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217KA: Regional council may approve industry organisation to provide certification or audit services
or “A regional council can allow a farming group to check and approve farm water plans if they meet certain rules.”

You could also call this:

“This explains how rules in farm plans work alongside other rules, and which ones you need to follow when they're different.”

A certified freshwater farm plan can include requirements about activities on a farm. These requirements can be different from or stricter than rules in other official documents. However, if a rule in another official document is stricter than what’s in the farm plan, you need to follow that stricter rule.

Just because you’re following your farm plan doesn’t mean you’re automatically allowed to do an activity. You might still need other permissions. Also, the requirements from your farm plan can be included in other official documents about farm activities.

Remember, if you’re not sure about what you’re allowed to do on your farm, it’s a good idea to check both your freshwater farm plan and any other rules that might apply to your farm activities.

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Next up: 217M: Regulations relating to freshwater farm plans

or “Rules that explain how to make and manage plans for protecting water on farms”

Part 9A Freshwater farm plans

217LRelationship between certified freshwater farm plan and specified instruments

  1. A certified freshwater farm plan may contain a requirement that—

  2. relates to an activity carried out on the farm (an activity) even if there is no similar requirement relating to that activity in a provision of a specified instrument:
    1. restricts an activity more than a provision of a specified instrument.
      1. However, if a provision of a specified instrument restricts an activity more than a requirement of a freshwater farm plan, the provision of the specified instrument prevails.

      2. To avoid doubt, compliance with a requirement of a certified freshwater farm plan—

      3. does not of itself authorise a person to undertake an activity:
        1. may be specified or included as a requirement or condition in any specified instrument relating to an activity.
          Notes
          • Section 217L: inserted, on , by section 64 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 30).