Work stalls on ORC's new air plan
Work has stopped on new rules for home heating to manage and improve air quality in the region, the Otago Regional Council has confirmed.
Chief executive Richard Saunders confirmed at a council meeting in Oamaru yesterday work on the council's new air plan had stopped as a result of Resource Management Act (RMA) Reform Minister Chris Bishop's direction last week that council planning should stop until the new RMA legislation takes effect.
On the day Mr Bishop broke the news to councillors and mayors attending the Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) conference in Christchurch, Mr Saunders said the council welcomed the announcement from the minister "and the clarity it brings in light of upcoming resource management reforms".
However, he said staff were still working through the implications on the council's work programme.
Yesterday, regional planning and transport general manager Anita Dawe said no other work programmes at the council would be stopped after Mr Bishop's announcement.
"Given the recent clear direction from Minister Bishop, staff have stopped work on the formal air plan process," Ms Dawe said.
"Work on the air strategy is expected to continue subject to further direction from councillors.
"The final and detailed direction [of the plan] was still to be finalised. However, the broad direction was to put in place rules that improved air quality, in particular around domestic home heating."
She said the plan was no longer due to be notified next year.
Three policy staff, one science staff member, and additional staff who had been working on the air plan would be redeployed to other projects, she said.
Mr Bishop's office told the Otago Daily Times last week proposed plans that had a hearing date scheduled within five days of the enactment of the government's plan-stop legislation, expected next month, should continue.
hamish.maclean@odt.co.nz
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
5 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Debris on river a flood threat, council hears
Debris piled high enough to cover cattle in the Waihemo River is an imminent flood threat to the area, the Otago Regional Council has been told. Waihemo farmer Jim Thomson's property is spilt by the Waihemo/Shag River. Mr Thomson is the Waihemo ward representative on the Waitaki District Council and an approved RMA hearings commissioner. He said he was speaking as a concerned ORC ratepayer. At the ORC meeting in Oamaru yesterday, he told the council he has seen the river deteriorate "badly" over the past five years. "There's been no maintenance, no spraying for weeds and in actual fact, now seeing the results of previous spraying which was excessive, large willow trees are now dead and falling over and will, I suggest, end up in the river during the next large flood. "The lack of that maintenance, as I say, is going to affect future flood events. I know historically the floods in the Waihemo peaked at 440 cubics and during my 12 years there it was at 298 and that was scary enough." Mr Thomson suggested the issue could be traced back to the "travesty" of the Otago Regional Plan Change 7, which implemented the same irrigation rules for all Otago, with no recognition of the different weather between central and eastern Otago. "However, 75 years of rainfall records in my district show an 800mm variation, in that rainfall. As low as during the 1998 drought of 286mm but as high as 1100mm in the last two years. "I haven't turned the irrigation pump on because Mother Nature has done it for us but in actual fact, that will show as a non-use and will result in the reduction of water allocated to me." He suggested a solution to prevent trees being an issue in floods was to, at the Maheno area, remove the debris and the alluvial deposits between the rail and road bridges in the Kakanui and allow the water to flow where it wants to. Failing to do so would mean ratepayers would face more flood events in the future, he said. "I would challenge some members around this table as to whether they have served the whole community or been caught up in spheres of specific local interest. "Local and regional government would have more effect if we engaged with the practical people in our communities. Let's be proactive rather than reactive. "I would like to urge the council to continue to engage with practical people dealing daily with issues in our community for far better outcomes in the long term. Let's engage, educate and empower our communities to achieve outcomes, rather to try and impose and enforce upon them." Moeraki representative Cr Kevin Malcolm asked what would prevent the issue from being an imminent threat. "Well, the first thing is the clogging of the river with lupins, gorse brush," Mr Thomson said. "When I arrived, I sprayed up from the river banks. I also farm in a way that the areas that are flood plain will have temporary feeds in and I normally set back 10 to 15 metres to make sure that stock don't have access to the river. "But over time, with the neglect last year, I actually sent Cr Malcolm a photo of where I shifted the fence up and put two year old cattle in to try and break down that debris and you couldn't actually see the cattle in amongst it."
Otago Daily Times
5 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Work stalls on ORC's new air plan
Smoke from overnight fires hangs heavy in the frigid air above North East Valley in 2022. PHOTO: GERARD O'BRIEN Work has stopped on new rules for home heating to manage and improve air quality in the region, the Otago Regional Council has confirmed. Chief executive Richard Saunders confirmed at a council meeting in Oamaru yesterday work on the council's new air plan had stopped as a result of Resource Management Act (RMA) Reform Minister Chris Bishop's direction last week that council planning should stop until the new RMA legislation takes effect. On the day Mr Bishop broke the news to councillors and mayors attending the Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) conference in Christchurch, Mr Saunders said the council welcomed the announcement from the minister "and the clarity it brings in light of upcoming resource management reforms". However, he said staff were still working through the implications on the council's work programme. Yesterday, regional planning and transport general manager Anita Dawe said no other work programmes at the council would be stopped after Mr Bishop's announcement. "Given the recent clear direction from Minister Bishop, staff have stopped work on the formal air plan process," Ms Dawe said. "Work on the air strategy is expected to continue subject to further direction from councillors. "The final and detailed direction [of the plan] was still to be finalised. However, the broad direction was to put in place rules that improved air quality, in particular around domestic home heating." She said the plan was no longer due to be notified next year. Three policy staff, one science staff member, and additional staff who had been working on the air plan would be redeployed to other projects, she said. Mr Bishop's office told the Otago Daily Times last week proposed plans that had a hearing date scheduled within five days of the enactment of the government's plan-stop legislation, expected next month, should continue.
Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Frosty starts but fine days for rest of week
A runner paces fuel tanker Yong Ao as it enters the upper Otago Harbour yesterday. Sailing under a Chinese flag, the tanker is 183m long with a width of 32m and was launched in 2022. PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY Dunedin can expect frosty starts and "a lot of fairly fine days" for the rest of the week. MetService meteorologist Braydon White said cold and dry conditions were set to continue until at least the end of the week. Otago and Southland have been dominated by a large ridge of high pressure, which created the conditions. "Dunedin and Otago conditions are going to be cold and frosty," Mr White said. "We've see a lot of those very cold temperatures lately and they're set to continue." No major cloudy periods or rain were expected. "Cloudwise, looks like there will be a lot of fairly fine days," he said. Mr White said there might be a change in the weather pattern towards the end of the weekend. There was a chance there would be some high cloud might cover in the South but weather systems were "pretty static" all round. Dunedin and Oamaru would have highs of between 10°C and 15°C for the rest of the week. Alexandra and Queenstown would also experience cold and dry weather in the high single digits. However, those temperatures would rise into the early teens over the weekend. Mr White said it was a "very similar story" for Southland, Gore and Invercargill. "Some of their lows start to warm up towards Friday. "It's very stagnant."
