Agenda of Monitoring and Operations Committee

Monitoring and Operations Committee Minutes

5 September 2023

Monitoring and Operations Committee

Open Minutes

Commencing: Tuesday 5 September 2023, 9.30 am

Venue: Council Chambers, Regional House, 1 Elizabeth Street, Tauranga

Chairperson: Cr Kevin Winters

Deputy Chairperson: Cr Ron Scott

Members: Cr Stuart Crosby

Cr Toi Kai Rākau Iti (via Zoom)

Chairman Doug Leeder

Cr Jane Nees

Cr Lyall Thurston (via Zoom)

Cr Andrew von Dadelszen

Cr Te Taru White

Cr Kat Macmillan

Cr Malcolm Campbell

Cr Ken Shirley

In Attendance: Fiona McTavish – Chief Executive (via Zoom – attendance in part), Reuben Fraser – General Manager, Regulatory Services, Chris Ingle – General Manager, Integrated Catchments, Pim de Monchy – Coastal Catchments Manager, Presenters – as listed in the minutes, Amanda Namana – Committee Advisor

Apologies: Cr Paula Thompson

1. Apologies

Resolved

That the Monitoring and Operations Committee:

1 Accepts the apology from Cr Thompson for absence tendered at the meeting.

Crosby/Scott

CARRIED

2. Order of Business

Item 8.1 Chairperson’s Report was considered prior to the presentations due to matters arising from confirmation of the minutes. Item 8.6 Annual Report of the University of Waikato Toihuarewa Waimāori and Lake Rotorua Science Review Report was taken before Item 8.4 Biodiversity Operations Report, to accommodate presenters

2. Declaration of Conflicts of Interest

None declared.

3. Minutes

Minutes to be Confirmed

3.1

Monitoring and Operations Committee Minutes - 28 June 2023

Matters Arising

· Minute Item 5.1 Chairperson’s Report: As the briefing from Toi Te Ora was unable to be scheduled, Councillors and Tauranga City Commissioners were instead briefed by staff regarding the Toi Te Ora Public Health report going to the next Mount Maunganui Air Quality Working Party meeting

· Minute Item 5.5 Forestry Compliance: Staff were working to identify a suitable date for Hekia Parata to present at a future Komiti Māori meeting regarding forestry management.

Resolved

That the Monitoring and Operations Committee:

1 Confirms the Monitoring and Operations Committee Minutes - 28 June 2023 as a true and correct record, subject to the following amendments:

· Page 5, Item 5.2 first bullet point should read: …‘showed an increase 100% greater than the historic average at the site’

· Page 6, Item 5.3 ‘In Response to Questions’ first bullet point should read: ‘Reassessment of the best use of a Transport Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP), given the changing national policy scene.’

White/Shirley

CARRIED

4. Reports

4.1

Chairperson's Report

Presented by: Reuben Fraser – General Manager, Regulatory Services, supported by Marion Henton – Senior Regulatory Project Officer (via Zoom)

Key Points - Members:

· Considered that forestry management practice controls needed to be tightened as simply being compliant was not sufficient.

In Response to Questions:

· Each of the abatement notices for air compliance in Rotorua over the 2023-24 period were issued for different properties, although some infringement notices were for further breaches of the abatement notices.

· The infringement fine was $750 per day for using a non-compliant burner. It was unknown whether the fines would change under the new Resource Management Act (RMA). Fines were a ‘last resort’, following staff discussing options for gaining compliant heating and assisting where possible

· Forestry currently had to complete management plans for the harvest phase, but not for the forest establishment, and did not need to consider management of the lifetime of the forest.

