2 Legislative and Policy Context
2.1 The Resource Management Act
The purpose of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) is to promote the sustainable management of natural and physical resources, including air, as outlined in Section 5:
5. Purpose
(1) The purpose of this Act is to promote the sustainable management of natural and physical resources.
(2) In this Act, "sustainable" means managing the use, development, and protection of natural and physical resources in a way, or at a rate, which enables people and communities to provide for their social, economic, and cultural wellbeing and for their health and safety while -
(a) Sustaining the potential of natural and physical resources (excluding minerals) to meet the reasonably foreseeable needs of future generations; and
(b) Safeguarding the life-supporting capacity of air, water, soil and ecosystems; and
(c) Avoiding, remedying, or mitigating any adverse effects of activities on the environment.
With respect to land transport developments, Section 5 (2)(c), is of particular relevance with its duty to avoid, remedy or mitigate adverse effects.
2.1.1 National Environmental Standards
The National Environmental Standards for Air Quality (the Standards) [Resource Management (National Environmental Standards Relating to Certain Air Pollutants, Dioxins and Other Toxics) Regulations 2004.] are technical environmental regulations prepared in accordance with sections 43 and 44 of the RMA. The Standards are designed to protect public health and the environment in New Zealand by setting concentration limits for clear air and regulating or prohibiting certain activities that pollute the air.
These standards should be considered by territorial authorities and/or requiring authorities when:
- issuing or assessing a notice of requirement
- notifying or assessing a land-use consent after September 2005.
In doing so, the authority will need to consider the potential impacts of the new notice of requirement or land-use consent on air quality. The detailed application and interpretation of the Standards is provided in the Updated Users Guide (Ministry for the Environment, 2005). The ambient air quality concentration limits provided by Schedule 1 of the Standards are discussed in section 5.
2.1.2 Plans and policy statements
Some regional plans include specific policies requiring assessment of the air quality impacts of transport projects, and many regional policy statements, regional plans and district plans have qualitative provisions requiring the "maintenance or enhancement" of air quality. Accordingly, significant new developments involving roadways or increases in traffic volumes now typically incorporate air quality assessments as part of the land-use consenting or notice of requirement process.
Notwithstanding the above, there are currently no specific rules in regional plans that require transport projects, or land-use projects that affect traffic volumes, to obtain resource consents to discharge contaminants to air. However, an assessment of the discharges to air from these kinds of projects should be undertaken to determine whether the project meets the purposes of the RMA (ie, safeguarding the life-supporting capacity of air).
One important new feature, following the RMA Amendments of 2005, is that regional policy and plans must now explicitly give effect to any national standards. Previously, they were merely required to take account of national standards. The exact implications of this change are difficult to assess until some precedents are established, but it is likely that more weight will be given to the national standards in land-use consents, land-use planning and notices of requirement.
Regional plan requirements may change, so it is important to find out whether there are any rules relating to discharges to air from transport projects. Regional policy statements and district plans may also include policies and objectives that are relevant to the assessment of transport projects. Such matters are well known to territorial authorities, but for external parties, in particular (eg, consultants preparing air quality impact assessments for transport development), it is recommended that regional policy statements and regional and district plans be reviewed to ensure that the assessment is consistent with any local objectives, policies or rules.
2.2 New Zealand Transport Strategy and Land Transport Management Act 2003
The New Zealand Transport Strategy (NZTS) and the Land Transport Management Act 2003 set the framework for the use, development and funding of land transport in New Zealand.
The NZTS sets out the Government's vision for transport. It is a statement on the approach the Government will take to transport now, and in the future. The NZTS guides policy decisions about transport, and it is reflected in the activities of all government agencies that have responsibilities for, or an interest in, transport.
The NZTS vision is that "by 2010 New Zealand will have an affordable, integrated, safe, responsive and sustainable transport system". The NZTS's objectives are:
- assisting economic development
- assisting safety and personal security
- improving access and mobility
- protecting and promoting public health
- ensuring environmental sustainability.
Managing the air quality impacts of transport projects is an important aspect of protecting and promoting public health and ensuring environmental sustainability.
The NZTS will be implemented through policy development, rules and legislation such as the Land Transport Management Act 2003 (LTMA). The purpose of the LTMA is to contribute to the aim of achieving an integrated, safe, responsive and sustainable land transport system. The Act includes requirements for funding land transport, and defines the objectives and functions of Land Transport New Zealand and Transit New Zealand. The Act states that:
The objective of the Authority [Land Transport New Zealand] is to allocate resources and to undertake its functions in a way that contributes to an integrated, safe, responsive, and sustainable land transport system.
The objective of Transit is to operate the state highway system in a way that contributes to an integrated, safe, responsive, and sustainable land transport system.
In meeting their objectives, these agencies are also required to "exhibit a sense of social and environmental responsibility", which includes "avoiding, to the extent reasonable in the circumstances, adverse effects on the environment".
The LTMA also requires road controlling authorities to take into account the NZTS objectives in preparing their land transport programme.
2.2.1 Regional land transport strategies
Each regional council is required to prepare a land transport strategy for its region. The LTMA requires regional land transport strategies to contribute to an integrated, safe, responsive and sustainable land transport system. Regional land transport strategies are likely to include objectives and policies that are relevant to the assessment of discharges to air from transport.
For example, the Environment Canterbury Regional Land Transport Strategy 2005-2015 includes the policy:
Ensure adverse environmental impacts from transport are monitored and national and regional standards are met.
One of the methods for achieving this policy is to "implement traffic management measures that reduce pollutant levels in areas where these are close to, or exceed, national and regional environmental standards/guidelines".
In another example, the Auckland Regional Land Transport Strategy 2005 includes the following policies in accordance with the purpose of the RMA:
Identify and evaluate reduction strategies to ensure that emissions from new and existing transport sources comply with the national environmental standards.
Work with the Government and stakeholders to identify and evaluate measures that will limit the adverse environmental effects of transport.
Develop and implement consistent procedures for assessing the environmental and health impact of transport policies and projects.
Ensure that transport projects consider, at an early stage of the scheme assessment, options to avoid and/or remedy human health risks and adverse effects on the natural and physical environments.
Ensure that appropriate environmental mitigation techniques are implemented for transport projects, where adverse effects cannot be avoided or remedied.
It is strongly recommended that the relevant regional land transport strategy be checked prior to undertaking any assessment of discharges to air from transport.
2.2.2 Transit New Zealand Environmental Plan
Transit New Zealand is responsible for planning, constructing and maintaining New Zealand's state highway network in accordance with the Transit New Zealand Act 1989, LTMA and NZTS. The Transit New Zealand Environmental Plan sets out Transit's environmental policy, objectives, implementation plans and performance measures. The plan specifically includes the following objectives:
A1 Understand the contribution of vehicle traffic to air quality.
A2 Ensure new state highway projects do not directly cause national ambient air quality standards to be exceeded.
A3 Contribute to reducing emissions where the state highway network is a principal source of exceedances of national ambient air quality standards.
