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413: Current mining privileges to become deemed permits
or “Old mining water rights will now be treated as special permits under the new law.”

You could also call this:

“Regional councils can make rules that limit water use for some permits, but only if certain conditions are met.”

You need to know about rules for water permits that are called ‘deemed permits’. These are special permits that some people have for using water.

A regional council can make a rule in their plan to make sure there’s enough water in streams and rivers. This rule can limit how much water someone with a deemed permit can take or use. It can also stop them from putting things in the water.

The council can only make this rule if the person who has the permit agrees to give it up. This person could be the council itself or someone who asks the council to make the rule. The council must make sure that the new rule won’t affect other people with deemed permits more than the old permit would have.

When the council makes this rule, it’s like the person has given up their permit. The rule stays in place until the old permit would have run out.

The council has to tell everyone about this new rule. They must say which permit is being given up and how it will affect other permits. They also have to tell people about compensation they might get.

This rule can apply to a whole permit or just part of one.

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Next up: 415: Acquisition of deemed permits

or “Regional councils can get special water permits through different ways, like buying them or making agreements.”

Part 15 Transitional provisions
Current mining privileges relating to water

414Deemed permits to be subject to regional rules

  1. A regional council may, in accordance with section 65, include a rule in a regional plan for the purpose of securing minimum instream flow which has the effect of—

  2. restricting the amount of water which the holder of a particular deemed permit may—
    1. take, use, dam, or divert; or
      1. discharge, or discharge a contaminant into; or
      2. prohibiting the holder of a particular deemed permit from—
        1. taking, using, damming, or diverting water; or
          1. discharging water, or a contaminant into water,—
          2. if—
          3. the holder of that deemed permit is—
            1. the relevant regional council; or
              1. a person who requests the regional council to include such a rule in a plan; and
              2. that deemed permit is to be surrendered when the plan including the rule becomes operative; and
                1. the regional council is satisfied that the effect of the rule on the exercise of the rights given by every other deemed permit will not exceed the effect that exercising to the full the rights given by the particular deemed permit that is to be surrendered would otherwise have had.
                  1. Subsection (1) applies—

                  2. notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act; and
                    1. notwithstanding the conditions of the deemed permit which will be surrendered once the plan including the rule becomes operative.
                      1. If a rule of the kind referred to in subsection (1) is included in a plan, the deemed permit shall be deemed to have been surrendered on the day on which the rule becomes operative, notwithstanding any other enactment or rule of law.

                      2. Notwithstanding sections 65(5) and 79(3) (which deal with the change and review of regional plans), once a regional plan including a rule of the kind referred to in subsection (1) becomes operative, then during the period described in subsection (5) the plan shall remain operative and no change may be made to the plan that has the effect of diminishing or removing any prohibition or restriction imposed by the rule.

                      3. For the purposes of subsection (4), the period commences on the date on which the plan including the rule becomes operative and ends with the date on which the deemed permit would have expired if it were not surrendered, which end date shall be specified in the plan.

                      4. Every regional council shall—

                      5. when giving public notice, in accordance with Schedule 1, of a proposed plan including a rule of the kind referred to in subsection (1), identify the deemed permit which will be surrendered once the plan including the rule becomes operative; and
                        1. serve on each holder of a deemed permit which will be affected by the rule if it becomes operative, a notice—
                          1. identifying the deemed permit which will be surrendered once the plan including the rule becomes operative; and
                            1. stating the proposed rule and the effect of the rule and this section on the holder's permit; and
                              1. stating the effect of section 416 (which relates to compensation).
                              2. In this section, deemed permit includes part of a deemed permit.