Resolved

That the Monitoring and Operations Committee:

1 Receives the report, Chairperson's Report.

Winters/Macmillan

CARRIED

5. Presentations

5.1

Wai Kōkopu

Presentation: Wai Kōkopu: Objective ID A4471673

Presented by: Deryk Shaw – Wai Kōkopu Chair, Andre Hickson – Vice Chair, John Burker – Trustee and Alison Dewes – Project Manager

Key Points:

· The focus for Wai Kōkopu was improving the mauri of the catchment through reducing sedimentation, nitrogen, phosphorus and e-coli levels

· Applied learnings from a farm scale through to a catchment scale could also have regional benefits

· Highlighted the importance of planting the right trees in the right places and of developing a landscape plan for the region

· Agreed with having an exclusion zone for exotic plantings

· Encouraged members to read the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment report ‘Space Invaders’ available here: space-invaders-report-pdf-68mb.pdf (pce.parliament.nz)

· Considered the power for change was now held by catchment groups working together across New Zealand.

10.01 am – Cr Andrew von Dadelszen entered the meeting.

Key Points - Members:

· Fire-resistance was a significant factor when considering natives for planting plans

· Working together with iwi was an important part of this mahi - supported ongoing conversation about how to achieve this and build relationships.

In Response to Questions:

· Encouraged native restoration where possible to provide resilience to climate change. The economics of exotic plantings was more favourable to farmers so there was further work to be undertaken to generate understanding and behaviour change

· The focus on eco-sourcing was more around succession trees and taonga species

· The key challenge was changing people’s mindsets as it was difficult to be sustainably focused around catchment outcomes when dealing with climate change impacts and financial pressures

· Recognised those who had put their farm systems up for assessment, and made significant change already.

Resolved

That the Monitoring and Operations Committee:

1 Receives the presentation, Wai Kōkopu.

Nees/Thurston

CARRIED

5.2

Maketū Ōngātoro Wetlands Society

Presentation: Maketū Ōngātoro Wetlands Society: Objective ID A4470910

Presented by: Jennifer Sheppard - Operations Manager and Laura Rae - Biosecurity and Restoration Team Leader

Key Points:

· Maketū Ōngātoro Wetlands Society (MOWS) was a community care group consisting of dedicated individuals who cared about their local environment

· Outlined the history of MOWS which was initiated in 2018 to protect dotterel breeding on Maketū spit

· The education programme covered 13 different schools from Te Puke to Ōtamarākau

· MOWS pest plant control efforts went beyond what was expected in the Environment Plans and targeted all weeds

· Waihi wetland was home to nesting bittern and three different species of skink

· Te Huauri o te Kawa was a priority 2 biodiversity site, as well as an inanga breeding site

· Some whitebait species in the Lower Kaituna River were diminishing and it was believed to be due to habitat loss – planting rejuvenated this both for fish species and birds

· Erosion was causing wetland loss – requested assistance in managing this

· ‘Breakfast for the gulls’ event was being held on 12^th November 2023.

Key Points - Members:

· Encouraged MOWS to submit to the Navigational Safety Bylaw review once it was open for public consultation

· Commended the work being done to educate future generations.

In Response to Questions:

· Working together collaboratively with other organisations and improving relationships was a priority

· Suggested that not being consulted for tenders etc. could be due to lack of exposure/public knowledge or perhaps not going through proper channels

· Whilst pest control was mostly focused on plants and mammals, the entire ecosystem was considered.

Resolved

That the Monitoring and Operations Committee:

1 Receives the presentation, Maketū Ōngātoro Wetlands Society.

Winters/Nees

CARRIED

6. Reports

Decisions Required

6.1

Regional Pest Management Plan Annual Report for 2022/23 and Operational Plan for 2023/24

Presentation: Biosecurity RPMP Operations Plan: Objective ID A4458378

Presented by: Greg Corbett – Biosecurity Manager and Shane Grayling – Team Leader, Biosecurity

Key Points:

· The results from the marine biosecurity programme continued to be encouraging, with the exception of the Asian Paddle Crab

· Outlined partnerships and collaborative programmes undertaken

· The two most popular website visits were for wallabies and woolly nightshade information

· Staff were liaising with Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) regarding available support outside of Waikato should Golden Clams be detected. Potential support was currently limited to supplying eDNA kits, with councils and communities undertaking sampling

· Staff and Te Arawa Lakes Trust (TALT) were working together on formulating surveillance and response plans in the event Golden Clams were identified in the Bay of Plenty region.

