Source
https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1991/0069/latest/whole.pdf — original source (opens in a new tab; the file is not redistributed)
RMA 1991, Part 3 — the four consent triggers (ss 9, 13, 14, 15)
The statutory floor of the whole permitting framework — as at 19 May 2026
CR_046 (AI-compiled) has been carrying these four sections for the entire register. They are now read verbatim from the Act. CR_046 largely holds — with two material gaps and one whole regime it missed.
Summary
Part 3 of the RMA states what you may not do without a rule or a consent. Four sections carry the off-grid case: s9 (use of land), s13 (beds of lakes and rivers), s14 (taking, using, damming or diverting water), and s15 (discharges).
Read against the wiki’s existing claims, this source (a) confirms the four triggers on primary authority, (b) corrects CR_046’s domestic-water-take claim, (c) adds a third consent trigger for micro-hydro that nobody had recorded, and (d) reveals a national water-services regime, inserted into the RMA on 27 August 2025, that the wiki has never heard of and that could materially change the on-site wastewater gate.
Key claims
- claim: "s9 Restrictions on use of land - THREE limbs, all requiring a consent or an allowance: s9(1) 'No person may use land in a manner that contravenes a NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARD unless the use- (a) is expressly allowed by a resource consent; or (b) is allowed by section 10 [existing use]; or (c) is an activity allowed by section 10A; or (d) is an activity allowed by section 20A; or (e) is an activity expressly allowed by a wastewater environmental performance standard, a stormwater environmental performance standard, or an infrastructure design solution.' s9(2) same for a REGIONAL RULE. s9(3) 'No person may use land in a manner that contravenes a DISTRICT RULE unless the use- (a) is expressly allowed by a resource consent; or (b) is allowed by section 10; or (c) is an activity allowed by section 10A; or (d) is an activity expressly allowed by a wastewater environmental performance standard, a stormwater environmental performance standard, or an infrastructure design solution.'"
source_location: "s9(1)-(3), p.79"
- claim: "s13 Restriction on certain uses of beds of lakes and rivers (verbatim): 'No person may, in relation to the bed of any lake or river,- (a) use, erect, reconstruct, place, alter, extend, remove, or demolish any STRUCTURE or part of any structure in, on, under, or over the bed; or (b) excavate, drill, tunnel, or otherwise DISTURB the bed; or (c) introduce or plant any plant...; or (d) deposit any substance in, on, or under the bed; or (e) reclaim or drain the bed- unless expressly allowed by a national environmental standard, a wastewater environmental performance standard, a stormwater environmental performance standard, an infrastructure design solution, a rule in a regional plan..., or a resource consent.'"
source_location: "s13(1), p.88"
- claim: "s14 Restrictions relating to water. s14(2): 'No person may TAKE, USE, DAM, OR DIVERT any of the following, unless the taking, using, damming, or diverting is allowed by subsection (3): (a) water other than open coastal water...' s14(3)(a): allowed if 'expressly allowed by a national environmental standard, a wastewater environmental performance standard, a stormwater environmental performance standard, an infrastructure design solution, a rule in a regional plan as well as a rule in a proposed regional plan..., or a resource consent'. s14(3)(b) THE DOMESTIC EXEMPTION, VERBATIM AND IN FULL: 'in the case of fresh water, the water, heat, or energy is required to be taken or used for- (i) AN INDIVIDUAL'S REASONABLE DOMESTIC NEEDS; or (ii) the reasonable needs of a person's animals for drinking water,- AND THE TAKING OR USE DOES NOT, OR IS NOT LIKELY TO, HAVE AN ADVERSE EFFECT ON THE ENVIRONMENT'."
source_location: "s14(2), s14(3)(a)-(b), p.89"
- claim: "s15 Discharge of contaminants into environment (verbatim): 'No person may discharge any- (a) contaminant or water into water; or (b) contaminant onto or into land in circumstances which may result in that contaminant... entering water; or (c) contaminant from any industrial or trade premises into air; or (d) contaminant from any industrial or trade premises onto or into land- unless the discharge is expressly allowed by a national environmental standard or other regulations, a wastewater environmental performance standard, a stormwater environmental performance standard, an infrastructure design solution, a rule in a regional plan..., or a resource consent.' NOTE: s15(1) contains NO domestic exemption - unlike s14(3)(b)."
source_location: "s15(1), p.90"
- claim: "A NEW NATIONAL WATER-SERVICES REGIME was inserted into ss 9, 13, 14 and 15 on 27 AUGUST 2025 (by the Local Government (Water Services) (Repeals and Amendments) Act 2025, 2025 No 43). Each section now permits an activity that is 'expressly allowed by' a 'wastewater environmental performance standard', a 'stormwater environmental performance standard', or an 'infrastructure design solution'. Definitions (s2): 'wastewater environmental performance standard means a wastewater environmental performance standard made under section 138 of the Water Services Act 2021'; 'infrastructure design solution means an infrastructure design solution made under section 139C of the Water Services Act 2021'. These instruments can therefore EXPRESSLY ALLOW activities that would otherwise require a resource consent under any of the four triggers."
source_location: "s2 (definitions); s9(1)(e)/(2)(c)/(3)(d); s13(1); s14(1)/(3)(a); s15(1) - amendment notes citing 2025 No 43"Neobiome Intelligence relevance
CR_046 largely holds — with two material gaps
✅ Confirmed on primary authority: the four triggers are exactly as the register describes. Land use (s9) is restricted against NES, regional rule and district rule alike. Discharges (s15) have no domestic exemption at all — so an on-site wastewater discharge needs a regional-plan rule or a consent, full stop. That is the D03 gate, now statutory.
