Source
https://www.ecan.govt.nz/document/download?uri=3123238 — original source (opens in a new tab; the file is not redistributed)
Canterbury Land & Water Regional Plan — the D_003 regional wastewater stratum (REG_023)
The D_003 5th sample member — regional wastewater limb, verified tier
The Canterbury Land & Water Regional Plan (Environment Canterbury), the regional plan governing water and discharges across all of Canterbury — including Selwyn and Waimakariri districts. Selwyn was placed in the
D_003sample specifically for this regime (D_003). Fetched directly from ecan.govt.nz and read verbatim. It is the campaign’s restrictive wastewater counter-case.
Summary
Canterbury is the restrictive end of the on-site wastewater distribution. Under Rule 5.8, an on-site wastewater system is a permitted activity only where the discharge is ≤2 m³/day and the site is ≥4 hectares and the area is not >1.5 dwellings/ha, plus a set of setback conditions — otherwise it is restricted discretionary (Rule 5.9). A community wastewater treatment system — the realistic option for a clustered eco-community — is a discretionary activity (Rule 5.84), and prohibited inside a Community Drinking-water Protection Zone (Rule 5.85). Where Auckland and Gisborne permit on-site with no site-area floor, Canterbury’s ≥4 ha condition and its discretionary community-system rule make it the binding-constraint stratum the sample was designed to test.
Key claims
- claim: "ON-SITE WASTEWATER IS PERMITTED ONLY ON LARGE, LOW-DENSITY SITES (Rule 5.8, verbatim). 'The discharge of wastewater from a new, modified or upgraded on-site wastewater treatment system onto or into land in circumstances where a contaminant may enter water is a permitted activity, provided the following conditions are met: 1. The discharge volume does not exceed 2 m3 per day; and 2. The discharge is onto or into a site that is equal to or greater than 4 hectares in area; and 2a. The discharge is not located within an area where residential density exceeds 1.5 dwellings per hectare and the total population is greater than 1000 persons; and 3. The discharge is not onto or into land: (a) where there is an available sewerage network; or (b) contaminated...; (d) in circumstances where the discharge would enter any surface waterbody; or (e) within 20 m of any surface waterbody or the Coastal Marine Area; or (f) within 50 m of a bore used for water abstraction; or (g) within a Community Drinking-water Protection Zone...; or (h) where there is... less than 1 m of vertical separation between the discharge point and groundwater; and 4. ...designed and installed in accordance with... AS/NZS 1547:2012...' So on-site wastewater in Canterbury is permitted ONLY if each discharge is on a site >=4 ha, <=2 m3/day, and NOT in an area exceeding 1.5 dwellings/ha - conditions a clustered eco-community cannot meet."
source_location: "Rule 5.8 (p.75-76)"
- claim: "NOT MEETING RULE 5.8 = RESTRICTED DISCRETIONARY; BACK-COUNTRY VARIANT (Rules 5.9, 5.8A/5.8B, verbatim). Rule 5.9: a new/modified/upgraded on-site system that 'does not meet one or more of the conditions of Rule 5.8... is a restricted discretionary activity', with discretion restricted to environmental effects, drinking-water safety, and on-site-system density in the local area. Rule 5.8A permits back country hut systems (<=2 m3/day, AS/NZS 1547 maintenance, same setbacks); Rule 5.8B: a back country system not meeting 5.8A is discretionary."
source_location: "Rules 5.8A, 5.8B, 5.9 (p.76-77)"
- claim: "A COMMUNITY WASTEWATER SYSTEM IS DISCRETIONARY - AND PROHIBITED IN A DRINKING-WATER ZONE (Rules 5.84-5.88, verbatim). Rule 5.84: 'The use of land for a community wastewater treatment system and the discharge of sewage sludge, bio-solids and treated sewage effluent... into or onto land... are discretionary activities.' Rule 5.85: the same 'within a Community Drinking-water Protection Zone as set out in Schedule 1 is a prohibited activity.' Rule 5.86: discharge of treated sewage effluent into surface water or a wetland is a non-complying activity. Rules 5.87/5.88: discharge of untreated sewage is a non-complying activity. So a clustered community's shared wastewater system needs a DISCRETIONARY consent (and cannot be sited in a drinking-water protection zone) - the realistic Neobiome option is consent-gated, not permitted."