In Response to Questions:

· Te Arawa Kahui comprised of eight iwi concerned about the health of the forest, with a focus on wallaby control

· Regular communication with Territorial Authorities provided better understanding of their maintenance programmes for pest plants, and fed into their priorities. A Memorandum of Understanding was also in place with Waka Kotahi.

Resolved

That the Monitoring and Operations Committee:

1 Receives the report, Regional Pest Management Plan Annual report for 2022/23 and Operational Plan for 2023/24;

2 Approves the 2023/24 Operational Plan for the Bay of Plenty Regional Pest Management Plan.

White/Campbell

CARRIED

Information Only

6.2

Kaituna FMU Land Management Update

Presentation: Kaituna Freshwater Management Unit update: Objective ID A4458378

Presented by: Anna Dawson – Land Management Officer and Tegan Arnold – Land Management Officer, supported by Pim de Monchy – Coastal Catchments Manager

Key Points:

· Outlined the Environmental Programme Delivery

· Waitepuia and Ford Road catchments were selected due to the degraded health of the Maketū Estuary

· Best practice drain works was a ‘V’ shape, a large setback for fencing and well planted to provide cooler water temperatures and better habitat for biodiversity

· Highlighted Kaituna wetlands work, with the focus for the remainder of 2023 being pest plant control

· Funding support was now being offered outside of focus catchments in the Upper Kaituna

· 16 Programmes were underway for the current financial year, ten developing, 44,000 plants planned and 2.1km of fencing

· Te Wharekaniwha Estate monitoring showed an increase of shore skink and katipo

· A new publicly accessible wetland development and restoration was planned for the Lawrence Oliver Park Community Wetland in Te Puke, with Fonterra already pledging $10K towards the project

· Community and care groups were covering approximately 26,000 hectares within the catchment.

Key Points - Members:

· Commended staff on how the agenda items illustrated the connectivity between the various workstreams

· As significant investment and time went into mitigations, future reporting on overall outcomes, e.g. cost/benefit analysis, would be valuable.

In Response to Questions:

· The cost of wetland restoration varied substantially depending on what the objectives were:

o The most expensive option cost between $150K-$190K per hectare, being a fully constructed wetland to NIWA standards, maximising contaminant removal,

o The lower end of the spectrum was minor earthworks and planting, changing hydraulic input controls to manage water levels, at a cost of approximately $20K-$30K per hectare.

o A more natural saltmarsh environment where a small proportion of the area was planted and the remainder naturally regenerated could cost $5K -$10K per hectare

· Monitoring was not always undertaken as it could sometimes exceed the cost of the works, but sufficient monitoring needed to occur to ensure the work was making a difference

· Further discussion around how to fund this work and trade-offs would occur through the Long Term Plan (LTP) 2024-34 workshop process.

Resolved

That the Monitoring and Operations Committee:

1 Receives the report, Kaituna FMU Land Management Update.

von Dadelszen/Nees

CARRIED

11:30 am – The meeting adjourned.

11.48 – The meeting reconvened.

6.3

Annual Report of the University of Waikato Toihuarewa Waimāori and Toihuarewa Takutai, and Lake Rotorua Science Review Report

Presentation: Annual Report of the University of Waikato Toihuarewa Waimāori and Lake Rotorua Science Review Report: Objective ID A4472108

Presented by: Andy Bruere – Lake Operations Manager and Associate Professor Deniz Ozkundakci

Chair Cr Winters acknowledged Professor and Chair of Coastal Science Chris Battershill, for being honoured with the lifetime achievement award from the New Zealand Marine Science Society. Professor Battershill noted that he would provide his Toihuarewa Takutai Coastal Chair’s update to the next meeting.

