Annual Environmental Monitoring and Science charges
Council has a schedule of annual charges on a range of resource consents. These charges are a partial contribution to the costs of the Council’s environmental monitoring and science programme where the consent involves using a natural resource.
This programme includes:
- Low flow monitoring of rivers and streams with water takes.
- Static water level monitoring for groundwater quantity.
- Air quality monitoring.
- Estuarine monitoring – including sediment quality, benthic community, sediment accumulation, broad-scale habitat.
- Coastal environment monitoring – recreation bathing water quality, stormwater and wastewater, Tahunanui beach erosion, faecal indicators bacteria in shellfish, biodiversity (e.g. shorebirds, wetland birds).
- Installation and maintenance and of telemetry systems and equipment to support river and groundwater flow monitoring and ambient air quality monitoring.
- Biological and water quality monitoring of rivers and lakes (surface and groundwater) where significant land use activities, discharges and water takes are being undertaken, including suspended and deposited sediment, recreation bathing quality, freshwater fish, spawning habitat.
- Riverbed level (gravel) monitoring.
- Science and research into the impacts of water abstraction/water and air discharges/land disturbance/coastal and other activities to support the development of resource consent conditions and to set resource use limits where resources are under pressure.
The activities subject to these charges and relevant annual charges applied are listed below:
Schedule of Annual Environmental Monitoring and Science Charges
| Activity | Annual charge |
|---|---|
| Air discharge - small (eg abrasive blasting; commercial wood-fired pizza ovens) | $68 |
| Air discharge - medium (appliances <1000kW) | $452 |
| Air discharge - large (appliances >1000kW) | $679 |
| Discharge to land or water 20 -100m3/day | $452 |
| Discharge to land or water >100m3/day | $679 |
| Gravel/sand extraction <2000m3/annum | $68 |
| Gravel/sand extraction 2000m-10,0003/annum | $339 |
| Gravel/sand extraction >10,0003/annum | $452 |
| Quarry/other earthworks | $169 |
| Earthworks from subdivision | $169 |
| Forestry/woodlot harvest <100ha | $68 |
| Forestry harvest >100-200ha | $113 |
| Forestry harvest >200ha | $226 |
| Works in river/stream bed | $169 |
| Water take surface water <5 l/s, or groundwater <100,000m3/year | $68 |
| Water take surface water 5-25 l/s, or groundwater 100,000 - 200,000m3/year | $226 |
| Water take surface water >25 l/s - <60 l/s, or groundwater > 200,000 m3 - <400,000m3/year | $792 |
| Water take surface water >60 l/s, or groundwater > 400,000 m3/year | $1,132 |
| Coastal consents (other than takes or discharges) | $113 |
| Dredging | $226 |
Annual environmental monitoring and science charges listed above shall accrue from 1 July 2024 and be invoiced before 30 June 2025; with payment required by the 20th of the month following invoice.
Environmental monitoring and science charges are reviewed each year as part of the Annual Plan process so there is opportunity to submit to Council on the proposed changes. Once charges are adopted by Council in June, this page will be updated to show the new charges.
NOTE: In the case of consents for temporary or short-term activities, charges shall only apply once the consent is given effect to, and only for the year/s the activity occurs, until the activity is completed and not from the date of issue of the consent.