserves. This will hopefully ensure a balance in the ecosystem. Furthermore, the rehabilitation program of the mine project also has a Vegetation Direct Transfer, or VDT, aspect in order to ensure that both soil and vegetation are moved directly from one site to another (Permissions Mining Report, 2013). 12 The Escarpment Mine Project is said to have violated the provisions of the RMA because the environmental damage seems to outweigh the economic benefits. Thus, the case of the Escarpment mine has been brought to the Environment Court. The present argument on this is about whether the biodiversity and the value of the landscape can outweigh the economic benefits of the process of mining, which is the provision stated in the RMA. Recently, the courts have established that climate change cannot be argued as a case against the company, and so the case is in favor of the Escarpment Mine and is still ongoing (New Zealand and Coal, 2013). Moreover, the main issue is the lack of approval of the site operations due to the lack of resource consent for the burning of coal due to climate change fears. However, as stipulated by the lawyers of the Escarpment Mine, the burning of coal itself does not need resource consent for the purpose of a future reason like climate change (SC75, 2012). 12 13 Conclusion 13 An Overview of the Principles and Intentions of the RMA The Resource Management Act, or RMA, acts as the basis for which an activity in New Zealand is to be approved or not. One of the intentions of the RMA is the maintenance of high levels of sustainability when it comes to the operation of any business in the country vis-à-vis the environment. However, it should be noted that the RMA does not at all seek to degrade the level of innovation and progress that a new business in New Zealand can do in order to increase the quality of living in the country. Additionally, the RMA does not exist in order to slow down or hinder economic growth (A Guide to Preparing a Basic Assessment of Environmental Effects, 1999). In short, although the RMA favors environmental sustainability over economic advantages, it is clear that the intentions of the RMA somehow rest upon the idea that unless environmental concerns are taken into consideration, nothing good can be accomplished economically. In fact, the laws and rules of the RMA provide the framework for every activity and business that is managed in New Zealand. The RMA was legislated in order to specify the various ways by which we in New Zealand can implement projects that will not negatively affect our environment. Moreover, the RMA is also instrumental in determining how we New Zealanders would choose how to live in our environment. The RMA has a number of principles and intentions that seek to promote the development and sustenance of the environment as well as the management and protection of various environmental resources – both natural and physical. So far, the RMA functions in conjunction with 50 other separate laws that seek to protect the environment, and it also has 20 major statutes to date. The RMA is a product of four years of focused work which began its implementation on October 1, 1991. Throughout the four years of focused work, the principles of the RMA are all about connecting environmental resources with cultural values, thus achieving an effective relationship between the business that one should conduct and the environment in which the business is to be conducted. Such environmental resources refer to the various aspects of the natural environment that are to be considered when dealing with installation of business: soil, land, water, air, minerals, energy and the flora and fauna. Moreover, the natural environment also includes the societies and the people that live in them. The principles and intentions of the RMA actually also seek to help decision-makers and businessmen comply with and achieve the purpose of the RMA, specifically as a reminder for these people to consider matters of cultural, national and local concern as well as a reminder for concerned parties to adhere to the principles and guidelines set by the Treaty of Waitangi and other related treaties and activities. Recently, according to the Resource Management Amendments (2013), the RMA in its newly proposed reform seeks to make some changes that try to advance local democracy, environmental protection as well as negotiation and mediation. This newly reformed RMA has a goal to provide better-defined frameworks in terms of time and resource content processing, and seeks to ascertain the quality of information that is required for RMA compliance (Resource Management Amendments, 2013). The Processes and Considerations Undertaken by a Regional Council When They Assess Resource Consents The first ever step in applying for resource consent for a new activity or business is to fill out an application form. This application form can be availed at any council in New Zealand. However, before anything else is written on the application form, the applicant should first try to find out if he or she perfectly understands the nature of the undertaking that is to be done and its degree of compliance with the principles, guidelines and intentions of the RMA. As stated in the RMA, all activities that may potentially affect the environment in adverse ways are the ones that actually require resource content. Thus, the applicants are supposed to be familiar with the obligations stipulated in the RMA regarding the costs of avoiding, remedying, or mitigating the potentially adverse consequences of the activities (Your Guide to the Resource Management Act, 1999). The project will then be assessed based on its potentially damaging effects to the environment. Assessing the environmental effects, or more exactly the assessment of the environmental effects (AEE) is primarily based on the identification of the type of resource consent that is needed as well as the identification of the nature of the activity to be undertaken. This is to