Rule changes that will in future control farming methods in the Lake Rotorua catchment have begun with the adoption of Lake Rotorua Nutrient Management Rules at the Bay of Plenty Regional Council's Regional Direction and Delivery Committee meeting this week.

The proposed rules require on-land practices in the Lake Rotorua catchment to reduce nitrogen entering Lake Rotorua by 140 tonnes by 2032, in order to meet the lake water quality targets set by the community in 2008.

Lake Rotorua. Photo: Greg Taipari.

The decision marks a change from the discussion process over the last two and a half years, to the more formal Resource Management Act process says committee chair regional councillor Paula Thompson.

Lake Rotorua is a caldera at the bottom of an ancient volcanic crater. All fertiliser run off in the catchment goes into the lake, affecting water quality.

'The rules are about trying to have a sustainable nutrient load going into Lake Rotorua, pastoral activity is a large part of that but not the only part,” says Paula.

'Not just dairy, but we have sheep and beef, a whole range of activity on pastoral areas that have an issue with nutrient leaching into the lake.”

Consultation was extended because of a lot of feedback from small block holders. The feedback resulted in the threshold for properties to be excluded from nitrogen limits increased from 4ha to 5ha.

'I guess it was trying to accommodate what we used to know as life style blocks,” says Paula. 'A bit over four hectares trying to acknowledge people might have a couple of horses…They are not doing it for a business purpose but as part of a lifestyle activity.”

The first step in the formal consultation process is to request feedback on the technical documents referenced in the rules. These technical documents have been available online for some time, and people now have until January 29, 2016 to provide their feedback to council.

The technical documents include data used to create reference files that are designed to represent dairy and dry-stock farm systems in the catchment as an average of respective allocations, and how best practice is established around fertiliser management within nitrogen management plans.

Te proposed rules will be notified on February 29, 2016 and for this to be followed by an extended submission period which will enable everyone to provide feedback on the proposed rules to help refine them, prior to becoming operative.

'The past two and a half years signals a greater focus on engagement and collaboration between the community and regional council, marking a change in how council approaches plan changes,' says Paula.

'Now we are at the beginning of the formal process, but this doesn't mean we have finished talking. We want to hear from people, particularly those that will be directly affected by the rules.”

This work is part of the Rotorua Te Arawa Lakes Programme, which is a collaborative partnership between the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Rotorua Lakes Council and Te Arawa Lakes Trust.

To provide comment on the technical documents and for more information, visit www.rotorualakes.co.nz/draft-rotorua-rules

The Lake Rotorua Nutrient Management Rules are part of the Rotorua Te Arawa Lakes Programme, which is responsible for meeting water quality targets set out in the Resource Management Act for the 12 Rotorua-Te Arawa lakes. The purpose of the programme is to enable a sustainable economic, lifestyle and cultural future for the lakes. This will be achieved by improving and protecting overall health and water quality.

The Rules are in relation to a required 140 tonne reduction in nitrogen in Lake Rotorua by 2032 through land use change in the Lake Rotorua catchment, in order to meet part of the water quality target for Lake Rotorua laid out in the Resource Management Act.