Earthquake: aftermath and recovery
Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act 2010
Orders in council
Comment
Earthquake: aftermath and recovery
Following the earthquake in Christchurch on February 22 2011, the government has approved a number of orders in council that remove or modify certain legislative requirements. The orders in council recognise that in the current circumstances a number of these requirements cannot be complied with or could delay the rebuilding of Christchurch.
The earthquake resulted in the loss of many lives and devastated Christchurch's central business district as well as a number of suburbs. Attention has now turned to rebuilding Christchurch and the affected communities.
Activities associated with cleaning up and rebuilding the affected areas are subject to the Resource Management Act 1991, the primary environmental legislation in New Zealand that regulates the use of land, air, water, ecosystems and the built environment. Three of the recent orders in council specifically relax certain elements of the Resource Management Act. These orders are aimed at providing for the needs of the Christchurch community once the state of emergency has been lifted, and at expediting the processes of remediating land and re-establishing the necessary infrastructure within the city.
Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act 2010
The orders in council were made under legislation passed following the earthquake that occurred on September 4 2010. The Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act 2010 has also been applied to the more recent earthquake, which resulted in more substantial damage.
One of the key purposes of the legislation is to enable the relaxation or suspension of provisions in enactments that may divert resources away from the effort to respond efficiently to the damage caused by the earthquakes. The Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act also recognises that, in the circumstances arising from the earthquakes, it may not be reasonably possible to comply with some of the legal requirements set out in enactments.
The Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act provides for orders in council to grant an exemption from, or to modify or extend any provision of, any enactment. It was under these powers that the three orders in council were made that relax and modify the application of the Resource Management Act in specific circumstances.
Orders in council
The Canterbury Earthquake (Resource Management Act) Order 2011 removes the notification process for resource consent applications made by specified local and central government parties for land remediation work in Canterbury. This includes works to protect, stabilise or remediate land affected by the earthquakes, as well as the repair or reconstruction of infrastructure and flood protection works. Although the order requires that the specified applications be processed without limited or public notification, it provides for limited consultation with adversely affected parties.
The order also relaxes the requirements that would otherwise apply to the specified land remediation activities that are classified as non-complying activities in the relevant planning documents. In normal circumstances, non-complying activities must pass one of the thresholds set out in Section 104D of the Resource Management Act in order for resource consent to be granted. The threshold to be met is that either the adverse effects of the non-complying activity will be minor, or the proposed activity will not be contrary to the objectives and polices of the relevant plan. The order removes the requirement to pass either of these thresholds where the specified land remediation work is otherwise classified as a non-complying activity.
The Canterbury Earthquake (Resource Management Act Permitted Activities) Order 2011 allows temporary accommodation to be established in specified locations without resource consent where the accommodation is for people who have been displaced from their homes or their normal places of work as a result of the earthquakes. The order also provides for temporary depots and storage facilities associated with the earthquake recovery efforts to be established without resource consent in specified areas. The temporary accommodation and facilities may be located in places identified by the relevant local authority in a public notice and are subject to the standards and requirements to manage environmental effects.
Finally, the Canterbury Earthquake (Resource Management Act) Amendment Order 2011 continues an order in council that was approved in response to the first earthquake in September 2010. The order relaxes some timeframes and other requirements that local authorities would otherwise need to comply with in relation to administration, record keeping and monitoring, as well as enforcement obligations.
This order in council also allows a regional landfill to operate outside its resource consent conditions to help respond to the earthquake recovery and clean-up.
The orders in council will remain in effect until March 31 2012. After that date, the normal requirements of the Resource Management Act, will apply, unless the Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act is extended beyond March 31 2012 and the orders in council are continued.
Comment
In recognition of the large clean-up, recovery and rebuilding exercise that Christchurch faces, the New Zealand government has passed a number of orders in council to allow the essential work to be undertaken as quickly as possible.
To the extent that they relate to environmental matters, the orders in council seek to strike a balance between ensuring the involvement of those affected by the specified fast-tracked activities, protecting the environment and avoiding unreasonable delays in rebuilding Christchurch.
For further information on this topic please contact James Winchester, Jo Mooar or Michelle van Kampen at Simpson Grierson by telephone (+64 9 358 2222), fax (+64 9 307 0331) or email ([email protected], [email protected] or [email protected]).