1 Introduction
1.1 Purpose of the good practice guide
This guide is one of a series of good practice guides developed by the Ministry for the Environment. The series will ultimately include:
- Assessing Discharges to Air from Industry (the subject of this guidance document)
- Assessing Discharges to Air from Land Transport (to be published simultaneously - Ministry for the Environment, 2006)
- Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling (Ministry for the Environment, 2004a).
There is a strong relationship between the guides. Thus for assessments that require a quantitative estimation of pollutant concentrations from industry, this guide will refer you to the Good Practice Guide for Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling.
The Good Practice Guide on Assessing Discharges to Air from Industry applies the framework provided in the Resource Management (National Environmental Standards Relating to Certain Air Pollutants, Dioxins, and Other Toxics) Regulations 2004 (including amendments 2005) and the Updated Users Guide (Ministry for the Environment, 2005b), which covers the regulations themselves. The aim is that the Good Practice Guide series, taken together, will help provide for comprehensive and consistent management of air quality in New Zealand. The framework for these documents is shown in Figure 1-1.
This good practice guide for industry makes recommendations for what assessment approach to adopt, while recognising the wide variety of potential users. Although the focus is on providing consistent guidance to consenting authorities, consent applicants and their advisers, there is some flexibility if documented and well-justified alternatives in approach are proposed.
More specifically, this guide:
- outlines the legislative drivers for the assessment process, in particular the Resource Management Act (1991) (RMA)
- provides guidance on appropriate levels of assessment, given the variety of development types for which assessment will be required
- provides guidance on characterising both the development and the receiving environment
- identifies the air quality criteria by which impacts should be assessed
- provides guidance on key considerations under the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality
- provides guidance on the methods available for assessing the impacts of air quality on both human health and the wider environment.
Although the aim of the guide is to promote national consistency in approach, both for consenting authorities and for applicants for resource consent and their advisors, it should be noted that the guidelines have no legal standing.
The assessment of potential dust and odour impacts arising from industrial emissions is not covered in any detail in this document because these are the subject of existing Ministry for the Environment guidance (Ministry for the Environment 2001a and 2003).
Figures 1-2 and 1-3 show the wide range of relevant Ministry for the Environment air quality publications, and their areas of applicability.
