Kāeo Resource Consent Renewal

A performance assessment has been undertaken to identify whether the current treatment plant can meet the stricter discharge standards of the Proposed Regional Plan for Northland. You can read a copy of the performance assessment here.

A hydrodynamic study has been undertaken to understand the behaviour of the treated wastewater once it has been discharged into the Kāeo River. You can read a copy of the hydrodynamic study here.

An environmental risk assessment has been undertaken to understand the potential impacts of the treated effluent on the values of the Kāeo River.  You can read a copy of the environmental risk assessment here.

A flood hazard assessment has been undertaken to understand the effect of flooding on the treatment plant .  You can read a copy of the flood hazard assessment here.

A public health risk assessment to determine the public health risk to people who eat kaimoana or swim in areas that may be affected by the discharge of treated wastewater has been undertaken.  You can read the summary of this document, and the technical assessment here.

A cultural impact assessment (CIA) to determine the effects of the discharge on Māori cultural values and assess how these effects may be avoided, mitigated or remedied will be undertaken and made available on this webpage.

The process of renewing a consent can be quite complex. NRC has great resources to explain the process: https://www.nrc.govt.nz/consents/consent-application-process/.

Council prepares the application and submits it to NRC for resource consent processing. NRC might ask for further information to allow them to make a sound decision. Once it is satisfied that it has all the relevant information, it will publicly notify the application. Anyone can make a submission on a publicly notified application and be heard by independent commissioners.

The application needs to be lodged by 31 July 2022. If we miss the lodgment date and the consents expire, any discharge from the plant is not authorised under the Resource Management Act. This means we cannot legally operate the plant. We will continue to operate the plant, but we will be non-compliant, and this may result in financial penalties.

If we have lodged the new application by 31 July 2022, we can continue to legally operate the plant under the existing consent for as long as it takes for the new consent to be granted. This is allowed for under the Resource Management Act.

Yes. You can sign up to receive an email from NRC when the resource consent is publicly notified so you can have your say here: Subscriptions - Northland Regional Council (nrc.govt.nz). The Ministry for the Environment provides useful information about the resource consent process.