You need to know what some words mean when talking about wastewater consents. The commencement date is when this section of the law starts. You can find more information about wastewater networks in section 5 of the Water Services Act 2021. You should understand what an extant wastewater consent is. It is a resource consent for constructing or operating a wastewater network that is current on the commencement date and due to expire within three years. This consent must be for a wastewater network as defined in the law. There is also something called an extended expiry date. This date is either three years after the commencement date or the date when an extended period ends, as decided by the Minister under section 139D. The Minister can extend the period of an extant wastewater consent.