I hereby give notice that an ordinary meeting of the Environment Committee will be held on: Date: Tuesday, 11 December 2018 Time: to follow Strategy & Policy Committee Meeting Venue: Tararua Room Horizons Regional Council 11-15 Victoria Avenue, Palmerston North ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE AGENDA MEMBERSHIP Chair Cr GM McKellar Deputy Chair Cr WK Te Awe Awe Councillors Cr JJ Barrow Cr LR Burnell Cr DB Cotton Cr EB Gordon JP (ex officio) Cr RJ Keedwell Cr NJ Patrick Cr JM Naylor Cr PW Rieger, QSO JP Cr BE Rollinson Cr CI Sheldon Michael McCartney Chief Executive Contact Telephone: 0508 800 800 Email: [email protected] Postal Address: Private Bag 11025, Palmerston North 4442 Full Agendas are available on Horizons Regional Council website www.horizons.govt.nz Note: The reports contained within this agenda are for consideration and should not be construed as Council policy unless and until adopted. Items in the agenda may be subject to amendment or withdrawal at the meeting. for further information regarding this agenda, please contact: Julie Kennedy, 06 9522 800 CONTACTS 24 hr Freephone : [email protected] www.horizons.govt.nz 0508 800 800 SERVICE Kairanga Marton Taumarunui Woodville CENTRES Cnr Rongotea & Hammond Street 34 Maata Street Cnr Vogel (SH2) & Tay Kairanga-Bunnythorpe Rds, Sts Palmerston North REGIONAL Palmerston North Whanganui HOUSES 11-15 Victoria Avenue 181 Guyton Street DEPOTS Levin Taihape 11 Bruce Road Torere Road Ohotu POSTAL Horizons Regional Council, Private Bag 11025, Manawatu Mail Centre, Palmerston North 4442 ADDRESS FAX 06 9522 929 Environment Committee 11 December 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Welcome / Karakia 5 2 Apologies and Leave of Absence 5 3 Public Forums / Deputations / Petitions 5 4 Supplementary Items 5 5 Members’ Conflict of Interest 5 6 Confirmation of Minutes Environment Committee meeting, 9 October 2018 7 7 Environmental Education Report No: 18-227 13 8 District Advice Update Report No: 18-228 17 Annex A - Horizons Feedback on Whanganui District Council Intention to Prepare a District Plan Change 55 Miscellaneous 21 9 Biodiversity, Biosecurity & Partnerships Progress Report Report No: 18-229 23 Annex A - Biosecurity Animals progress report 25 Annex B - Biosecurity Plants progress report 42 Annex C - Biodiversity progress report 51 10 Freshwater & Partnerships Progress Report Report No: 18-230 65 Annex A - Freshwater & Partnerships progress report 67 Annex B - Manawatu River Leaders' Accord 2016-21 Action Plan Progress Report 83 11 Science & Innovation Progress Report Report No: 18-231 107 Annex A - Science & Innovation progress report 109 12 Regulatory Management Report - August to September 2018 Report No: 18-232 121 Annex A - Wastewater reporting as at 23 November 2018 129 Annex B - Horowhenua Commercial Vegetable Growers report 135 13 Whanganui Coastal Streams Report No: 18-233 157 14 Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Report No: 18-234 173 15 National Wilding Conifer Control Programme Report No: 18-235 183 16 Members’ Questions Page 3 Environment Committee 11 December 2018 AGENDA 1 Welcome/Karakia 2 Apologies and Leave of Absence At the close of the Agenda no apologies had been received. 3 Public Forums: Are designed to enable members of the public to bring matters, not on that meeting’s agenda, to the attention of the local authority. Deputations: Are designed to enable a person, group or organisation to speak to an item on the agenda of a particular meeting. Requests for Public Forums / Deputations must be made to the meeting secretary by 12 noon on the working day before the meeting. The person applying for a Public Forum or a Deputation must provide a clear explanation for the request which is subsequently approved by the Chairperson. Petitions: Can be presented to the local authority or any of its committees, so long as the subject matter falls within the terms of reference of the council or committee meeting being presented to. Written notice to the Chief Executive is required at least 5 working days before the date of the meeting. Petitions must contain at least 20 signatures and consist of fewer than 150 words (not including signatories). Further information is available by phoning 0508 800 800. 4 Supplementary Items To consider, and if thought fit, to pass a resolution to permit the Committee/Council to consider any further items relating to items following below which do not appear on the Order Paper of this meeting and/or the meeting to be held with the public excluded. Such resolution is required to be made pursuant to Section 46A(7) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (as amended), and the Chairperson must advise: (i) The reason why the item was not on the Order Paper, and (ii) The reason why the discussion of this item cannot be delayed until a subsequent meeting. 