be done in order to predict the potential effects of the said activity. Moreover, the AEE needs to be directly proportional to the scale of the potential environmental effects that are supposed to be brought about by the proposed application or activity. Furthermore, the thoroughness of the AEE is also another thing that cannot be emphasized too heavily (Environment, 1999). Much of what happens to the application depends on the regional or district council that is responsible for assessing the activity. After the application is lodged, the regional council tasked to review it must check the fullness of the whole application vis-à-vis the provisions of the RMA in order to make certain of its coverage of all the needed assessment and information. The first 5 days is actually a crucial time needed for the submission of the application and the confirmation from the council whether the application is complete or has to be returned. In fact, every regional, city or district council has its own respective plans and classification of activity. Several aspects pertaining to the activity will be done by the council in order to inform the people concerned. These aspects of the activity include the specific type of activity and the classification, the types of resource content that need to be applied for by the people proposing the activity, the specific information that is required to support the application, the estimated cost and duration that characterizes the application, the amount of information needed to be included in the application, the people that are likely to be affected by the application and the possibility of getting their consent before the application is to be actualized. However, before everything else can be approved, one needs to fulfill all resource consents required by the RMA. Without the recommended resource consents, the proposed business or activity can never be issued any official approval. In fact, there are five types of resource consent needed before operation, as prescribed by the RMA. These include the water permit, discharge permit, land-use consent, coastal permit, and subdivision consent. Aside from the resource consents, there are other requirements set by the regional and district councils. One is that the people concerned or those proposing to put up a business are required to be given plans and advice or instructions on how to possibly utilize resources in a sustainable way. These environmental or natural resources include land, water and air. Aside from this, there is also a need for the district and regional councils to classify the type of activity that is to be undertaken by the application. Based on the nature of the activity or project that should be undertaken, there are generally six types of consent that should be done: permitted, controlled, restricted, discretionary, non-complying and prohibited. At the end of the submission period for the application of the resource consents, the specific regional or district council will have already thoroughly reviewed the application and will therefore require a hearing session before it makes a final decision on whether to implement it or not. The regional or district council will then accept or object the proposed implementation and will heed the environment court hearing as to whether the application is granted or declined. The conditions will be monitored in case the implementation is granted (Environment, 1999). Moreover, one should develop full personal responsibility when it comes to monitoring one’s application. Every applicant that seeks to put up a business in New Zealand has the responsibility to track the progress of the application concerning the activity that he has proposed. He or she should therefore maintain constant communication with the respective district or regional council regarding the status of approval of his application. He or she should also try to try to track the progress of his application in order to update it and confirm any case of delay or suspension as well as what is possibly needed if this case arises. However, the final arbiter when it comes to whether the application gets approved or not is the RMA. The RMA does not actually require consultation but the AEE requires a list and record of all the people and companies whose advice have been considered for consultation. All consultations must be considered good and extensive if all the possible aspects of the application have been assessed. Specifically, consultation with the people most potentially affected by the proposed business or activity can actually serve to optimize the application in order to produce a more successful outcome. These include the identification of the features that a successful application needs to have, the application of early changes to it for its development, the ease in facilitating the process of acquiring consent, and the gaining of local knowledge as well as the understanding of cultural views. How the RMA Promoted the Sustainable Management of New Zealand’s Natural and Physical Resources for Each of the Te Uku Windfarm, the Fonterra Tirau Dairy Factory, and the Escarpment Mine Project: The Te Uku Windfarm Project The Te Uku Windfarm Project was considered a great achievement in New Zealand history despite the many environmental issues that surrounded it, mostly those that arose during the construction phase. As a project classified as “discretionary activity,” there was a required resource consent due to a great extent and volume of earthworks that had to be done as well as the proposed height of the 28 turbines that had to be constructed. The results of the management by the RMA resulted in numerous advantages that extended to the local and national scene. Among these are local economy enhancement, the opportunity to have a renewable energy source, protection of surrounding habitats, enhancements for the neighboring roads, more efficient supply of electricity, additional supply of electricity to meet the rising demand, the