Resource Management (NES) Regulations 2004

Louise WickhamMinistry for the Environment

2

Presentation Overview

• What is in the regulation

• What was our intent

• Future standards

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What is in the Regulation

• List of Prohibited Activities

• Ambient Air Quality Standards

• 2 x Design Standards

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Prohibited Activities

• Fires at landfills

• Burning of tyres, bitumen, coated wire, or oil in the open

“Threshold of Significance”

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Prohibited Activities

Incinerators:– No new high temperature

hazardous waste facilities– Resource consents for schools

& hospitals by Oct 2006

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Ambient Standards

• Ambient air standards

– concentration limits

– based on 2002 guidelines

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Pollutant Limit Units Exceed/yr

CO 10 mg/m3, 8-hr 1

NO2 200 µg/m3, 1-hr 9

O3 150 µg/m3, 1-hr 0

PM10 50 µg/m3, 24-hr 1

SO2 350

570

µg/m3, 1-hr

µg/m3, 1-hr

9

0

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Application

• Defined “airsheds”

– specified by Minister

– open air

– where people are exposed

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Monitoring

• If standard likely to be breached

• “Worst” location

• Do NOT have to monitor everywhere

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Notification of Exceedance

• Monthly notification in accordance with RMA:

– contaminant– location– extent

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PM10 and Resource Consents

Before 2013 if standard breached:

– consents permitted only if below straight line path

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Straight Line Path: PM10

0

30

01-Sep-05 01-Sep-13

Em

issi

on

s (k

g/k

m2/d

ay)

300

1,000

Max 200 µg/m3

Max 50 µg/m3

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Defining the Straight Line Path

• Based on emissions

• Base year worst case

• Practical

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PM10 and Resource Consents 2

• If standard met:– do not exceed standard

• If standard breached:– no consents permitted

After 2013:

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Resource Consents & Other Pollutants

• SO2

– must not exceed standard• CO, NOx & Ozone

– must not exceed standard if a principle source

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Wood burner standard

New wood burners on lot size less than 2 hectares:

– max particle emission of 1.5 g/kg

– min thermal efficiency of 65%

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Landfill Gas Design Standard

Control of greenhouse gases at landfills:

• Installation of gas collection system for

operating landfills over 1 million tonnes

(unless landfill than 5% putrescible waste)

• Includes industrial monofills

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Commencement

• Ambient standards 1 Sept 05

• Incinerators at schools/hospitals 1 Oct 06

• All others came into force 8 Oct 04

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Implementing the Bans

• Over-rides rules in plans

• Does not affect existing resource consents (only)

• RMA enforcement provisions

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Implementing “Airsheds”

• “Local Air Management Areas”

• Drafts by NIWA early Feb

• Notify Minister by 1 July 2005

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LAMAs ARE:

• Reasonably large

• Geophysical

• Reviewable

• Can be categorised

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LAMAs are NOT:

• “Airsheds” in strict geophysical terms

• Small areas around problem sources

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Future Air Standard?

• 20 µg/m3 PM10 annual average

• Reporting standard only?

• Linked to resource consents with delayed introduction?

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Future other standards

• Raw drinking water

• Contaminated sites

• Biosolids

• Electromagnetic radiation

• Septic tanks