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Glossary

There are a number of technical words, terms and acronyms you may come across in this website. Explanations of these are given below.

Applicant:
is a person, group or organisation who lodges a matter with the EPA.
Assessment of environmental effects (AEE):
is a report that outlines the environmental effects that a proposed activity may have on the environment.
Board of Inquiry:
means a Board of Inquiry appointed by the Minister for the Environment under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) to consider a matter that the Minister has referred to the Board for a decision.
Certificate of compliance:
is confirmation that at a particular point in time an activity could be carried out without a resource consent.
City or district council:
are primarily responsible for managing the environmental effects of the use, development or protection of land.
Department of Conservation (DoC):
administers land under the Conservation Act 1987 and the National Parks Act 1980 and has a role, under the RMA, in planning for the coastal environment.
Designations:
a designation is like a 'spot zoning' over a site or route in a district plan. This 'spot zoning' authorises the requiring authority's works or project on the site or route without the need for subsequent land-use consent.
District Plans:
An operative plan approved by a city or district council to assist them to carry out their functions under the RMA.
Environment Court:
is a specialist court operating under the RMA. The Environment Court has the same powers as the District Court and considers appeals on council decisions about resource consents, proposed plans and policy statements. The Environment Court considers called in matters referred to it by the Minister for the Environment and enforcement matters (appeals against abatement notices and enforcement orders).
Environmental Protection Authority (EPA):
a statutory office housed within the Ministry for the Environment under the Secretary for the Environment. The EPA was established to centralise and streamline the decision making process on nationally significant proposals.
Further submission:
provides an opportunity for a certain person (a person representing a relevant aspect of the public interest, a person that has an interest in the proposed policy statement or plan greater than the interest the general public has, or the local authority) to comment on another person's original submission on a proposed plan, plan change or variation.
Lodgement:
is the point when a matter is officially received by the EPA, from which point the 20 working days in which the EPA has to make a recommendation to the Minister begins.
Matter:
refers to an application for resource consent, an application for a change to or cancellation of the conditions of a resource consent, a notices of requirement, a request for regional plan or a request for a plan change.
Ministry for the Environment (MfE):
provides advice to the Government on policies, laws and other means to improve environmental management in New Zealand.
National Environmental Standards (NES):
are regulations issued under the Resource Management Act 1991. They prescribe technical standards, methods and other requirements for environmental matters.
National Policy Statements (NPS):
provide national policy guidance. They state objectives and policies for matters of national importance, for example the coastal environment.
Notice of requirement (NoR):
the way a requiring authority gives notice to a local authority that it is seeking to designate land or a Heritage Protection Authority gives notice to a local authority that it is seeking a heritage order. Until included in a district plan, a designation or a heritage order is referred to as a notice of requirement.
Party:
is an applicant or submitter involved in hearings by a Board of Inquiry, or a person, group or organisation in a council hearing, Environment Court appeal or other legal proceedings.
Plan change:
when a council proposes a change to an operative plan.
Private plan change:
when a person requests that a change is made to an operative plan or requests that a regional plan be prepared.
Public notification:
means a notice published in a newspaper circulating in the entire area likely to be affected by the proposal to which the notice relates. It will also include a notice published on an internet site by the EPA or council.
Regional council:
primarily manage natural resources like the air, water, soils and the coastal marine area, as well as other regional functions.
Regional Plan:
an operative plan approved by a regional council to assist it to carry out its functions under the RMA.
Regional Policy Statement:
must be prepared by all regional councils. The regional policy statement provides an overview of the resource management issues of the region and policies and methods to achieve integrated management of the natural and physical resources of the whole region.
Resource consent:
is permission from a consent authority, Board of Inquiry, or Environment Court to do an activity that would otherwise contravene Part 3 of the RMA.
Submission:
A person's written comments, opinions, concerns, position (support, opposition or neutral) in relation to a matter.
Submitter:
is a person or party who lodges a submission on a matter.
Unitary authorities:
a council that carries out the functions of both a regional and district council.
Working day:
means any day except for a weekend day, national public holiday, and those days between 20 December and 10 January inclusive.

Last updated: 1 October 2009

News and notices

New Zealand Transport Agency's (NZTA) Waterview Connection Proposal

The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) has lodged applications (matters) with the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) for the proposed Waterview Connection Proposal.
read more

New Environmental Protection Authority announced

A new Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) will be established as a Crown agent responsible to the Minister for the Environment. The new EPA is expected to be operational by 1 July 2011.
read more (MfE site)

Publications