Proposed National Environmental Standard for Assessing and Managing Contaminants in Soil

• Executive Summary
• Introduction
• Part 1: The Proposed NES for Assessing Contaminants in Soil
  • What is the Problem?
  • What are the Options?
  • The Proposed NES for Assessing and Managing Contaminants in Soil
  • Costs and Benefits of the Proposed NES
  • What Happens Next?
• Part 2: Implementing the Proposed NES
  • Implementing the Proposed Standard
  • Soil Guideline Values
• Appendix 1
• Appendix 2
• Appendix 3
• Appendix 4
• Abbreviations / Glossary
• References

Proposed National Environmental Standard for Assessing and Managing Contaminants in Soil
Discussion Document

Executive Summary

Overview of this document

New Zealand is fortunate that the scale of soil contamination is low relative to more industrialised countries. But whereas most other developed countries have enacted contaminated land-specific legislation decades ago, the perception of contaminated land issues emerged relatively late in New Zealand, such that the Resource Management Act (RMA) – when enacted in 1991 – did not specifically take it into account. It was not until the RMA amendments of 2005 took effect that contaminated land functions were assigned to local authorities.

Contaminated land practice has now evolved internationally to the stage where most developed countries exercise planning controls over the use of land that may be, or has been assessed as, contaminated. Best practice draws on a range of scientific disciplines. The question of “how clean is clean”, or what level of contamination is safe, is continually under review. As New Zealand’s first suite of technical guidelines was published over 10 years ago, it is appropriate to review the soil guideline values (SGVs) that should be applied. Now that the Ministry has undertaken a comprehensive review, it is efficient and pragmatic to apply the resulting SGVs as part of a national environmental standard (NES) framework. The NES proposal will not only remove the present uncertainty as to which SGV should be applied, but also maps out a practical framework for what should happen if it is found that the SGV is exceeded.

Local authorities play a pivotal role in administering land information and controlling the effects of land use. At the time of purchase, the liability for land is normally transferred to the new owner; hence it is paramount that property information is accurately categorised and publicly available to interested parties. It follows that the land tenure system depends on the public having confidence that land information is properly administered, and that potential risks are identified if known.

Contaminants in soil can pose a risk to human health and the environment. The first requirement is to systematically identify those parcels of land involving a contaminating activity, assess whether a risk is posed, and what (if any) conditions are appropriate to make the land safe for its designated use. This ‘duty of care’ sequence applies to all parties but depends in particular on collaboration, coordination and integrated information management between regional and city / district councils. It requires councils to accord this work a priority until the required information systems, and decision-making procedures are in place and functioning effectively. The NES as proposed will make this area a priority by requiring the risk from contaminants in soil to be appraised, and if necessary to be further assessed, in respect of applications for a change in land use, and of land that is being developed or subdivided.

This discussion document, including the proposed national environmental standard (NES) and supporting soil guideline values (SGVs) deliver on two high-priority components of the Ministry for the Environment’s contaminated land work programme:

• planning controls appropriate to district and city council plans for assessing contaminants in soil
• a set of chemical-specific soil contaminant thresholds that will define an adequate level of protection for human health for a range of differing land-uses in New Zealand.

These components are brought together in the proposal for an NES (as described in this document) developed to address significant gaps in how soil contamination is managed.

The problem addressed by this proposal?

The past use of chemicals (hazardous substances) in industry, agriculture and horticulture has left a legacy of soil contamination in New Zealand. It cannot be assumed that affected properties are safe for use unless they have been systematically identified, assessed and as necessary, contained or cleaned up.

This problem is not adequately addressed by many city and district councils at the critical stage, that is when land potentially affected by contaminants in soil is developed or subdivided for residential use.

Policy objective

The policy objective of the proposal is:

To ensure that land affected by contaminants in soil is appropriately identified and assessed at the time of being developed and if necessary remediated, or the contaminants contained, to make the land safe for human use.

The proposed option

The proposed option for meeting the above objective is a national environmental standard for assessing health effects from exposure to contaminants in soil.

The proposed NES, applied within a framework for assessing contaminants in soil and including a national set of soil guideline values, will require local authorities to control the use of land affected by contaminants. The proposed NES will enable use to be made of affected land by ensuring that:

• district planning controls are appropriate and nationally consistent
• councils gather and apply the information needed for efficient decision making on contaminated or potentially contaminated land
• the soil guideline values are appropriate and applied consistently.

Costs and benefits

A preliminary assessment of the costs and benefits of the proposed national environmental standard has been prepared by independent consultants. The cost-benefit analysis shows that the nationwide impacts are expected to be positive. While the site-specific impacts are unable to be quantified, it is also likely that they will be positive.

Submissions

The Ministry for the Environment welcomes public feedback on the outlined proposal through public submissions. Anyone can make a submission on the proposed standard. Submissions must be received by the Ministry for the Environment no later than 5.00 pm on 19 April 2010. Further details on making a submission are included in section 6.

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