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149F: EPA to receive further submissions if matter is request, change, or variation
or “The EPA lets people send more comments about changes to plans or policies after showing a summary of what others said.”
You could also call this:

“The EPA must give all the important stuff about a case to the people who will decide it”

When someone refers a matter to a board of inquiry or the Environment Court under this part of the law, the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has to do a few things.

First, the EPA needs to give the board or court all the information it has about the matter. This includes the matter itself, any information the EPA has received about it, and any submissions people have made about it. The EPA should do this as quickly as they reasonably can after they get the information.

Next, the EPA has to ask the local authority to write a report about the main issues of the matter. This report needs to include:

  • Any important rules from national policy statements, New Zealand coastal policy statements, national planning standards, regional policy statements (including proposed ones), and plans (including proposed plans).
  • Whether all the needed resource consents for the proposal have been applied for.
  • If it applies, what type of activities are proposed in relation to the matter.

Finally, the EPA has to give a copy of this report to the board of inquiry or Environment Court (whichever is handling the matter), to the person who made the application, and to everyone who made a submission about the matter.

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Next up: 149H: Local authority may not notify further change or variation in certain circumstances

or “ The town council can't suggest new changes to certain plans while a special group is still deciding on them. ”
Next

Part 6AA Proposals of national significance
Minister may make direction in relation to matter: How matter processed if direction made to refer matter to board of inquiry or court

149GEPA must provide board or court with necessary information

  1. This section applies if a matter is referred to a board of inquiry or the Environment Court under this Part.

  2. The EPA must provide the board of inquiry or Environment Court, as the case may be, with each of the following things as soon as is reasonably practicable after receiving it:

  3. the matter:
    1. all the information received by the EPA that relates to the matter:
      1. the submissions received by the EPA on the matter.

        1. The EPA must also commission the local authority to prepare a report on the key issues in relation to the matter that includes—

        2. any relevant provisions of a national policy statement, a New Zealand coastal policy statement, a national planning standard, a regional policy statement or proposed regional policy statement, and a plan or proposed plan; and
          1. a statement on whether all required resource consents in relation to the proposal to which the matter relates have been applied for; and
            1. if applicable, the activity status of all proposed activities in relation to the matter.

              1. The EPA must provide a copy of the report to—

              2. the board of inquiry or the Environment Court, as the case may be; and
                1. the applicant; and
                  1. every person who made a submission on the matter.

                    Notes
                    • Section 149G: inserted, on , by section 100 of the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 31).
                    • Section 149G(3)(a): amended, on , by section 86 of the Resource Legislation Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 15).