Tukituki catchment resource consent deadline extended to help farmers

A new resource consent deadline for landowners in Hawke's Bay of February 26, 2021, will aim to give farmers more time to organise. Photo / File

A new resource consent deadline for landowners will aim to give farmers more time to prepare.

Hawke's Bay Regional Council announced on Tuesday the new deadline had been moved from May 31, 2020, to February 26, 2021, to meet the requirements of the Tukituki Catchment Plan.

HBRC regulation group manager Liz Lambert said it was "impossible" to organise a consent as consultants were unable to go on the farm for assessments during lockdown.

"It's been an incredibly tough year for our rural community, dealing with a prolonged and complicated drought," she said.

"In light of this, we have extended the deadline, which applies to farmers who were required to submit consents by 31 May 2020, but were unable to due to the restrictions."

Farmers must apply for resource consent if they're leaching nitrogen over the limits set by the Tukituki Catchment Plan, their farming property is located within a Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen (DIN) exceeding sub-catchment, they're unable to prevent stock from accessing waterways or are unable to install stock crossings.

HBRC previously put in place an interim solution for people to submit a pre-application as a placeholder for a full consent.

"We are now asking landowners to submit their full consent by the new deadline," Lambert said.

Community meetings will also be held over the coming weeks and HBRC staff will be able to answer questions regarding the consenting process.

Minister for the Environment David Parker declined HBRC's application to proceed with a fast-track plan to change the way that nitrogen leaching is modelled on farms in the Tukituki catchment.