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Why was the suggestion from the 'National Public Health Service, Health New Zealand' to "allow regional councils and dischargers to establish through the consenting process if changing to the values in the Standards would result in health exposure" where "current treatment quality requirements are higher", as noted in Appendix 1 of their 22 April 2025 letter to Taumata Arowai (released by the Ministers office via OIA), not adopted in the final wastewater environmental performance standards?

Answered Question 20045 (2026)
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Asked by

Lan Pham

List MP · Green Party

Question

  • Why was the suggestion from the 'National Public Health Service, Health New Zealand' to "allow regional councils and dischargers to establish through the consenting process if changing to the values in the Standards would result in health exposure" where "current treatment quality requirements are higher", as noted in Appendix 1 of their 22 April 2025 letter to Taumata Arowai (released by the Ministers office via OIA), not adopted in the final wastewater environmental performance standards?

Answered by

Hon Simon Watts

Member for North Shore · National Party · Minister of Local Government

Answer

This is because section 104(2D(b) of the Resource Management Act 1991 provides that a consenting authority must include, as a condition of granting the consent, requirements that are no more or less restrictive than is necessary to give effect to the wastewater environmental performance standard.