5 Members’ Conflict of Interest Members are reminded of their obligation to declare any conflicts of interest they might have in respect of the items on this Agenda. Page 5 Environment Committee 11 December 2018 Minutes of the eleventh meeting of the tenth triennium of the Environment Committee held at 10.06am on Tuesday 9 October 2018, in the Tararua Room, Horizons Regional Council, 11-15 Victoria Avenue, Palmerston North. PRESENT Crs GM McKellar (Chair), JJ Barrow, LR Burnell, DB Cotton (via audiovisual link), EB Gordon JP (ex officio), RJ Keedwell, JM Naylor, NJ Patrick, PW Rieger QSO JP, BE Rollinson (via audiovisual link), and CI Sheldon. IN ATTENDANCE Acting Chief Executive Mr C Grant Committee Secretary Mrs JA Kennedy ALSO PRESENT At various times during the meeting: Dr N Peet (Group Manager Strategy & Regulation), Mr R Strong (Group Manager River Management), Dr J Roygard (Group Manager Natural Resources & Partnerships), Mr G Shirley (Group Manager Regional Services & Information), Ms C Morrison (Media & Communications Manager), Ms R Mercer (Senior Environmental Scientist Water), Ms E Daly (Environmental Scientist Ecology), Mr G Bevin (Regulatory Manager), Mr L Brown (Freshwater & Partnerships Manager), Mr S Moore (Environmental Programme Coordinator), Mr R Smillie (Biodiversity & Partnerships Manager), Mr D Robinson (Whanganui/Taranaki Conservation Board), Ms A Irvine (Department of Conservation), Mr R Casey (KC Fert Limited), Cr V Kaye-Simmons (Levin Ward), Mr A Grant, Mr R Hughes (Horowhenua District Council), and a member of the public. The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. APOLOGIES ENV 18-90 Moved Keedwell/Burnell That the Committee receives an apology from Cr Te Awe Awe. CARRIED PUBLIC FORUMS / DEPUTATIONS / PETITIONS Mr R Casey, KC Fert Limited had been granted a public forum. SUPPLEMENTARY ITEMS There were no supplementary items to be considered. MEMBERS’ CONFLICTS OF INTEREST Cr Patrick noted a potential conflict of interest through her employment with Te Kaahui o Rauru. Page 7 Environment Committee 11 December 2018 CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES ENV 18-91 Moved Keedwell/Burnell That the Committee: confirms the minutes of the Environment Committee meeting held on 15 August 2018 as a correct record, and notes that the recommendations were adopted by the Council on 28 August 2018. CARRIED ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION Report No 18-179 This item provided Members with an Environment Education progress report for the period from 1 July 2018 to 30 September 2018. Ms Morrison (Media & Communications Manager) introduced the item on behalf of Mrs Williams (Environmental Educator). She took the report as read and highlighted the Enviroschools Activity Report, commented on Mrs William’s assistance with the Manawatu River Leaders’ Accord website, and announced the upcoming river festival scheduled for November 2018. Ms Morrison highlighted Mrs William’s support for the Palmerston North Girls High School Inaugural Environmental Conference, her assistance at the Manawatu Science and Technology Fair 2018, activities associated with animal pests, exploring the native birds and invertebrates, and an introductory workshop for trainee early childhood education teachers. Cr Keedwell commented favourably on the Palmerston North Girls High School Inaugural Environmental Conference. Mrs Morrison responded to Members questions relating to activities contained in the report. ENV 18-92 Moved Barrow/Patrick That the Committee recommends that Council: a. receives the information contained in Report No. 18-179 and Annex. CARRIED The meeting adjourned at 10.19am. The meeting reconvened at 10.33am. PUBLIC FORUM Mr Casey, KC Fert Limited, presented data from an irrigated dairy farm, six years into trialling DM growth and pasture quality. He asked for assistance on how to get the information into the farming sector. Mr Casey responded to Members’ questions about his company and the results of the trial. The Chair thanked Mr Casey for his presentation and suggested he contact Dr Roygard (Group Manager Natural Resources & Partnerships). #PLANTINOURREGION CAMPAIGN 2018 Report No 18-180 This item provided Council with an evaluation of the 2018 #plantinourregion campaign. Mrs Morrison (Media & Communications Manager) provided an overview of the results from the campaign which was run over the 2018 winter to raise awareness of the substantial investment Horizons made in riparian and on-farm planting for soil conservation, erosion control and water quality. Mrs Morrison responded to Members’ questions about the volume of competition entries Page 8 Environment Committee 11 December 2018 and clarification around the performance of social media. A short video clip from the campaign was shown. ENV 18-93