The water plan rules affect the storage and discharge of your dairy effluent

The rules in the ORC Regional Plan: Water have been updated, which means in most cases consent will now be needed for both effluent storage facilities and discharging effluent to land.

Depending on the set-up of the system, and what you are proposing to do, further consents may be necessary (e.g., components of an effluent system: weeping wall, stone trap, sump).

The rules apply now for new and existing animal waste storage. 

All new ponds and tanks will generally require resource consent before they are constructed. Some smaller structures that are not used for storage will not need consent. As well as consent for your storage, you will also need consent to discharge effluent to land.

Existing effluent storage constructed prior to 25 March 2020 that does not meet the permitted criteria is temporarily permitted with an application for consent not needing to be lodged until at least 4 June 2023 or until a later date for some systems. However, farmers are encouraged to apply now or to start thinking about their storage system.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Implementation calculator for animal effluent storage

Schedule 19 – when do I need to apply for consent by

There are new rules for Plan Change 8 (PC8) that affect dairy farmers regarding storage of waste due to animal milking activity (mainly cows).

The rules have become partially operative from 4 June 2022.

You can learn more by reading the Proposed Water Quality Plan Changes or Change 8 documents. 

Use the calculator to find out when you need to apply for a resource consent under Rule 14.7.3.1 of Plan Change 8 (PC8) based on cow milking activity.

 

Animal effluent storage calculator

Use this calculator to calculate the number of days of effluent storage.

1. Daily waste volume (m3):


2. Minimum number of days of storage available:

If I need a resource consent?

If you need a resource consent, you will need to complete application "Form 1" and the forms that are relevant to your situation. If you need to complete multiple consents for an activity, you only need to complete Form 1 once.