Plan Change 7 and Plan Change 2 - What you need to know

Part A is an 'Omnibus' change generally covering amendments to region-wide provisions (policies, rules, maps and schedules).

Part A aims to:

• Improve freshwater outcomes for Canterbury.
• Protect habitats of indigenous freshwater species.
• Enable consideration of Ngāi Tahu values in relation to a broader range of activities.
• Provide for the use of managed aquifer recharge (a technique to improve the volume and quality of groundwater) across the region.
• Establish a new nutrient framework for commercial vegetable growing operations.
• Implement recommendations from the Hinds Drains Working Party.

Parts B and C of Plan Change 7 relate to the Orari Temuka Opihi Pareora (OTOP) and Waimakariri sub-regional zones respectively. These parts were developed in collaboration with the Waimakariri and OTOP Zone Committees and implement recommendations in their Zone Implementation Programme Addendums (ZIPAs).

Parts B and C introduce:

• New water quality limits for groundwater and surface water.
• Additional requirements for farms to further reduce nitrogen losses over time.
• Increased minimum flows for rivers and streams.
• A cap on the volume of water available for allocation.
• Requirements to exclude stock from a broader range of waterbodies.

Plan Change 7 introduces additional information and assessment requirements when preparing Farm Environment Plans (FEPs).

These include the following region-wide provisions:

• Identification and protection of springs
• Commercial vegetation growing operators using the alternative consent pathway are not required to prepare a nutrient budget.

In the OTOP sub-region these provisions apply in addition to the region-wide ones:

• Farming land use consent and FEP required for farms larger than 10 hectares in some circumstances
• Consideration to be given to providing for an abundance of mahinga kai, any in-stream biodiversity values within springs, and stock exclusion from a wider range of waterbodies such as artificial watercourses and springs
• Farming using irrigation within a Rock Art Management Area to identify how rock art is to be protected
• Farming using irrigation or involving winter grazing within the Mātaitai and Waipuna Protection Zone to identify how adverse effects on water quality will be minimised.

In the Waimakariri sub-region these provisions apply in addition to the region-wide ones:

• Farming land use consent and FEP must be prepared for farms larger than five hectares in some circumstances
• Farming land use consent and FEP must be prepared for farms larger than five hectares that undertake winter grazing or irrigation and are located close to surface water in the Ashley Estuary/Te Aka Aka and Coastal Protection Zone
• Consideration must be given to providing for an abundance of mahinga kai, and stock exclusion from a wider range of waterbodies such as artificial watercourses and springs.

New applications for resource consent for farming activities will need to take into account the changes introduced by Plan Change 7 when preparing FEPs.

The consent conditions of existing resource consent requiring the preparation of an FEP are likely to also require existing FEPs to take into account the changes introduced by Plan Change 7 when the periodic review and updating of the FEP is required.

The plan changes introduce new provisions based on several considerations including the current understanding of how climate change will impact the Canterbury region. Climate change impacts are expected to include changes to the amount of flow in rivers.

Science assessments that informed the plan changes accounted for these impacts; for example, when setting new minimum flow regimes in rivers.