source_location: "Rules 5.84, 5.85, 5.86, 5.87, 5.88 (p.97-98)"
- claim: "STRUCTURE & CURRENCY. The Canterbury Land & Water Regional Plan (LWRP) is a REGIONAL plan made by Environment Canterbury (Canterbury Regional Council) under the RMA, governing land use, water take, and discharges across the Canterbury region - it is the regional limb for Selwyn, Waimakariri and all Canterbury districts (their district plans handle zoning/subdivision separately). The version read is Volume 1 'as at Plan Change 4', approved 23 February 2017 and operative 11 March 2017. ECan runs sub-regional plan changes; later consolidated versions exist - the cited rules must be re-confirmed against the current plan before reliance."
source_location: "Title page (PC4 certification); plan structure"
- claim: "COMMUNITY WATER SUPPLY IS NEVER PERMITTED, IT IS ALWAYS CONSENTED (Rule 5.115, verbatim): 'The taking and using of water for a community water supply from groundwater or surface water is a restricted discretionary activity, provided the following conditions are complied with: 1. A Water Supply Strategy prepared in accordance with Schedule 25 is submitted with the resource consent application'. Discretion is restricted to nine matters including 'The reasonable demand for water, taking into account the size of the community, the number of properties and stock that are to be supplied' and 'The effect on the environmental flow and allocation limits within the relevant sub-region Sections 6 to 15'. Restricted discretionary means consent is required and may be granted, not that supply is barred."
source_location: "Rule 5.115, pp.108-109"
- claim: "THE PERMITTED TAKE RULES ARE PER PROPERTY AND DO NOT REACH A COMMUNITY SUPPLY. Rule 5.113: 'The taking and using of less than 5 L/s and 10 m3 per property per day of groundwater is a permitted activity', conditional on the bore being 'more than 20 m from the property boundary, or any surface waterbody'. Rule 5.114 permits 'less than 5 L/s and more than 10 m3 but less than 100 m3 per property per day of groundwater on a property more than 20ha in area'. Rule 5.114A makes a take failing either condition a restricted discretionary activity."
source_location: "Rules 5.113, 5.114, 5.114A, p.108"
- claim: "IN SELWYN TE WAIHORA A SUB-REGIONAL RULE PREVAILS AND ADDS A PROHIBITED TIER. Rule 11.5.33: taking surface water or groundwater in the Selwyn Te Waihora sub-region 'is a restricted discretionary activity, provided the following conditions are met: 1. The proposed take in combination with all existing resource consented takes, does not result in any exceedance of any of the allocation limits in Table 11(e), 11(f) and 11(g); or 2. The proposed take is the replacement of a lawfully established ... take ... under s124 of the RMA and there is no increase in the proposed rate of take or annual volume'. Rule 11.5.37, verbatim: 'The taking and use of surface water from a river, lake or wetland or groundwater within the Selwyn Te Waihora sub-region ... that does not meet Conditions 1, 2, 3, or 5 of Rule 11.5.33 is a prohibited activity.' A prohibited activity admits no consent application at all."
source_location: "Rules 11.5.33 and 11.5.37, Section 11 Selwyn - Te Waihora"
- claim: "SELWYN ALLOCATION LIMITS. Table 11(e) Combined Surface Water and Groundwater Allocation Limits (million m3/year): Selwyn-Waimakariri 193; Rakaia-Selwyn 180; Little Rakaia 67. Table 11(f) Kaituna Groundwater Allocation Zone: 2.1 million m3/year. Table 11(g) Surface Water Allocation Limits: Kaituna River 44 L/s for A permits and 131 L/s for B permits; Prices Stream, Graylees and Turrells Drain each carry 'No abstraction' for both permit classes."
source_location: "Tables 11(e), 11(f), 11(g), Section 11.7"
- claim: "THE SUB-REGION IS DECLARED OVER-ALLOCATED (verbatim): 'The Selwyn Te Waihora sub-region is not currently achieving all its freshwater objectives and water quality is anticipated to get worse before it gets better as a result of lag effects. The sub-region is therefore over-allocated in accordance with the National Policy Statement: Freshwater Management 2014.' The declaration is framed on freshwater objectives, which under the NPS-FM spans quality as well as quantity; the quantity limits sit separately at Sections 11.7.1 and 11.7.2."