opportunity to use lands with low and no productivity at all, and most of all the prevention of an estimated 160,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. The principles of the RMA served as a guide for the discussion of the economic, social and environmental advantages and disadvantages of the wind farm project. The overall assessment of effects led to the establishment of the Environmental Management Plan, or EMP, whose purpose was to minimize the environmental effects of the project and to promote the approval of the resource consents. The EMP was also highly instrumental in overcoming the many challenges that the project was involved in concerning the RMA. An example of the positive effect of the EMP was the approval of the earthworks, specifically the approval of the building of the roadway of 26 kilometers, the construction of concrete turbine platforms, and the installation of underground cables for an estimated length of 70 kilometers. Additionally, in order to have the resource consents and the entire project itself approved, the Te Uku Windfarm Project team managed to compensate for the potentially damaging environmental effects of its installation. With this in mind, the project team decided to build an estimated 180 sediment and erosion controls for the purpose of preventing the sediment from getting into the waterways and also for the prevention of soil erosion. This sediment came from the extensive earthworks done during the course of the project. Moreover, the project team also grew grass on the topsoil as well as planted more than 40,000 native plant seedlings in order to support water quality in the area. This was done in order to compensate for the heavy machinery used, as well as for the loaded trucks and the concrete batching plant, or CBP. The CBP was managed under the EMP in order to facilitate the right way of detaining the spillages and dusts in the wash down area. Moreover, another purpose was to maintain levels of noise that are acceptable during working hours. The Fonterra Tirau Dairy Factory Another site that had to be managed according to the principles and intentions of the RMA was the Fonterra Tirau Dairy Factory. The Fonterra Tirau site is located in the town of Tirau in the Waikato region. It is actually a branch of the Fonterra Co-operative Group. What is utilized by the Tirau site in order to manufacture dairy products is an estimated 2.0 million liters of milk produced yearly mostly from August to December (Fonterra, 2014). When it comes to the provisions of the RMA, the Tirau site operations have been approved by the regional council because its site has devised numerous excellent strategies on how to deal with wastes and minimize the utilization of natural resources. With the approval of the resource consents, the importance of the Tirau site to the economy of New Zealand was also underlined. Moreover, the site has also not exceeded the prescribed limits for air and soil discharging so as to prevent the emergence of unpleasant odors (Resource Consents Application, 2011). However, the Tirau site was not without environmental issues, but this was resolved. One issue that went with the operations concerned the fermentation and distillation processes that produce wastes. The disposal of the residual waste from such processes into the waterways actually served as a threat to the environment and was therefore a violation of the principles of the RMA. Nevertheless, since the wastes were high in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, they were thus converted into mineral fertilizers (EECA, 2014). According to Fonterra (2014), due to the various positive measures of the site, the Tirau site has remained an integral part of the productivity of Fonterra. Therefore, through the site, Fonterra has become critically essential to the New Zealand economy. The Tirau site also has other advantages. When it comes to wastewater, the site has utilized several wastewater treatment processes in order to reduce the volume of waste. With a series of complex processes involving the conversion of the nitrate in wastewater into methane gas which is expelled in the process, the wastewater is generally reduced to acceptable levels (Fonterra, 2014). A. Escarpment Mine Project The purpose of the Escarpment Mine Project on the Denniston Plateau in New Zealand was for the extraction of coal in order to increase the country’s coal exports by an estimated 63% each year. With 200 hectares devoted to coalfield mining, the company required 24 resource consents (Save the Denniston Plateau, 2011). Moreover, the company also applied for an access arrangement from the Department of Conservation in order to gain permission to operate an opencast coal mine. The project also had to comply with the Crown Minerals Act of 1991 in order to allow mining operations for coal and other minerals. The Crown Minerals Act of 1991 is the legislation that governs the exploitation of goal, coal, gas and other mineral resources. However, it is the provisions of the RMA that serve as the ultimate guide in monitoring the environmental effects of the site’s mining operations (Permissions Mining Report, 2013). The coal mining operations of the Escarpment Mine Project also had some challenges at first, but this was solved by a comprehensive rehabilitation program. The operations had to release a lot of harmful chemicals like heavy metals, methane and carbon dioxide. However, in order to remedy this, the government of New Zealand recommended the use of the Emission Trading Scheme and so a comprehensive rehabilitation plan was utilized in order for the resource consent to be approved. The rehabilitation plan had the purpose of providing conditions in order to allow good management for the runoff, a stable environment that is resistant to erosion, a suitable fauna to take over the rehabilitated surfaces, and productive and diversified vegetation that can sustain itself. Moreover, the rehabilitation also included an engineered