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136: Transferability of water permits
or “Rules for giving your water permit to someone else or using it in a different place”
You could also call this:

“Rules for sharing or moving a permit that allows you to release stuff into the environment”

You can transfer a discharge permit to someone else if you have one. This means you can give away some or all of your rights to use the permit. You can do this for part of the time left on the permit or for all of it.

You can transfer the permit if it’s for the same site where the permit was given. You can give it to another owner or person using that site, or to a local council.

If you want to transfer the permit to a different site, you need to check if the regional plan allows it. If the plan doesn’t say you can, you might be able to ask the authority that gave you the permit for permission to transfer it.

The regional plan or the authority might let you transfer the permit if it doesn’t make the effects of any discharges worse for the environment. The transfer also can’t break any national environmental rules. If the discharge is to water, both sites need to be in the same catchment area. For air discharges, both sites usually need to be in the same region.

If you need to apply to transfer your permit, you and the person you want to give it to need to do this together. The application will be looked at as if it’s a new request for a permit.

The transfer only starts working when the authority that gave the permit gets a written notice about it. If you transfer all of your permit for all the time left on it, your old permit is cancelled and a new one is made for the person you gave it to. The new permit has the same rules as your old one.

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Next up: 138: Surrender of consent

or “You can give up your permission to do something, but there are rules about how to do it”
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Part 6 Resource consents
Transfer of consents

137Transferability of discharge permits

  1. The holder of a discharge permit may—

  2. transfer part or all of the holder's interest in the permit; and
    1. make the transfer for part or all of the remaining period of the permit.

      1. The holder may make the transfer if it—

      2. is for the site for which the permit is granted; and
        1. is to—
          1. another owner or occupier of the site for which the permit is granted; or
            1. a local authority.

            2. The holder may make the transfer if it is for another site and is to any person, if a regional plan—

            3. allows the transfer; or
              1. allows the holder to apply to the consent authority that granted the permit to be allowed to make the transfer.

                1. A regional plan may allow a transfer or a consent authority may allow a transfer if—

                2. the transfer does not worsen the actual or potential effect of any discharges on the environment; and
                  1. the transfer does not result in any discharges that contravene a national environmental standard; and
                    1. if the discharge is to water, both sites are in the same catchment; and
                      1. if the discharge is to air and a national environmental standard applies to a discharge to air, both sites are in the same air-shed as defined in the standard; and
                        1. if the discharge is to air and paragraph (d) does not apply, both sites are in the same region.

                          1. An application under subsection (3)(b)—

                          2. must be in the prescribed form; and
                            1. must be lodged jointly by the holder of the permit and the person to whom it is proposed to transfer the interest in the permit; and
                              1. must be considered under sections 39 to 42A, 88 to 115, 120, and 121 as if—
                                1. the application for a transfer were an application for a resource consent; and
                                  1. the holder were an applicant for a resource consent.

                                  2. The transfer has no effect until the consent authority that granted the permit receives written notice of it.

                                  3. When a consent authority receives written notice of a transfer that is made for all of the remaining period of the permit,—

                                  4. the original permit, or the part of it that relates to the part of the interest transferred, is cancelled; and
                                    1. the interest, or the part of it transferred, is a new permit on the same conditions as the original permit.

                                      Notes
                                      • Section 137: replaced, on , by section 75 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 87).
                                      • Section 137(5)(c): amended, on , by section 150 of the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 31).