Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Resource Management Act 1991

Resource consents - Review of consent conditions by consent authority

128: Circumstances when consent conditions can be reviewed

You could also call this:

“The law allows authorities to check and change the rules of resource use permits in certain situations.”

A consent authority can review the conditions of your resource consent in several situations. They can do this at any time specified in your consent to deal with environmental issues, to make you use the best methods to reduce environmental effects, or for other reasons stated in your consent.

If you have a coastal, water, or discharge permit, or a land use consent from a regional council, they can review it when new rules about water, air quality, or geothermal water are made. They can also review it when new national environmental standards or planning standards are created.

For land use consents, reviews can happen when there’s a new relevant regional rule. If the information you gave when applying for the consent wasn’t accurate and this affected the decision, they can review it to apply more suitable conditions.

If more than one resource consent is affected by a new rule, the consent authority can review all of them together to manage the effects of the activities.

The consent authority must review your consent conditions if a court order requires it. If you have a coastal permit for aquaculture, the regional council must tell the Ministry of Fisheries if they plan to review certain conditions.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM235230.

Topics:
Environment and resources > Conservation
Environment and resources > Climate and energy
Government and voting > Local councils
Previous

127: Change or cancellation of consent condition on application by consent holder, or

“The rules for asking to change or cancel a condition on your resource consent”

Next

129: Notice of review, or

“This tells you how the government must let you know when they're checking if your permission to do something is still okay.”

Part 6 Resource consents
Review of consent conditions by consent authority

128Circumstances when consent conditions can be reviewed

  1. A consent authority may, in accordance with section 129, serve notice on a consent holder of its intention to review the conditions of a resource consent—

  2. at any time or times specified for that purpose in the consent for any of the following purposes:
    1. to deal with any adverse effect on the environment which may arise from the exercise of the consent and which it is appropriate to deal with at a later stage; or
      1. to require a holder of a discharge permit or a coastal permit to do something that would otherwise contravene section 15 or 15B to adopt the best practicable option to remove or reduce any adverse effect on the environment; or
        1. for any other purpose specified in the consent; or
        2. in the case of a coastal, water, or discharge permit, or a land use consent granted by a regional council, if—
          1. a regional plan contains a rule that relates to maximum or minimum levels or flows or rates of use of water, or minimum standards of water quality or air quality, or ranges of temperature or pressure of geothermal water; and
            1. the rule has been made operative; and
              1. the regional council considers that it is appropriate to review the conditions of the permit or consent in order to enable the levels, flows, rates, or standards set by the rule to be met; or
              2. in the case of a coastal, water, or discharge permit, or a land use consent granted by a regional council, when relevant national environmental standards or national planning standards have been made; or
                1. in the case of a land use consent, in relation to a relevant regional rule; or
                  1. if the information made available to the consent authority by the applicant for the consent for the purposes of the application contained inaccuracies which materially influenced the decision made on the application and the effects of the exercise of the consent are such that it is necessary to apply more appropriate conditions; or
                    1. if the review is part of a review carried out under subsection (2A).

                      1. A consent authority must, in accordance with section 129, serve notice on a consent holder of its intention to review the conditions of a resource consent if required by an order made under section 339(5)(b).

                      2. If more than 1 resource consent is affected by the rule referred to in subsection (1)(b)(i), the consent authority may review the conditions of those resource consents together for the purpose of managing the effects of the activities carried out under those resource consents.

                      3. A regional council must notify the chief executive of the Ministry of Fisheries as soon as is reasonably practicable if it intends to review a condition of a coastal permit authorising an aquaculture activity to be undertaken in the coastal marine area and the condition has been specified under section 186H(1A) of the Fisheries Act 1996 as a condition that may not be changed or cancelled until the chief executive of the Ministry of Fisheries makes a further aquaculture decision.

                      Notes
                      • Section 128(1)(a): amended, on , by section 73(1)(a) of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1993 (1993 No 65).
                      • Section 128(1)(a)(ii): amended, on , by section 30 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1997 (1997 No 104).
                      • Section 128(1)(a)(ii): amended, on , by section 73(1)(b) of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1993 (1993 No 65).
                      • Section 128(1)(b): replaced, on , by section 38(1) of the Resource Management Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 30).
                      • Section 128(1)(ba): replaced, on , by section 78 of the Resource Legislation Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 15).
                      • Section 128(1)(bb): inserted, on , by section 78 of the Resource Legislation Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 15).
                      • Section 128(1)(d): inserted, on , by section 38(2) of the Resource Management Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 30).
                      • Section 128(2): replaced, on , by section 94 of the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 31).
                      • Section 128(2A): inserted, on , by section 38(3) of the Resource Management Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 30).
                      • Section 128(3): inserted, on , by section 35 of the Resource Management Amendment Act (No 2) 2011 (2011 No 70).