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Notified or Non Notified

Resource consent applications with only minor adverse effects on the environment are usually processed without notification, provided that all persons who may be adversely affected by an activity have given their written approval. If all of the approvals cannot be obtained, notice can be served on the affected parties in a process known as limited notification. In all other cases the application must be publicly notified. Will your application be notified?

A resource consent application must be publicly notified unless:

• The application is for a controlled activity;
• The consent authority is satisfied that the adverse environmental effects of the activity will be minor.

An application may also be publicly notified if required by a rule in a regional plan, if the consent authority believes that special circumstances exist, or if the applicant requests notification.

In assessing whether or not the activity’s adverse environmental effects will be minor, the following criteria will be considered:

• The nature, scale and location of the activity
• The sensitivity of the environment (e.g. the size of the resource, ecological effects, proximity of the neighbours or special areas)

• Long-term or permanent effects (e.g. structures, contamination)
• Cumulative effects (e.g. cultural, historical and other issues)
• The comments of people consulted by the applicant
• Risks (prospects of problems and consequences)
• Mitigation (e.g. erosion control works, emission controls, safety measures)

Limited notification or non-notified

If the application can be processed without public notification, notice must be served on all persons that the consent authority considers adversely affected by the activity. Unlike public notification, only those persons served notice directly may make a submission on the application.

However, if all persons adversely affected by an activity have given their written approval, the application may be processed without any form of notification (non-notified).

The following persons will generally be considered adversely affected and may be required to give approval of any application that is non-notified:

• Landowners or occupiers of the site
• Iwi or groups that have a cultural relationship with the environment
• Individuals undertaking existing lawful uses of a resource which will be affected by the proposed activity (e.g. neighbours, downstream landowners)
• Individuals or organisations with statutory responsibility for some aspect of a resource that may be affected (e.g. Department of Conservation, Fish and Game Council)

Notified applications

An application will be publicly notified unless all the criteria for limited notification or non-notification have been met.

The aim of public notification is to ensure that everyone is given an opportunity to make a submission. The following people and agencies will be directly notified as considered appropriate:

• Owners and/or occupiers of the land
• Adjacent landowners/occupiers likely to be affected
• The appropriate territorial authority
• Te Ao Marama Inc for discharges of human waste into water, possible disturbance of wahi tapu (e.g. burial grounds or old pa sites) and all forms of environmental pollution
• Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu for activities in, adjacent to, or affecting a statutory acknowledgement area under the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act
• Fish and Game Council for discharges to water, structures or works in riverbeds and the taking of water which may affect fish passage or habitats
• Department of Conservation for activities in the coastal marine area or other areas where the Department has statutory responsibility
• Ministry of Transport for major structures in navigable waters
• Ministry for the Environment
• Historic Places Trust for possible disturbance to historic or archaeological sites
• Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries for marine farming or fish farming
• Any other person who in Environment Southland's opinion is likely to be affected by the application

Notice of resource consent applications will be served to all parties that Environment Southland considers will be affected. The application will also be publicly notified in appropriate newspapers. This notice will call for submissions within 20 working days. If submissions are received a hearing may be held.