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Resource Management Act 1991

Standards, policy statements, and plans - National direction - National environmental standards

43B: Relationship between national environmental standards and rules or consents

You could also call this:

"How national environmental rules work with other rules and consents"

Illustration for Resource Management Act 1991

You need to know how national environmental standards work with rules or consents. A rule or resource consent can be more stringent than a national environmental standard if the standard says so. This means the rule or consent is stronger and takes priority. You can have a rule or resource consent that is more lenient than a national environmental standard. This happens if the standard says it is okay to have a more lenient rule or consent. A more lenient rule or consent means it is not as strong as the standard. If you got a land use consent or a subdivision consent before a national environmental standard was published under the Legislation Act 2019, it takes priority over the standard. Some permits and consents also take priority over national environmental standards. These include coastal, water, or discharge permits, and land use consents granted in relation to a regional rule. If you apply for a resource consent before a national environmental standard is published under the Legislation Act 2019, the consent might take priority over the standard. But this only happens if the standard does not say otherwise. If a national environmental standard requires you to get a resource consent, certain sections of the law apply to your activity. These sections are 10, 10A, 10B, and 20A(2).

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM233317.

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43A: Contents of national environmental standards, or

"What national environmental standards are about and what they can do to help protect the environment"

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43C: Relationship between national environmental standards and water conservation orders, or

"How national environmental standards and water conservation orders work together to protect New Zealand's water"

Part 5Standards, policy statements, and plans
National direction: National environmental standards

43BRelationship between national environmental standards and rules or consents

  1. A rule or resource consent that is more stringent than a national environmental standard prevails over the standard, if the standard expressly says that a rule or consent may be more stringent than it.

  2. For the purposes of subsection (1),—

  3. a rule is more stringent than a standard if it prohibits or restricts an activity that the standard permits or authorises:
    1. a resource consent is more stringent than a standard if it imposes conditions on an activity that the standard does not impose or authorise.

      1. A rule or resource consent that is more lenient than a national environmental standard prevails over the standard if the standard expressly says that a rule or consent may be more lenient than it.

      2. For the purposes of subsection (3), a rule or resource consent is more lenient than a standard if it permits or authorises an activity that the standard prohibits or restricts.

      3. A land use consent or a subdivision consent granted under the district rules before the date on which a national environmental standard is published under the Legislation Act 2019 prevails over the standard.

      4. The following permits and consents prevail over a national environmental standard:

      5. a coastal, water, or discharge permit:
        1. a land use consent granted in relation to a regional rule.

          1. Subsection (6) applies—

          2. if those permits or consents are granted before the date on which a relevant national environmental standard is published under the Legislation Act 2019:
            1. until a review of the conditions of the permit or consent under section 128(1)(ba) results in some or all of the standard prevailing over the permit or consent.

              1. This subsection applies to a resource consent not covered by subsection (5) or (6). The consent prevails over a national environmental standard if the application giving rise to the consent was the subject of a decision on whether to notify it before the date on which the standard is published under the Legislation Act 2019. However, the consent does not prevail if the standard expressly provides otherwise.

              2. Repealed

              3. If a national environmental standard requires a resource consent to be obtained for an activity, sections 10, 10A, 10B, and 20A(2) apply to the activity as if the standard were a rule in a plan that had become operative.

              Notes
              • Section 43B: replaced, on , by section 29 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 87).
              • Section 43B(3): replaced, on , by section 30(1) of the Resource Legislation Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 15).
              • Section 43B(5): replaced, on , by section 44 of the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 31).
              • Section 43B(5): amended, on , by section 3 of the Secondary Legislation Act 2021 (2021 No 7).
              • Section 43B(5): amended, on , by section 30(2) of the Resource Legislation Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 15).
              • Section 43B(6): replaced, on , by section 30(3) of the Resource Legislation Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 15).
              • Section 43B(6A): inserted, on , by section 30(3) of the Resource Legislation Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 15).
              • Section 43B(6A)(a): amended, on , by section 3 of the Secondary Legislation Act 2021 (2021 No 7).
              • Section 43B(7): replaced, on , by section 44 of the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 31).
              • Section 43B(7): amended, on , by section 3 of the Secondary Legislation Act 2021 (2021 No 7).
              • Section 43B(8): repealed, on , by section 44 of the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 31).