Federated Farmers Submission on the Proposed Regional Air Plan 2014
We support the effects-based approach taken by the Air Plan. One of the biggest issues in terms of air quality in Southland is the breaching of the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality (NESAQ) in the Invercargill and Gore airsheds during winter. It is therefore appropriate that the Air Plan contains specific provisions to address this issue.
In contrast, in rural areas farmhouse fuel burners are distributed so sparsely that cumulatively they have very little impact on the region’s air quality. It is therefore unnecessary to subject rural areas to the same regulations around home heating discharges as urban areas. Managing the adverse effects of emissions and discharges is fairer and more practicable, compared to Council imposing blanket rules that fail to address the cause of the issue.
For more, please see the full submission