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Resource Management Act 1991

Transitional provisions - Current mining privileges relating to water

413: Current mining privileges to become deemed permits

You could also call this:

“Old mining water rights will now be treated as special permits under the new law.”

When this law began, some existing mining privileges became new types of permits. These are now called ‘deemed permits’. Here’s what you need to know about them:

If you had a mining privilege that let you use water or discharge something, it became a water permit or a discharge permit. It might also give you rights over land you don’t own. The new permit has the same rules as the old one.

Your new permit includes some special conditions from the old law. It will end 30 years after this law started.

You can sell or transfer your deemed permit like it’s a piece of property. But you have to tell the regional council in writing when you do this.

Only the regional council or a government minister can ask for an enforcement order against you for activities related to your deemed permit.

You can apply for a new permit to replace your deemed permit at any time.

If you want to transfer a water permit to someone else or to use it somewhere else, you need to apply to the regional council. They will look at how it might affect water use in the area and may change the permit’s priority or conditions.

Some old rules about water rights still apply to deemed permits.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM240386.

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414: Deemed permits to be subject to regional rules, or

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Part 15 Transitional provisions
Current mining privileges relating to water

413Current mining privileges to become deemed permits

  1. Except as provided in subsections (2) to (10), every—

  2. current mining privilege within the meaning of section 2 of the Water and Soil Conservation Amendment Act 1971; and
    1. right granted or authorised under the Water and Soil Conservation Act 1967 in substitution for a current mining privilege, on an application made by the holder of that privilege—
        1. that is in force immediately before the date of commencement of this Act (in this section and in sections 414 to 417 called a mining privilege) shall be deemed to be—
      1. a water permit, if it authorises something that would otherwise contravene section 14; or
        1. a discharge permit, if it authorises something that would otherwise contravene section 15; or
          1. a permit that confers on its holder rights over land in respect of which the holder is not the owner,—
              1. granted by the appropriate consent authority under this Act on the same conditions (including those set out in any enactment whether or not repealed or revoked by this Act) and the provisions of this Act (other than sections 128 to 133) shall apply accordingly. Every such permit is called a deemed permit in this section and in sections 414 to 417.

            1. Without limiting subsection (1), every deemed permit resulting from a mining privilege shall be deemed to include, as conditions of the permit, such of the provisions of sections 4 to 11, 13, 14, 16, 19(1) and (5), and 23(1)(a) and (2) of the Water and Soil Conservation Amendment Act 1971 as applied to the mining privilege immediately before the date of commencement of this Act.

            2. Every deemed permit resulting from a mining privilege under subsection (1)(c) or (d) shall be deemed to include a condition to the effect that it finally expires on the 30th anniversary of the date of commencement of this Act.

            3. Subject to subsection (3), sections 19(4) and 23(1)(b) of the Water and Soil Conservation Amendment Act 1971 shall continue to apply to those deemed permits to which they applied immediately before the date of commencement of this Act.

            4. Sections 12 and 30 to 32 of the Water and Soil Conservation Amendment Act 1971 shall apply to deemed permits as if—

            5. that Act had not been repealed; and
              1. those permits were still current mining privileges under that Act; and
                1. every reference to the Board were a reference to the appropriate regional council.

                  1. Notwithstanding section 122, every deemed permit shall be deemed to be a chattel interest in land and—

                  2. subject to sections 136 and 137, may be sold, encumbered, transmitted, seized under writ of execution or warrant, or otherwise disposed of, as fully as a chattel interest in land; but
                    1. no dealing or disposition of a kind referred to in paragraph (a) shall have effect until written notice of the dealing or disposition is received by the appropriate regional council.

                      1. No enforcement order may be made under section 319 against the holder of any deemed permit in respect of any activity to which the permit relates except upon an application under section 316 made by—

                      2. the relevant regional council; or
                        1. a Minister of the Crown.

                          1. The holder of a deemed permit may, in order to replace that permit, apply at any time under Part 6 for another permit in respect of the activity to which the deemed permit relates.

                          2. Subject to subsection (9), the holder of a deemed permit may transfer the holder's interest in the permit in accordance with sections 136 and 137.

                          3. The following provisions apply to a permit that is deemed by subsection (1)(c) to be a water permit:

                          4. notwithstanding section 136(2)(b)(i), no transfer of the whole or any part of a deemed permit may take place except upon an application made under section 136(4); and
                            1. notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section 136(5), the interest or part transferred shall be deemed to be a new permit granted under this Act, and—
                              1. shall be subject to section 122 (which describes the nature of a resource consent) and shall not be a chattel interest in land and shall not confer on its holder any rights over land; and
                                1. shall be subject to sections 128 to 132 (which relate to the review of consent conditions); and
                                  1. shall only be transferable in accordance with section 136; and
                                  2. in addition to the matters set out in section 136(4)(b), in considering an application to transfer the whole or part of a deemed permit to another site, the regional council shall have regard to the effect such a transfer would have on the relative priority and entitlement to water in the catchment and may modify the priority or other conditions of the transferred deemed permit; and
                                    1. for the purposes of this subsection, the term transfer, in relation to the whole or part of a deemed permit, means transfer in accordance with section 136 to another person on another site, or to another site, and the terms transferred and transferable, where they appear in this subsection, have a corresponding meaning.

                                      1. Section 18 of the Water and Soil Conservation Amendment Act 1971 shall continue to apply in respect of those deemed permits to which it applied before the date of commencement of this Act as if this Act had not been enacted.

                                      Notes
                                      • Section 413(1)(d): amended, on , by section 197(1) of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1993 (1993 No 65).
                                      • Section 413(1)(e): inserted, on , by section 197(2) of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1993 (1993 No 65).
                                      • Section 413(2): amended, on , by section 197(3)(a) of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1993 (1993 No 65).
                                      • Section 413(2): amended, on , by section 197(3)(b) of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1993 (1993 No 65).
                                      • Section 413(3): amended, on , by section 197(4) of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1993 (1993 No 65).
                                      • Section 413(3A): inserted, on , by section 197(5) of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1993 (1993 No 65).
                                      • Section 413(9)(c): replaced, on , by section 197(6) of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1993 (1993 No 65).
                                      • Section 413(9)(d): inserted, on , by section 197(6) of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1993 (1993 No 65).