Otago Regional Council Key Issues Report Plan Change 7 To
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Otago Regional Council Key Issues Report Plan Change 7 to the Regional Plan: Water for Otago (Water Permits Plan Change) 9 October 2020 Author: Tom De Pelsemaeker 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………….....3 Summary of the state of the environment in the Otago region ........................... 5 Summary of the current planning framework in the Otago region ................... 15 Description of the resource management issues ............................................... 23 Description of the solution proposed by the WPPC ........................................... 34 Overview of higher order planning and policy instruments ............................... 37 Appendices (see separate attachment) 2 1. INTRODUCTION Purpose of the report 1.1 On 8 April 2020, the Minister for the Environment (Minister) exercised his powers under section 142(2)(b) of the RMA and called in the Otago Regional Council’s proposed Plan Change 7 – Water Permits to its Regional Plan: Water for Otago (Water Permits Plan Change), having considered it to be part of a proposal of national significance, and directed that it be referred to the Environment Court for decision.1 1.2 This Key Issues Report has been commissioned by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and prepared under section 149G(3) of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA).2 It is a report on the key issues in relation to the Water Permits Plan Change (WPPC) and includes: a. A summary of the state of the environment in the Otago Region as it relates to the WPPC; b. A summary of the current planning framework in the Otago Region as it relates to the WPPC; c. A description of the resource management issue(s) presented by the state of the environment and current planning framework that needs to be resolved; d. A summary of the higher order planning and policy instruments relevant to the WPPC with a list of the relevant provisions of any relevant national policy statement, New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement (NZCPS), national planning standard, regional policy statement (RPS) or proposed regional policy statement, plan or proposed plan to be appended to the report;3 and e. A description of the solution proposed by the WPPC. The author 1.3 My name is Tom Willy De Pelsemaeker, Team Leader Freshwater and Land, at Otago Regional Council and I am the author of this report. The Water Permits Plan Change 1.4 The WPPC seeks to establish an interim regulatory framework for the management of freshwater allocation, and the assessment of the following: 1 Ministerial direction to refer the Otago Regional Council’s proposed Plan Change 7 – Water Permits to its Regional Plan to the Environment Court dated 8 April 2020. See Appendix A. 2 The EPA formally commissioned the ORC to prepare a Key Issues Report under section 149G(3) of the RMA for the Water Permits Plan Change by letter dated 15 September 2020 attached as Appendix B. 3 The EPA has noted that, where relevant, this section should include the section 24A RMA recommendations made by the Minister for the Environment (18 November 2019) and agreed to by ORC (16 December 2019), and instruments that have come into effect after preparation of the plan change, such as the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, National Environmental Standards for Freshwater and the Freshwater Planning Process. 3 a. resource consent applications to replace mining privileges that are currently authorising the taking, diversion, damming or discharge of water in Otago and that are about to expire on 1 October 2021 under section 413(3) of the RMA; b. resource consent applications to replace any other water permits for surface water and connected groundwater takes expiring prior to 31 December 2025, the date by which a new Otago Land and Water Regional Plan (LWRP) is expected to be made operative; and c. resource consent applications for any new surface water and groundwater takes. 4 2. SUMMARY OF THE STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE OTAGO REGION AS IT RELATES TO THE WPPC General overview of the region 2.1 At 32,000 km2, Otago is the second largest physical region in New Zealand. The region spans from the eastern coastline, across the central plains, and to the southern alps that border the western regional boundary. Otago is made up of five territorial authorities: Dunedin City Council, Queenstown Lakes, Waitaki District, Central Otago and Clutha District Councils. 2.2 The population of Otago was 225,186 as per the 2018 census.4 Dunedin City has the largest population of the Otago territorial authorities at 126,255, followed by the Queenstown Lakes district at 39,153, Waitaki district at 22,308, Central Otago district at 21,558, and Clutha district at 17,667. 2.3 The Otago region experiences two distinct climates due to the geographic variety between the coastal and inland areas. The coastal areas experience a cyclic weather pattern that alternates frequently between a warmer and drier climate, and a cooler, damper climate. 