Environmental compliance remains strong during 2021-22
Media release
14 December 2022
Environmental compliance remains strong during 2021-22
Continued improvement in winter grazing practices was a feature of environmental monitoring during 2021-22.
The 2021-22 Compliance Monitoring Report provides an overview of Environment Southland’s compliance, monitoring and enforcement (CME) activities.
Environment Southland general manager integrated catchment management Paul Hulse said during the past year, aerial inspections had continued to see positive winter grazing work happening on the ground in rural areas.
“Our focus on this is ongoing, as we work with industry groups and farmers to encourage improved practice and better environmental outcomes.”
While Environment Southland was pleased with how things were looking, the council was not becoming complacent and work has immediately started on planning for the 2023 season, he said.
External influences continue to impact on Environment Southland’s ability to complete the dairy monitoring programme. During the 2021/22 season staff continued to adhere to the standard disinfection protocols to mitigate the risks of spreading the M. bovis bacteria, however, during the past year monitoring was hampered again by Covid-19 restrictions.
Never-the-less, staff still managed to complete 895 on-site and aerial dairy shed effluent discharge consent inspections (960 were completed the previous year). Of these, 701 were fully compliant, 171 were graded low risk or moderate non-compliance, and 23 (2.5%) were graded significant non-compliance.
The resource management monitoring & enforcement team had a steady number of incidents reported overall (880), with numbers similar to last year (888). Increasing workloads as a result of changing legislation, growing consent numbers, and staffing challenges, have led to the council reassessing how best to manage work, he said.
“We’ve taken the opportunity to review and reprioritise some of our work programmes, meaning the way we monitor now and in the future will better represent the risks the activities pose to the environment.”
Monitoring of industrial consents, and other relevant environmental consents, continues to be a priority for the team, Paul Hulse said. The council’s team compared favourably across many areas with other regional and unitary councils around the country, he said.
“The Council has a relatively small compliance team, and the staff have worked hard and shown commitment in sometimes trying circumstances.”
Regulatory Committee chairman Neville Cook said it was encouraging to see the continued improvement in winter grazing practices.
“A lot of careful planning and hard work has been put in by farmers. There’s also been a coordinated approach to providing support by the council, industry groups and catchment groups. Everyone, has worked together to achieve the improved environmental outcomes we’re seeing.”
While there was a focus on high-intensity farming practices, industry was also continuing to improve its compliance for the most part, and self-reporting when there was an issue, Councillor Cook said.
The 2021-22 Compliance Monitoring Report is available on our website.
