This page is about a bill. That means that it's not the law yet, but some people want it to be the law. It could change quickly, and some of the information is just a draft.

Natural Environment Bill

Foundations - Environmental limits - Action plans and caps on resource use

65: Requirements for action plans to remedy breach of environmental limits

You could also call this:

"Fixing environmental breaches: councils must make a plan with achievable targets"

Illustration for Natural Environment Bill

If a regional council makes an action plan to fix a breach of an environmental limit, you need to know the council must set a target date to achieve this. The council must make sure this target date is realistic and happens as soon as possible. If the target date is more than 10 years away, the plan must include smaller goals to achieve along the way. You will have smaller goals to achieve every 5 years or less, with actions and outcomes to achieve within a certain time frame. These smaller goals and time frames must also be realistic and happen as soon as possible. The council must make sure the target date and smaller goals do not cause unnecessary delay. The target date and smaller goals must be credible, achievable, and happen quickly to fix the breach of the environmental limit. This means the council must choose a target date and smaller goals that are realistic and can be achieved without delay. You can expect the council to make a plan that fixes the breach as soon as possible.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1537789.

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

Topics:

Environment and resources > ConservationEnvironment and resources > Town planningGovernment and voting > Local councils

64: Considerations before action plans can include controls on land use or inputs, or

"Before making rules about land use, councils must think of other ways to protect the environment."

66: Avoiding breach of environmental limit, or

"Stopping councils from harming the environment"

Part 2Foundations
Environmental limits: Action plans and caps on resource use

65Requirements for action plans to remedy breach of environmental limits

If the purpose of an action plan prepared by a regional council is to remedy a breach of an environmental limit,—
the council must set a date by which compliance with the limit must be achieved (the target date); and
if the target date is more than 10 years after the commencement of the action plan,—
1. the plan must contain a series of interim limits at intervals of no more than 5 years; and
2. each interim limit must state actions and outcomes to be achieved within a specified time frame; and
the target date and, if applicable, each interim limit and specified time frame must be credible, achievable, and avoid unnecessary delay.