Federated Farmers Submission on the Proposed Gisborne Freshwater Plan
A new Gisborne Regional Freshwater Plan has been notified. The rules proposed in this plan apply to you and will affect your farm.
Federated Farmers is made a submission on your behalf. Federated Farmers is generally impressed by the new plan, but is concerned about a few of the proposed rules:
New water restriction rules (See rules 4.1.3 and 4.1.4)
You can only take 10m3 per day of surface, spring and groundwater (at rates of 5 litres/second). You need resource consent to take water for:
- intensively farmed stock – this includes stock drinking water.
- Irrigating more than 1 ha
- Taking more water than 10m3 per day
NOTE: The plan says intensively farming stock is: cattle or deer grazed on irrigated land, or contained for break feeding crops; dairy farming; farming more than 9 pigs per ha.
New stock crossing rules (See rules 5.3.2, 6.3.2 and rules 6.1.4 – 6.1.8)
By July 2017, if you intensively farm stock you must bridge or culvert all stock crossings over both permanent and intermittent streams and rivers. Otherwise, you have an extra year (July 2018) to bridge or culvert regular crossings over permanently flowing streams and rivers.
New winter stock exclusion rules (See rule 5.3.5)
From July 2017, if you graze stock and allow them to remove or badly damage vegetation over the winter months (1 May – 30 September), you must comply with new set back rules to protect water quality in both permanent and intermittent streams, rivers, lakes and wetlands.
Waipaoa Catchment Plan (See Part E: Catchment Plans)
New rules are proposed to tackle over allocation of the Waipaoa River e.g. no new water permits, waiting lists, reducing allocation when permits are renewed to actual and reasonable use. If flow levels drop as low as 4000 - 1300 litres per second, Council may restrict or cut off water supply, particularly to hill country areas.
Council has established water quality baselines in the Waipaoa River and tributaries. The proposed new rules require that this baseline be maintained and sets improvement targets for some areas e.g. reducing nitrates, phosphorous and sediment. This is likely to restrict future farming development, which has the potential to harm water quality.
Farm Environment Plans (See rule 5.3.2, and Schedule 11)
By July 2021, you will need to implement a Farm Environment Plan, lodge it with Council and submit annual reports, if you:
- intensively farm stock on more than 5 ha (NOTE: stock exclusion rules apply to smaller areas)
- grow vegetables or crops
Stock Exclusion rules (See rule 5.3.2, 6.3.3, and Schedule 1, 3, 4, 5 and 11)
By July 2017, if you are intensively farming stock in a paddock next to a waterway, you must keep stock:
- 5 m away from any permanently flowing stream, lake or wetland
- 10 m away from any “Aquatic Ecosystem Waterbody”, Outstanding Waterbody or Regionally Significant Wetland.
Otherwise, you must have a Farm Environment Plan that addresses any related harmful environmental effects, OR comply with certain rules designed to avoid those effects.
New vegetation clearance rules (See rules 7.1.3 – 7.1.8 and 7.2.3 – 7.2.9)
You now need consent to clear native vegetation in or around wetlands, or within the riparian margins (generally 5 metres strips either side) of certain rivers. You can still remove weeds as long as you comply with certain rules, including: keeping machinery out of waterways and hand clearing weeds when you are fencing.
More information:
You can read more about the proposed plan, and make a submission, on the Council’s website: http://www.gdc.govt.nz/gisborne-regional-freshwater-plan/. You can also ask the Council for advice on how the changes affect you.