Plan Change 6AA postpones the date when certain rules controlling discharge contaminant concentration and rules on nitrogen leaching come into force from 1 April 2020 to 1 April 2026. 

This plan change is the first of a series of a series of plan changes that will address significant issues with the Water Plan and strengthen the plan’s existing policy framework, in advance of undertaking a comprehensive plan review and developing a new Land and Water Regional Plan to be notified by late 2024.

Council notified Proposed Plan Change 6AA on Saturday 5 October 2019 and released its decisions on Saturday 8 February 2020. There were no appeals of their decision to the Environment Court. 

Proposed Plan Change 6AA had legal effect from 5 October 2019.

The resolution to make Plan Change 6AA operative was made by the Otago Regional Council on 22 April 2020, and this was publicly notified on Saturday 9 May 2020. Plan Change 6AA is operative and has full legal effect from 16 May 2020.

View and download documents

All documents related to Plan Change 6AA can be downloaded from the list below. 

Public Notice of Operative Plan Change 6AA

Operative Plan Change 6AA

Plan change 6AA incorporating the Council’s Decisions

Decision of Council on Plan Change 6AA

Section 42A report on Plan Change 6AA

Proposed Plan Change 6AA

Section 32 Evaluation Report – Proposed Plan Change 6AA

Summary of decisions requested incorporating further submissions

Hard copies, and copies of individual submissions, are available by emailing policy@orc.govt.nz or phoning 0800 474 082 or 03 474 0827.

Plan Change 6AA Archive

Plan Change 6AA proposed to postpone the date when certain rules controlling discharge contaminant concentration and rules on nitrogen leaching come into force from 1 April 2020 to 1 April 2026. This plan change is the first of a series of plan changes that will address significant issues with the Water Plan and strengthen the plan’s existing policy framework, in advance of undertaking a comprehensive plan review and developing a new Land and Water Regional Plan to be notified by 31 December 2023.

Proposed Plan Change 6AA on Saturday 5 October 2019 was publicly notified on Saturday 5 October 2019, in accordance with Clause 5 of Schedule 1 to the RMA, and the period for submissions closed on 4 November 2019. A total of 20 submissions were received.

Council released the Summary of Decisions Requested and called for further submissions on 9 November 2019.  Three further submissions were received. The Section 42A report, which seeks to assist the decision-making process by summarising the main matters raised in submissions and further submissions and identifies key questions for the Hearing Commissioner to consider in order to make his recommendations to the ORC, was released on 11 December 2019. 

A hearing was held in Dunedin on 18 and 19 December 2019.

Council released its decisions on Saturday 8 February 2020.  There were no appeals of their decision to the Environment Court. 

Council approved the Plan Change becoming operative at its 22 April 2020 meeting, with a notification date of 9 May and an operative date of 16 May 2020.