Tasman District Council is a unitary authority, meaning it carries out the function of both a Regional and District Council. The Tasman Resource Management Plan (TRMP*) contains both District and Regional rules in one Plan (* the TRMP is currently under review, please check out Shape Tasman for further detail(external link)).
This guide covers the most common farming activities and indicates which ones trigger the need to apply for Resource Consent. Under the Resource Management Act 1991, you must apply for Resource Consent if you wish to do something not permitted by our regional plans.
This guide does not represent the full detail of Tasmans's rules. You should also be aware of Government rules that could also apply to your activity.
Before doing any work on farm, we recommend you assess your proposed activity against these rules to make sure you comply with our permitted activity status or if you may need to apply for Resource Consent. We appreciate this is a lot of complex information. If you have any doubts about whether your proposed work will need Resource Consent or not, or have any questions, please contact our Duty Planner via NRDutyPlanner@tasman.govt.nz.
Most helpful in this section is Chapter 2 which defines certain words used in the Plan. It includes everyday words that have a special application in the context of the Plan. Also included are specialist or technical words which need to be defined.
Chapters 16-18 address the general, zone, and special area rules applying to land uses and subdivisions.
This section deals with land uses in relation to stopbanks and berm lands where flood hazards may occur.
Rule 16.10 Flood Hazards.pdf (pdf 146 KB)
This section includes rules relating to constructing or altering bores in the District. Refer to Part 5 - Chapter 31 for rules about the taking of water from bores.
Rule 16.12 Bore Construction.pdf (pdf 168 KB)
All land in the District is zoned. The zoning is shown on the Planning Maps. This chapter sets out the rules for each of the zones.
It contains land use rules for the Rural 1, 2, and 3 Zones. There are specific rules for each Rural Zone that include:
Rule 17.5 Rural 1.pdf (pdf 557 KB)
Rule 17.6 Rural 2.pdf (pdf 448 KB)
Rule 17.7 Rural 3 (pdf 407 KB)
Special Area rules apply in parts of the District and relate to activities such as the destruction or removal of vegetation, soil disturbance, or earthworks. They apply in addition to the Zone rules and any relevant General rules.
All Special Area Rules can be viewed here (pdf 393 KB).
The most relevant for the rural sector are found here: Rule 18.5 Land Disturbance Areas (pdf 278 KB)
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For Rule 18.5.2 Land Disturbance Area 1 Page 1
For Rule 18.5.3 Land Disturbance Area 2 (Separation Point Granite) Page 11
The most relevant rules for the rural sector are found here: Chapter 28 Rules for Activities in Beds of Rivers and Lakes (pdf 332 KB)
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For Rule 28.1 Structures, culverts, fences, pipes and cables, bed disturbances, and plantings Page 3
For Rule 28.2 Dams and Weirs Page 17
For Rule 28.3 Entering and passing across beds Page 23
For Rule 28.4 Activities on the surface of rivers and lakes Page 30
For Rule 28.5 Gravel Extraction Page 34
This factsheet (pdf 2.1 MB) will assist by providing definitions, examples, and a list of factors to consider when determining what a ‘river’ is.
The most relevant rules for the rural sector are found here: Chapter 31 Rules for Water Takes, Damming or Diversion (pdf 434 KB)
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For Rule 31.1.2 Water Takes, Diversions, and Use Page 3
For Rule 31.1.3 Diversion of Water by Structures Page 26
For Rule 31.1.4 Damming of Freshwater Page 26
For Rule 31.1.5 Damming and Diversion of Flood Waters Page 29
For Rule 31.1.6 Diversion and Take of Water from Naturally Occurring Wetlands Page 29
For Rule 31.1.7 Site-to-Site Transfer of Water Take Page 30
The most relevant rules for the rural sector are found here: Chapter 36 Rules for Contaminant Discharges (pdf 565 KB)
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Rule 36.1 Discharges to land: Rules relating to the discharge of farm dairy and other animal effluents, fruit dump water, vegetable processing water, domestic wastewater, leachate from compost and offal pits to land Page 5
Rule 36.2 Discharge to freshwater or coastal water: Rules relating to discharges caused by land disturbance activities, works in the bed of waterways, and stock crossings Page 19
Rule 36.3 Discharges to Air: Rules relating to discharges of contaminants to air including outdoor burning Page 27
Rule 36.4 Discharges or diversion to land or water: This section contains rules relating to containments entrained within stormwater that is discharged to land or water Page 43
Rule 36.5 Discharges to Land or Air: This section deals with discharges of fertilisers to land or air Page 49
Rule 36.6 Discharges to Land, Water, or Air: This section deals with the discharge of pesticides to land, water, or the air Page 51
Rule 36.7 - Discharges to Water: in water management areas or coastal waters: This section states the requirements for any discharge of a contaminant into waters in water management areas or coastal water that are subject to a water quality classification Page 57
