Environment Canterbury responds on water transfers

Environment Canterbury today responded to claims from HydroTrader Ltd that it (Environment Canterbury) had plans to prohibit water permit trading in the draft Land and Water Regional Plan (LWRP).

Don Rule, Director Resource Planning and Consents, said there was no plan to ban water trading but that a variety of options were being considered to help address the problem in Canterbury with water being over-allocated in some areas.

"At present the Environment Canterbury Natural Resources Regional Plan (NRRP) provides for the transfer of water in line with the provisions of Resource Management Act," Don Rule said.

The LWRP will eventually replace most of NRRP and is currently in draft form, with further stakeholder consultation and public submissions to come.

"The LWRP is being developed as part of the Environment Canterbury Commissioners' response to their Ministerial terms of reference, particularly around the need for a robust and workable planning framework for the management of land and water in Canterbury," Don Rule said.

"There is a problem with water being an over-allocated resource in some catchments and groundwater zones. Environment Canterbury is considering methods by which this situation might be addressed and the over-allocation re-set.

"A variety of options are being examined. The public will have the opportunity to have its say on these and many other proposals in the plan when it is released as a draft in early April.

"The bottom line is that we need to achieve the environmental outcomes the Commissioners are required to deliver. This is what we are aiming to do throughout this process."

For more information on the draft LWRP, go to http://ecan.govt.nz/our-responsibilities/regional-plans/regional-plans-under-development/lwrp/pages/default.aspx