Chief executive Wilma Falconer said the decision would likely mean nearly all Southland farmers would need to apply for a resource consent to keep farming lawfully.
“Instead, it will add another layer of bureaucracy and cost for farmers and require the council to resource the significant increase in consents processing that would be needed,” she said.
The Government is reviewing the Resource Management Act, and the council has written to ministers to ask for Section 70 to be urgently changed.
Forest &amp; Bird said council oversight was appropriate where discharge was having a significant adverse impact on degraded water sources.
“Southland Regional Council’s response to losing on this issue for the third time is a knee-jerk reaction that prioritises pollution over freshwater health.”- RNZ

Southland council says Resource Management Act technicality could create more bureaucracy for farmers