Southland Water and Land Plan to be released in April
Tuesday, 6 March 2018
The final version of the hotly-debated Southland Water and Land Plan will be released to the public next month, but already the hearing commissioners are anticipating an appeal.
Hearing commissioner Lloyd McCallum said the final draft of the plan had been put before the regional council for consideration.
'The commissioners have finished their work and presented it to the council.'
The plan will be made public on April 4.
When asked if the farmers would be happy, he said: 'I would hope so.'
However, he said there were 'always appeals' to such plans.
'All going well it doesn't [get appealed] but I know there are people out there that probably will.'
If the plan was appealed it could end up in the Environment Court.
The five hearing commissioners had put a lot of work into the plan and they hadn't always agreed, McCallum said.
'It's up to the public to decide whether it's good, bad or whatever.'
The plan seeks to maintain water quality in Southland.
It proposes to manage farming activities that contribute to disproportionate amounts of contaminants such as nitrogen, phosphorous and sediments from entering waterways.
About 900 public submissions were lodged when the public was asked to provide feedback, and 270 submitters spoke during the months-long hearing, including Federated Farmers.
The Feds slammed the proposed plan, saying parts of it were impractical, unworkable and not economically feasible for some farmers.
Its concerns included the compliance costs associated with the plan, the restrictions on intensive winter grazing, the potential devaluation of people's properties and the fact Environment Southland was proposing to base rules on new science [physiographic zones] that had not been ground-truthed on the farms.
However, the Southland Fish & Game Council said the proposed plan did not go far enough.
Farmers were not in the privileged position where they should be immune to the costs and regulations outlined in the proposed plan, Fish & Game said.
Southland Fish & Game manager Zane Moss showed the five hearing commissioners photos of tracts of Southland farmland near waterways which had been reduced to mud, with pooling water on top , after being intensively grazed during the winter months.
Commissioner Edward Ellison described the photos as 'very graphic'.
Fish & Game believed land uses, including agriculture, should be managed through regulation to avoid effects on the environment.
McCallum, also the deputy chairman of Environment Southland, said on Tuesday that limit setting would be on the council agenda in the months after the 'hold the line plan' was introduced.
Setting limits for water quality and quantity is one of the requirements for all regional councils
Limit setting in Southland will include restricting the amount of contaminants that can be discharged into waterways, to ensure the long-term health of the water.
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