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Natural Environment Bill

Foundations - Environmental limits - How environmental limits must be set

53: Developing human health limits

You could also call this:

"Setting safe limits to protect people's health"

Illustration for Natural Environment Bill

The Minister must be satisfied that a proposed human health limit will protect people's health to an acceptable standard. You need to know the limit will prevent significant or irreversible harm to people and communities. The Minister must consider goals and national policy direction when setting the standard. When setting the standard, the Minister considers health guidelines from the Ministry of Health. The Minister also thinks about how the natural environment can withstand pressure and disturbances, as outlined in sections like section 57(a) to (d). The Minister looks at the impact of the proposed limit, as explained in section 56. If there is not enough scientific information, the Minister will still make a decision about the national standard.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1520988.

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Topics:
Health and wellbeing > Public healthEnvironment and resources > Conservation
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52: Criteria for decisions relating to environmental limits, or

"How the government decides environmental limits to protect New Zealand"

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54: Specifying methodologies for setting ecosystem health limits, or

"Setting rules to protect the environment and keep it healthy"

Part 2Foundations
Environmental limits: How environmental limits must be set

53Developing human health limits

  1. Before setting a human health limit in a national standard, the Minister must be satisfied that—

  2. the proposed limit will protect human health to an acceptable standard; and
    1. the proposed limit will, as a minimum, prevent significant or irreversible harm to people and communities.

      1. When specifying the standard to which human health must be protected, the Minister must consider—

      2. all the goals and any national policy direction in accordance with section 12(4); and
        1. the relevant health guidelines published or advised by the Ministry of Health or the Minister of Health; and
          1. the existing capacity of the natural environment to withstand or recover from pressure and disturbances in accordance with section 57(a) to (d); and
            1. the impact of the proposed limit in accordance with section 56.

              1. However, a lack of scientific certainty is no reason to delay making the national standard or not to make the standard.