source_location: "Section 11 introduction, p.216"
- claim: "REALLOCATION IS CLOSED TO NEWCOMERS IN SELWYN TE WAIHORA (Policy 11.4.26, verbatim): 'Only reallocate water to existing resource consent holders at a rate and volume that reflects: (a) for irrigation takes, reasonable use as calculated in accordance with Schedule 10; and (b) for other takes, despite Policy 4.50(b)(i), an amount of water that is reasonable and demonstrates efficient use of water for the particular end use.' Read with the sub-region's declared over-allocation and Rule 11.5.37, an applicant holding no existing consent has no reallocation pathway."
source_location: "Policy 11.4.26, p.223"Neobiome Intelligence relevance
The wastewater distribution now spans three positions
| Regime | On-site wastewater position | |
|---|---|---|
| Canterbury LWRP (REG_023) | Permitted only if site ≥4 ha, ≤2 m³/day, <1.5 dw/ha; community system Discretionary; prohibited in a drinking-water zone | 🔴 Restrictive |
| National wastewater EPS ([[reg_013_wastewater-environmental-performance-standards-2025 | REG_013]]) | Excludes on-site → RMA s15 consent stands |
| Auckland (E5) / Gisborne (C6.2.18) | On-site Permitted (Auckland: off-grid expressly, no site-area floor; Gisborne: per dwelling/marae) | 🟢 Permissive |
For a Neobiome community in Canterbury the binding facts are concrete: individual on-site systems are permitted only on ≥4 ha, sub-1.5-dwelling/ha sites (incompatible with clustering), and a shared community system is a Discretionary consent — so wastewater is a genuine consent gate here, not a permitted activity. This is exactly the restrictive stratum the D_003 sample was built to capture, and it validates the CR_046 register’s flagged “≤2,000 L/day + ≥4 ha” Canterbury constraint at verified tier.
Water take for a community supply (Rules 5.115, 11.5.33, 11.5.37)
Canterbury does not permit a community water supply take, and in Selwyn it can forbid one outright. Region-wide, Rule 5.115 makes a community supply take restricted discretionary: consent is required, a Water Supply Strategy must accompany the application, and allocation limits are an express matter of discretion. The per-property permitted rules at 5.113 and 5.114 are not a community pathway.
In the Selwyn Te Waihora sub-region the ladder gains a top rung. Rule 11.5.33 keeps a take restricted discretionary only where it, combined with all existing consented takes, stays inside the Table 11(e)/(f)/(g) limits. Rule 11.5.37 makes a take that fails that condition a prohibited activity, which means no consent application can be made or granted. So the same physical bore is consentable or legally impossible depending on remaining headroom, and three named streams carry an allocation limit of “No abstraction”.
The plan gives the ceiling, not the headroom. The tables state the maximum that may be allocated; how much is already committed to existing consents is council allocation data. A site verdict therefore needs both, and the prohibition in 11.5.37 cannot be applied from the plan alone.
A new community has no reallocation pathway in Selwyn. Policy 11.4.26 directs that water be reallocated only to existing resource consent holders. Combined with the declared over-allocation and the Rule 11.5.37 prohibition on takes outside the allocation limits, the practical position for an applicant with no existing consent is that no allocation is available: not merely hard to consent, but with no route to an allocation to consent against. This is the sharpest regulatory constraint in the corpus on a new community water supply.
Research targets
Documents to retrieve
- Selwyn District Plan (Partially Operative 2020) — the district limb (rural zones, subdivision, Chapter 12 papakāinga) for the Canterbury/Selwyn sample member. Tracked under D_003.
Research gaps
- Currency: the read version is PC4 (2017); confirm the current Rule 5.8 against the latest LWRP consolidation before the deliverable relies on it.
Notes
Primary — the operative Canterbury LWRP (Vol 1, PC4), read verbatim. data_quality: verified. Single-file source; the raw is an authoritative council PDF published by ecan.govt.nz, not an AI-prepared capture. ⚠ 2017 (PC4) version; later plan changes exist — currency re-check flagged.
Connections
Links to
Decisions (1): D_003: Council profiling — a purposive 5-counc…
Referenced by
Concepts (2): Council Planning Profiles (D_003 five-council … · Regulatory Consenting for Off-Grid Communities…
Sources (1): REG_024