Enviro Waikato suggests “licence to farm”
A treaty settlement signals tighter controls on Waikato farming operations – including a ‘consent to farm’ proposal – in a bid to protect water quality, the regional council warns. Environment Waikato chairman and dairy farmer Peter Buckley said the signing of the Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claim River Settlement Bill meant the council would need to ‘tighten its regulatory processes to protect water quality’ in the Waikato River reports The Rural News.
EW is yet to decide exactly what action to take but Buckley said the regional council could require intensive agriculture operations to obtain individual resource consents, which would be monitored regularly. He said EW would circulate a working draft of its next Regional Policy Statement next month. This would include new water quality objectives which, if implemented, ‘could present particular challenges for farmers’.
Buckley said EW was happy to work with industry to achieve the best outcome, but added the new legislation – set to be signed by Christmas – would put the council under pressure to do more to protect water quality.‘We believe that one of the effects of the bill will be a need for EW to tighten its regulatory processes,’ he said.
He also acknowledged farming’s key ongoing economic role in the region. ‘What I want to see at the end of the day is a healthy regional economy, underpinned by a strong farming sector. But we also need to ensure we have a healthy environment, to meet the community’s expectations, and to ensure our natural resources support our economy.