2.4 The heaviest regional rainfalls occur typically over the east coast, and western areas of Otago such as around the Lakes District. In contrast, the average rainfall in Central Otago is the lowest in New Zealand, with notably dry central catchments including the Manuherekia, Lindis, Ida and Upper Taieri catchments. Central Otago is characterised by hot, dry summers and contrastingly cold, frosty winters. The average summer temperatures in Central Otago range between 10 and 30 degrees, while the average winter temperatures range from -6 to 15 degrees.5 2.5 Otago has significant water resources in the form of surface water, groundwater, and wetlands with these water resources playing an important role in providing for the social, cultural and economic wellbeing of Otago’s communities. 2.6 For much of the past decades, Otago’s economy has been primarily centred around tourism, education, mining (gold and mineral), hydro-electricity generation and the primary industries, with hydro-electricity and mining often being reliant on non-consumptive takes of water and agriculture and viticulture/horticulture reliant on consumptive takes of water. In 2016 it was estimated that 64.5% of Otago’s rural land use was farmed for agricultural and horticultural use. 6 2.7 The Clutha River/Mata-Au drains much of the Otago region and is the largest river in New Zealand in terms of the quantity of water carried each year. Seventy five percent of the total flow of the Clutha River/Mata-Au at Balclutha results from the catchments of the three major features of Otago’s Lakes district: Lakes Hawea, Wanaka and Wakatipu. Important rivers feeding into the Clutha catchment include the Cardrona, Lindis, Shotover, Nevis, Fraser/Earnscleugh, Manuherekia, Teviot and Pomahaka River. 4 2018 Census place summaries: Stats NZ. (n.d.). Retrieved June 29, 2020, from https://www.stats.govt.nz/tools/2018-census-place-summaries/otago-region. 5 Central Otago Climate. (n.d.). Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://www.centralotagonz.com/living- here/central-otago-climate. 6 http://archive.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/environment/environmental-reporting-series/environmental- indicators/Home/Land/land-use.aspx. 5 2.8 The water resources of the Clutha River/Mata-Au play an important role in hydro-electricity generation. Two large hydroelectric dams are located on the Clutha River/Mata-Au’s main stem, while smaller hydroelectricity generation schemes are also found on some of its tributaries, such as the Manuherekia, Fraser/Earnscleugh River and Teviot rivers. 2.9 The second largest catchment in Otago is that of the Taieri River. This river, which has a catchment area of approximately 5650 km2, has its headwaters in Central Otago. The river then meanders through the almost semi-arid Maniototo plains and Strath Taieri Valley before crossing the fertile Taieri Plain. There it joins the waters of the Lake Waipori and Waihola catchments before discharging into the sea at Taieri Mouth. 2.10 Other significant Otago rivers drain the coastal hills in catchments of varying character. In the north, the Kakanui, Waianakarua, Shag and Waikouaiti Rivers rise in high country and pass through predominantly dry downlands. The Tokomairiro River drains rolling country between the Taieri and Clutha catchments. Rivers to the south of Otago, particularly the Catlins area, emerge from wetter, often forested hills. Figure 1 shows the different catchments in the Otago Region. 2.11 Despite the generally large water volumes present in the region, some parts of Otago are among the driest areas in New Zealand. Several catchments in Otago are characterised as being water-short, including the Taieri, Manuherekia, Shag and Kakanui catchments. In many of these catchments observed surface flows in the catchment main stems or their tributaries are often very low over summer. 2.12 Underground geological formations, capable of trapping and holding water, create groundwater sources. Groundwater can also be found in many parts of the region. However, many unknowns still exist about the extent and the state of the region’s groundwater resources, the ecosystem values they support (either directly or indirectly) and the extent to which they can provide for diverse consumptive uses in a sustainable manner. 2.13 Wetlands make up many significant landscape and ecosystem elements in Otago, including blanket and string bogs, saline areas, swamp forest remnants, shallow lake complexes, estuarine saltmarshes, and valley floor swamps. 6 FIGURE 1: Catchments of the Otago Region 7 Freshwater ecosystems in Otago 2.14 The diversity of ecosystems, weather and geology result in a diversity of vegetation and species, many endemic to Otago. Otago’s rivers, particularly the Taieri, hold among the most diverse indigenous fauna in New Zealand. 7 2.15 Many of the region’s streams, especially smaller tributaries are also the last remaining stronghold for a number of threatened and endemic galaxiid.