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Roles and responsibilities

The Resource Management Act (1991) promotes the sustainable management of our natural and physical resources and is the main piece of legislation under which our New Zealand environment is managed. In managing our resources, we must ensure that we have the potential to meet the needs of future generations and any adverse effects of activities must be avoided, remedied or mitigated. The Act also says that the life-supporting capacity of air, water, soil and ecosystems must be safeguarded.

The role of regional councils and unitary authorities

Under the Resource Management Act, regional councils and unitary authorities are responsible for managing discharges to the air, and for ensuring that outdoor air is clean and healthy to breathe in their regions. To help them achieve this, councils can use several different tools. These include being able to set policies and establish rules to manage particular issues in their regions (via a regional air plan), and to issue resource consents for discharges from industrial and trade premises.

Regional air plans address specific issues for each region. They outline a regional council’s goals for air quality and contain rules about discharges to air from activities such as industry, domestic fires and vehicles. Preparing such a regional plan involves several stages. Public participation and communication with the local community is important and is achieved through meetings and submissions.

Each council is at a different stage in the development of their regional plan. For more information about the plan for your area contact your local regional council – council contact details are available through the New Zealand Local Government Online website.

The role of the Ministry for the Environment

Under the Resource Management Act, the Ministry for the Environment provides national guidance for regional councils and unitary authorities to manage the air in their region. This national guidance includes ambient air quality guidelines, good-practice guidance, research and reporting, and assistance with public education campaigns. We are also working on formal national environmental standards that will effectively become regulations. The Ministry does not have a formal enforcement role – this has been delegated to regional councils and unitary authorities.