landform program, or ELF, in order to maintain a stable environment and to reduce the risk associated with geotechnical operations. The company is tasked to utilize the ELF in order to reduce the volumes of AMD, or acid mine drain coming from acid-forming rocks. There is also a comprehensive water management plan that seeks to ensure water quality in the area through the water treatment plant that is expected to run for 35 years (Permissions Mining Report, 2013). Moreover, the company has a proposal to undertake funding for community and recreational facilities as well as reserves. This will hopefully ensure a balance in the ecosystem. Furthermore, the rehabilitation program of the mine project also has a Vegetation Direct Transfer, or VDT, aspect in order to ensure that both soil and vegetation are moved directly from one site to another (Permissions Mining Report, 2013). The Escarpment Mine Project is said to have violated the provisions of the RMA because the environmental damage seems to outweigh the economic benefits. Thus, the case of the Escarpment mine has been brought to the Environment Court. The present argument on this is about whether the biodiversity and the value of the landscape can outweigh the economic benefits of the process of mining, which is the provision stated in the RMA. Recently, the courts have established that climate change cannot be argued as a case against the company, and so the case is in favor of the Escarpment Mine and is still ongoing (New Zealand and Coal, 2013). Moreover, the main issue is the lack of approval of the site operations due to the lack of resource consent for the burning of coal due to climate change fears. However, as stipulated by the lawyers of the Escarpment Mine, the burning of coal itself does not need resource consent for the purpose of a future reason like climate change (SC75, 2012). Figure 2: Last page of the court ruling in favor of the Escarpment Mine Project in 2012 Conclusion In Your Guide to the Resource Management Act (1991), the Resource Management Act of New Zealand, or RMA, was formed by integrating many laws meant to protect the environment. The RMA has since been responsible for the management of many types of activities such as the setting up of a business, the use of stream water, the removal of native vegetation, the building of a residential area and so on. The RMA is indeed the one Act that sustains and manages the natural and physical resources of the environment in New Zealand. In fact, it does not only protect the environment but also the people’s society as well. The RMA somehow reflects the responsibility that the citizens of New Zealand are supposed to have towards their environment in order to ensure that the environment can in turn help them enjoy their lives. Moreover, the RMA ensures that the improper or negative use of the physical and natural resources are controlled or mitigated. This is usually carried out through the approval of many resource consents that the RMA requires for each project. In all three projects stated above, the RMA has always functioned well to ensure the safety of the environment for the ultimate benefit of the New Zealand citizens themselves. The RMA, as in the Escarpment Mine project, has also suggested ways to rehabilitate the site in order to mitigate its potentially harmful environmental consequences. However, the RMA seems to have some kind of weakness regarding the Escarpment Mine Project in that it somehow cannot silence those who push for the economic benefits of the project vis-à-vis the potentially damaging environmental effects. Moreover, the concerned regional council representatives must somehow make a decision as to whether the RMA should include some alternate provisions that consider both the environmental as well as the economic benefits of the project. References A Guide to Preparing a Basic Assessment of Environmental Effects. (1999). Wellington: Ministry for the Environment. Batters, R. (2014). Te Uku Windfarm . Retrieved May 11, 2014, from Bloxam Burnett & Olliver Ltd: http://bbo.co.nz/portfolio-view/project-name-5/ EECA. (2014). Biofuels sustainability information. Retrieved May 16, 2014, from energy efficiency and conservation authority: http://www.eeca.govt.nz/biofuels/sustainability Environment (1999). A Guide to Preparing a Basic Assessment of Environmental Effects. Wellington: the Ministry for the Environment. Fonterra. (2014). Fonterra Tirau. Retrieved May 16, 2014, from Fonterra co-operative group: http://www.fonterra.com//wps/wcm/connect/1cc159cf-d0f0-4d8f-a77b-83bdc63b5384/Fonterra+Tirau+-+site+Fact+Sheet_high+res.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=1cc159cf-d0f0-4d8f-a77b-83bdc63b5384 New Zealand and Coal. (2013). Retrieved Jun. 15, 2014, from SourceWatch: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=New_Zealand_and_coal Permissions Mining Report. (2013). Department of Conservation. Resource consent process. (2014). Retrieved May 17, 2014, from Auckland Council: http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/SiteCollectionDocuments/RC%20process.pdf Resource Consents - Hutt City . (2014). Retrieved May 17, 2014, from Hutt City: http://www.huttcity.govt.nz/en/Services/Building-and-resource-consent/The-resource-consent-application-process/ Resource Consents Application. (2011). Fonterra Co-operative Group. Resource Management Amendments. (2013, September). Retrieved May 24, 2014, from the Ministry for the Environment: http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/rma/rma-amendment-act-factsheets-2013/factsheet-1.pdf Save the Denniston Plateau . (2011). Retrieved May 17, 2014, from Forest & Bird : http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/branches/west-coast/west-coast/save-the-denniston-plateau SC75/2012. (2012). Retrieved from the Supreme Court of New Zealand: http://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz Your Guide to the Resource Management Act. (1999). Wellington: Ministry for the Environment. Read More