Regional Natural Resources Plan

The purpose of the Regional Natural Resources Plan (RNRP) is to promote the sustainable and integrated management of land and water resources within the Bay of Plenty.

To achieve this, the RNRP has objectives, policies and methods (which include rules) to address issues of use, development and protection of land resources, geothermal resources and freshwater resources, including the beds and margins of water bodies. The resources covered by the Regional Natural Resources Plan are:

Soil (land)
Rivers and streams
Lakes
Wetlands
Groundwater
Geothermal
Natural Hazards
Air

Changes to the RNRP

Change	Overview	Status
Plan Change 13 (Air Quality)	Includes objectives, policies and rules to manage air quality in the region. Replaces the Operative Regional Air Plan. The Environment Court has directed Council to prepare changes to Plan Change 13 to include a new policy (Policy 12) to manage activities which discharge particulate matter (PM₁₀) within the Mount Maunganui Airshed (MMA), and provisions to control PM₁₀ from unsealed yards in the MMA.	Incorporated into RNRP as the Air chapter and operative from 6 June 2023 with exception of rule AQ R22 and the definition of ‘bulk solid material’. The Environment Court has made final rulings on AQ R22 and consequential provisions, and these will be included in the Air chapter of the RNRP at the first opportunity. Policy 12 publicly notified, and unsealed yards provisions limited notified, 15 January 2024. Submissions close 30 April 2024.
Draft Plan Change 14 (On-Site Effluent Treatment - OSET)	To insert provisions to manage the safe treatment and disposal of domestic wastewater. The plan change does not affect dairy shed effluent discharges or municipal sewage discharges.	4 May 2021 - Council decided to integrate the On-Site Effluent Treatment plan change into the Essential Freshwater Policy Programme rather than progressing Proposed Plan Change 14 as a separate plan change.
Change 1 (National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry -NESPF)	Amendments to meet requirements of the National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry Regulations 2017	Incorporated into RNRP and operative from 1 May 2018
Change 2 (Minor National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry - NESPF amendment)	‘Activity Site’ definition corrected in Definition of Terms	Incorporated into RNRP and operative from 10 January 2020
WITHDRAWN Proposed Plan Change 9 (Region-wide Water Quantity)	First step in a two-stage approach to improve rules for water quality and quantity management	Withdrawn on 18 February 2020. This means that Plan Change 9 no longer has any legal effect.
Plan Change 17 (Awatarariki Fanhead) and National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management updates	To insert provisions into the Natural Hazards chapter for debris flow risk management on the Awatarariki fanhead at Matatā. The RNRP has also been amended to incorporate clauses from the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 and previous version required to be inserted into the plan without a plan change process.	Incorporated into RNRP and operative from 29 March 2021
Plan Change 10 (Lake Rotorua Nutrient Management)	Introduces rules to limit the amount of nitrogen entering Lake Rotorua from land use. The rules will affect rural properties in the Lake Rotorua Catchment.	Operative from 16 November 2022, treated as operative under s86F RMA since 4 May 2021.

Download the plan

Full document: Regional Natural Resources Plan

Chapters

Update Record, Amendment page, Seal page and Contents
Chapter 1 - Reader Guide
Chapter 2 - Introduction
Chapter 3 - KT - Kaitiakitanga
Chapter 4 - IM - Integrated Management of Land and Water
Chapter 5 - LM - Land Management
Chapter 6 - DW - Discharges to Water and Land & OSET - On-site Effluent Treatment
Chapter 7 - WQ - Water Quantity and Allocation
Chapter 8 - BW - Beds of Water Bodies
Chapter 9 - WL - Wetlands
Chapter 10 - TH - Tauranga Harbour
Chapter 11 - KM - Kaituna, Maketū and Pongakawa
Chapter 12 - RL - Rotorua Lakes & LR - Lake Rotorua Nutrient Management Programme
Chapter 13 - TW - Tarawera
Chapter 14 - RT - Rangitāiki
Chapter 15 - WT - Whakātane and Tauranga
Chapter 16 - OH - Ōhiwa Harbour and Waiotahe
Chapter 17 - WO - Waioeka and Otara
Chapter 18 - EC - East Coast
Chapter 19 - GR - Geothermal Resources
Chapter 20 - NH - Natural Hazards
Chapter 21 - AQ - Air Quality
Schedules 1 - 14
Definition of Terms and Bibliography
Appendices 1-6

Water quality classification maps

Stopbanks and other flood control structures maps (Rule 45)

The following maps are referred to as part of Rule 45 (Permitted - Damming and Diversion of Flood Waters by Existing Flood Control Structures).

Copies of maps for other areas covered by Stopbanks and Other Flood Control Structure Permitted by Rule 45 are available from Bay of Plenty Regional Council on request.

Erosion hazard zone maps

The following maps form part of the Erosion Hazard Zone, referred to in Section 9.2 of the rules and in the Erosion Hazard Zone definition of the plan.

Statutory acknowledgements

The Ngā Whakaaetanga-ā-Ture ki Te Taiao ā Toi (Statutory Acknowledgements in the Bay of Plenty) is a compendium document to be read as an attachment to and in conjunction with the Operative Regional Natural Resources Plan including proposed regional plan or policy statement, and any variation or change notified by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Check out Statutory Acknowledgements for more information.

Order a copy of the Regional Natural Resources Plan

Order the plan by phone 0800 884 880 or email us at info@boprc.govt.nz. The costs are as follows (all prices include GST):

Regional Natural Resources Plan - $55
1:50 000 scale Water Classification Map - $15

The Regional Natural Resources Plan is available to view at Bay of Plenty Regional Council offices, all public libraries throughout the Bay of Plenty and service centres of Bay of Plenty's city and District Councils.