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Natural Environment Bill

Foundations - National instruments - National standards

86: National standards relating to significant infrastructure that breach environmental limits

You could also call this:

"Rules for big projects that might harm the environment"

Illustration for Natural Environment Bill

The proposed law says national standards can be created to help decide if significant infrastructure projects can go ahead even if they might harm the environment. You need to know that the Minister must be sure the project has big benefits for the public and that the people in charge have tried everything to avoid harming the environment. The Minister must also make sure the people in charge do everything they can to reduce harm to the environment and manage the effects of the project. The proposed law also says the Minister must think about how the project will affect the use of natural resources and what other effects it might have. You will be interested to know that the Minister must consider the rules and guidelines in subpart 4 that were used to create the environmental limits. The Minister can create these national standards even if they do not follow the rules in section 85. The proposed law allows the Minister to create detailed rules about how these national standards will work. You should understand that these rules can include things like how to minimise harm to the environment and how to manage the effects of the project. The Minister must make sure that the people in charge of the project follow these rules to reduce harm to the environment.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1520916.

This page was last updated on 14 December 2025 — View changes

Topics:

Environment and resources > ConservationEnvironment and resources > Climate and energyBusiness > Industry rules

85: Minister must ensure national standards enables resource use only within environmental limits, or

"Minister makes rules to protect the environment when using natural resources"

87: National standards or regulations may set operational details for market-based allocation process, or

"National rules can guide how we allocate natural resources"

Part 2Foundations
National instruments: National standards

86National standards relating to significant infrastructure that breach environmental limits

National standards may establish a consenting pathway for significant infrastructure activities that breach or are likely to breach environmental limits.
Before making national standards establishing a consenting pathway under this section, the Minister must be satisfied that—
the pathway is available only to categories of infrastructure activity with significant public benefits; and
the pathway is available to a user only after they have taken all practicable steps to carry out the activity without breaching environmental limits; and
users of the pathway will be required to—
1. minimise any breach of environmental limits as much as reasonably possible; and
2. manage the environmental effects of the entire activity (not just the effects related to a breach of an environmental limit).

National standards may specify detailed requirements relating to the matters in subsection (2).
When developing national standards under this section, the Minister must consider—
the wider implications for natural resource use; and
the likely opportunity costs associated with allowing the pathway to be used instead of requiring compliance with environmental limits; and
the criteria and considerations in subpart 4 that applied to the making of those environmental limits.

National standards may be made under this section despite 85.