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Natural Environment Bill

Foundations - Duties and restrictions - Restrictions

21: Discharges

You could also call this:

"Rules for releasing harmful substances into air, water, or land"

Illustration for Natural Environment Bill

You cannot discharge contaminants into water, air, or land unless it is allowed by a special permit or rule. This includes discharging contaminants from industrial sites into air, water, or land. You need to check the rules to see what is allowed. You can check the rules in a national rule, regulations, a plan, or a water services standard to see what is allowed. If you want to discharge a contaminant, you must follow these rules or get a permit. Some activities are not covered by this section, like those already covered by section 22 or 23. If you discharge a contaminant in a way that breaks a national rule or water services standard, you must have a permit or follow the regulations. You can also check section 25 to see if your discharge is allowed. Remember to always follow the rules to protect the environment. Discharging contaminants can harm the environment, so you must be careful. You must not discharge contaminants in a way that breaks the rules, unless you have a permit or it is allowed by a special rule. Always check the rules before discharging any contaminants.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1549970.

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

Topics:

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

20: Restrictions relating to water, or

"Rules for Using Water to Protect the Environment"

22: Restrictions on dumping and incineration of waste or other matter in coastal marine area, or

"Rules to stop pollution in our coastal waters"

Part 2Foundations
Duties and restrictions: Restrictions

21Discharges

A person must not do any of the following discharge activities unless the discharge is expressly allowed by an instrument specified in subsection (2) or a permit:
discharge a contaminant or water into water:
discharge a contaminant into or onto land in circumstances which may result in that contaminant or any other contaminant being emitted as a result of natural processes from that contaminant entering water:
discharge a contaminant from any industrial or trade premises into air:
discharge a contaminant from any industrial or trade premises onto or into land.

The instruments referred to in subsection (1) are—
a national rule; or
regulations; or
a rule in a plan and any rule in a proposed plan that has legal effect; or
a water services standard.

A person must not discharge a contaminant into the air, or into or onto land, from a place or any other source, whether moveable or not, in a manner that contravenes a national rule or a water services standard unless the discharge—
is expressly allowed by regulations; or
is expressly allowed by a permit; or
is allowed by section 25.

A person must not discharge a contaminant into the air, or into or onto land, from a place or any other source, whether moveable or not, in a manner that contravenes a rule in a plan or a rule in a proposed plan that has legal effect unless the discharge—
is expressly allowed by a national rule, regulations, or a water services standard; or
is expressly allowed by a permit; or
is allowed by section 25.

This section does not apply to any activity to which section 22 or 23 applies.