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The reclassification of entire harbours such as Mahurangi and Kaipara as wetlands will have profound impacts for permitted activities within these waterways in future.
Any new coastal structure such as a boat ramp, jetty or oyster farm will need a consent under two sets of requirements. Small-scale earthworks such as river mouth clearing, that involve disturbing the foreshore and seabed, will require resource consent when they are currently permitted activities.
Reclamation of any wetland in the Coastal Marine Area (CMA) is now prohibited unless it is for infrastructure.
The current dredging programme in the Mahurangi River is authorised with an existing consent, but it would face a more restrictive consent regime under the new rules.
Activities such as mangrove seedling removal, which was a permitted activity under the Auckland Unitary Plan, will be more tightly controlled and will require a resource consent, starting at $7000.
However, a Council spokesperson says that given Council has existing policies to support mangrove seedling removal, the process for obtaining consent may be streamlined with a corresponding reduction in consent fees.
These consequences are being debated by regional councils up and down the country as they seek to interpret new National Environmental Standards for Freshwater (NES-F) laid down by central government.
The bone of contention is in defining what constitutes a natural wetland in the coastal marine area.
The Ministry for the Environment has undertaken consultation on proposed changes to the NES-F in relation to natural wetlands and these changes are expected to be gazetted around mid-year.
In the interim, Auckland Council has defined coastal wetlands as anywhere in the sea with vegetation (mangroves, saltmarsh, rushes and herb field), mudflats and estuaries. This definition encompasses entire harbours, which are classed as estuaries.
As well as Mahurangi and Kaipara, other affected harbours and waterways in this area include Leigh, Whangateau, Pakiri River, Baddeleys Beach/Campbells Beach, and Sandspit. On Kawau Island, the new rules will affect Bon Accord Harbour, North Cove and South Cove.
In general, the activities that will be affected are:
• Vegetation clearance within, or within a 10 metre setback from, a natural wetland
• Earthworks or land disturbance within, or within a 10 metre setback from, a natural wetland
• The taking, use, damming, diversion, or discharge of water within, or within a 100 metre setback from, a natural wetland.
Several councils have contacted the Minister for the Environment about the uncertainty over where the wetland regulations apply on the coast. The councils would prefer that the new NES-F only applied to freshwater wetlands and not to the coast. Activities in coastal wetlands are already regulated under regional coastal plans (which is part of the Unitary Plan in Auckland).
The confusion was highlighted when the Northland Regional Council sought a judgement from the Environment Court on whether the natural wetland provisions of the NES-F applied to the Coastal Marine Area. The court determined that they applied only to the area between the river mouth and the upstream limit of the CMA.
However, this was overturned on appeal in the High Court, which determined that a natural wetland could be anywhere in the CMA and that the NES-F natural wetlands provisions applied to all natural wetlands in the CMA.
A recent decision on a Covid Fast Track application for a reclamation and boat ramp in the Far North District was rejected, as the proposed reclamation was within a natural wetland and was found to be a prohibited activity.