⚠ Gap 1 — CR_046's domestic water-take claim is INCOMPLETE
CR_046 records “single-household domestic groundwater take — no water permit (RMA s14(3)(b)).” The statute attaches a rider CR_046 omits: the take must be for “an individual’s reasonable domestic needs” AND “the taking or use does not, or is not likely to, have an adverse effect on the environment.” The domestic exemption is conditional, not automatic. A take that would harm the environment is not exempt, however small the household.
⚠ Also an honesty note on the engine’s
hh≥2 → consentgate. The wiki reads s14(3)(b) as “per-individual, cannot be stacked”. The statute says “an individual’s” — but it does not say the exemption cannot be aggregated. That is an interpretation, and a defensible one, but it is not statutory text and should not be cited as though it were.
🔴 Gap 2 — micro-hydro has a THIRD consent trigger nobody recorded
s13(1) prohibits, without a rule or consent, any person “use, erect, reconstruct, place, alter, extend… any structure… in, on, under, or over the bed” of a lake or river, or “excavate, drill, tunnel, or otherwise disturb the bed”. A micro-hydro intake or weir is precisely that. So a community micro-hydro scheme needs:
- s13 — the intake / weir structure in the bed
- s14(2) — which expressly names “take, use, dam, or divert” → the diversion itself
- s9 — land use for the penstock and powerhouse
micro_hydro records none of this. The consent load on micro-hydro is materially heavier than the D26 physics gate implies — and this is a cost and feasibility matter, not just a paperwork one.
It also puts RT_333 on solid statutory ground: s14(2)‘s express “divert” confirms from the Act what OT_101 showed from the NPS-FM framework — a run-of-river diversion is caught.
🔴 A national water-services regime the wiki has never heard of
Every one of ss9/13/14/15 now allows an activity that is “expressly allowed by” a wastewater environmental performance standard, a stormwater environmental performance standard, or an infrastructure design solution — inserted on 27 August 2025. These are made under ss138 / 139C of the Water Services Act 2021.
These instruments can permit, nationally, activities that would otherwise need a resource consent under any of the four triggers.
That is potentially decisive for the off-grid case. On-site wastewater discharge is the blocker — it triggers s15, and OT_102 showed it reinstates resource consent even for a Schedule 1A-exempt dwelling. If a national wastewater performance standard expressly permits certain on-site systems, that gate is substantially defused nationally. A made instrument already exists: the Water Services (Wastewater Environmental Performance Standards) Regulations 2025 (SL 2025/258).
Neither CR_046 nor the concept page knows this regime exists. → RT_347 (high).
Research targets
Documents to retrieve
- RT_347 (high) — Water Services Act 2021 ss138 + 139C, and the Water Services (Wastewater Environmental Performance Standards) Regulations 2025 (SL 2025/258). Since 27 Aug 2025 these instruments can “expressly allow” activities under RMA ss9/13/14/15 — i.e. they can nationally permit what would otherwise need a resource consent. Does the made wastewater standard permit on-site wastewater systems? If it does, the single hardest off-grid consent gate (s15 discharge — the one that reinstates resource consent even for a Sch 1A-exempt dwelling, OT_102) may be substantially defused. The wiki has no record of this regime at all. | REG_012 | Water Services Act 2021 · SL 2025/258
Research gaps
- None new. (RT_333 strengthened — s14(2)‘s express “divert” puts the run-of-river question on statutory footing; the open part remains what control applies at low flow.)
Notes
Primary legislation, as at 19 May 2026 (current at ingest), read verbatim via pdftotext -layout — data_quality: verified. Fetched by curl from legislation.govt.nz.
Scope of this page: the RMA is 1,004 pages. The whole Act is filed as the raw (so any section can be re-checked), but this page records only Part 3’s four consent triggers — ss 9, 13, 14, 15 — which are the sections the permitting framework actually rests on. Other parts (s6 matters of national importance, s43 NES-making power, s58E planning standards, consent process) are cited elsewhere and can be read from the same raw.
Versioning — the RMA is being replaced
This is the Act as at 19 May 2026, and it is amended frequently (the water-services instruments above landed on 27 Aug 2025). It is also scheduled for replacement by the Planning Bill + Natural Environment Bill (Royal Assent targeted mid-2026). Record the “as at” date with any citation, and expect the section numbering to be superseded.
Connections
Links to
Sources (3): CR_046 · OT_101 · OT_102
Technologies (1): Micro-hydro (run-of-river, community-scale)
Referenced by
Sources (8): OT_103 · OT_124 · REG_003 · REG_013 · REG_014 · REG_016 · REG_039 · URL_026
Technologies (3): Biomass District Heating (Wood Chip) · Diesel Genset (community-scale backup) · Micro-hydro (run-of-river, community-scale)
EDT domains (1): D03: Water, Waste & Circular Systems
Concepts (1): Regulatory Consenting for Off-Grid Communities…