Table 1: Key elements of a New Zealand contaminated land framework, opportunities for change, and their priority
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Element |
What is already in place? |
Achieved |
Opportunities for change |
Priority |
|---|---|---|---|---|
A legislative framework that has definitions, planning controls, a liabilityregime and defines roles and responsibilities for agencies |
RMA, Health Act, HSNO Act, Food Act, Building Act, OSH No liability regime for pre-1991 sites |
Partial |
Produce guidance on how agencies establish and agree on working relationships Investigate options for addressing liability barriers |
Medium |
Measures to prevent contamination of land |
RMA and HSNO Act controls; agrichemical collections |
Yes |
No change identified |
In place now |
Mechanisms to help identify, recordinvestigate, manage, remediate and report on contaminated land |
RMA Industry guidelines, Ministry for the Environment CLMG series Nos. 1–5 |
Partial |
Consider new guidance; review and revise existing guidance Investigate establishing a scheme of accredited auditors Investigate training for practitioners |
Low – not a priority |
WasteTRACK |
Require tracking of contaminated soil and waste using WasteTRACK |
Medium |
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Contaminated Sites Remediation Fund (CSRF) RMA definition of contaminated land |
Increase size of or modify CSRF Provide added certainty with a NES |
High |
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Protection of humanhealth from the effects of contaminated land |
RMA, Health Act, Food Act, OSH, Building Act MfE CLMG Nos. 2 and 3,industry and MOH guidelines; OSH guidelines |
Partial |
Produce nationally consistent methods for deriving health-based soil contaminant levels Produce a NES that defines management actions |
High |
Protection of the environment from the effects of contaminated land |
RMA Oil industry guidelines; MfE CLMG No. 2; Sheep-dip guidelines; ANZECC guidelines |
Partial |
Produce nationally consistent methods for deriving ecologically based soil contaminant levels Produce a NES that defines management actions |
Low – not a priority |
Access to information |
LGOIMA, Building Act, MfE CLMG No. 4 (draft); New Zealand Waste Strategy targets |
Partial |
Produce guidance on management of contaminated land information Establish a collection of national information on contaminated land |
Medium |
Notes: CLMG = Contaminated Land Management Guidelines; CSRF = Contaminated Sites Remediation Fund; OSH = Occupational Safety and Health; LGOIMA = Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act; RMA = Resource Management Act 1991; NES = national environmental standard; HSNO = Hazardous Substances & New Organisms; MfE = Ministry for the Environment; MOH = Ministry of Health.