Key Points – Plan Change 10:

· Played a video where independent reviewer Professor Warwick Vincent provided an overview of the five year assessment for Plan Change 10 work undertaken on the Lake Rotorua catchment

· Outlined the nutrient loads required to meet water quality targets in Lake Rotorua

· Some of the data sets were now looking at time series of more than 20 years, which was substantial for a lakes monitoring programme. This enabled scientists to see the long term trajectory of water quality and understand the linkage between catchment nutrient loads and in-lake water quality

· Despite improvements in water quality, the trophic level index (TLI) target of 4.2 still classed Lake Rotorua as moderately nutrient-enriched. This target meant that algae blooms were still expected to occur on a regular basis

· Lake Rotorua responded to annual weather events, long term climate changes, catchment nutrient dynamics and nutrient delivery mechanisms

· Ongoing support in catchment management activities was crucial to ensure sustainable improvement in water quality.

Key Points – Annual Report

· A major research theme was connectivity and sustainable catchments, related to understanding cumulative effects of land use, other ecological effects and areas affected by flood and drainage management schemes

· Aiming to develop a better understanding of cultural priorities for freshwater restoration was a key aspect, including ensuring monitoring and modelling tools were meaningful and relevant to iwi/hapū

· Developing and trialling artificial reefs in the Rotorua Te Arawa lakes was part of the Restoring Freshwater Habitats for Future project, with the aim of providing refuge and habitat for koura threatened by the catfish invasion

· A complex modelling framework was being developed to understand the effects/benefits of the Ōhau Diversion wall of water quality on Lake Rotoiti

· Outlined national scale projects including lake ecosystem modelling

· Highlighted temperature projections under different climate change scenarios for New Zealand and potential implications

· Future research would focus on knowledge gaps around climate change impacts, extreme weather effects on lake ecosystems and mitigation.

In Response to Questions:

· Aluminium bound phosphorous permanently, and did not re-release it back into the environment. Whilst there was a mechanical disruption through high turbulence or highly acidic conditions that could release the bond, this was not expected to be possible in Lake Rotorua

· Evidence was clear from Plan Change 10 that Alum dosing in the streams had substantially contributed to the improvement in lake water quality

· Trout population was controlled and managed carefully in Te Arawa lakes, which meant the effects on koura were better managed compared to catfish impacts, where the population was self-sustaining and uncontrolled. Since the introduction of catfish into the lakes, koura population had diminished by 95%

· A trial repair for the Ōhau wall holes would be completed by summer 2023, comprising approximately ten panels in a test of the repair methodology

· Staff would provide a brief to members explaining, in layman’s terms, Professor Warwick Vincent’s recommendations and their impacts.

Resolved

That the Monitoring and Operations Committee:

1 Receives the report, Annual Report of the University of Waikato Toihuarewa Waimāori and Toihuarewa Takutai, and Lake Rotorua Science Review Report.

von Dadelszen/White

CARRIED

6.4

Biodiversity Operations Report

Presented by: Shay Dean – Environmental Scientist and Chris Ingle – General Manager, Integrated Catchments

In Response to Questions:

· Wilding pine control methods were dependent upon the infestation level/ density of pines, with helicopters currently being the most efficient option and drones being a potential option in the future.

Resolved

That the Monitoring and Operations Committee:

1 Receives the report, Biodiversity Operations Report.

Macmillan/Scott

CARRIED

6.5

Update on the Lake Rotorua Incentives Scheme

Presented by: Rosemary Cross – Senior Projects Manager – Rotorua Catchments and Helen Creagh – Rotorua Catchments Manager

Key Points - Members:

· Supported having a pragmatic discussion about purchasing an entity/entities as outlined in the report.

In Response to Questions:

· Although Māori landowners owned approximately 24% of land in the catchment, they had contributed 57% of the incentives target to date, and having this level of commitment from private landowners would help reach the target

· General acceptance from landowners had been observed in recent years, i.e. that change was necessary, and this was largely inter-generational.

Resolved

That the Monitoring and Operations Committee:

1 Receives the report, Update on the Lake Rotorua Incentives Scheme.

White/Shirley

CARRIED

6.6

Climate Change Quarterly Report

Presentation: Pathway to Net Zero: Objective ID A4470939

Presented by: Nic Newman – Climate Change Programme Manager and Baptiste Natali – Corporate Sustainability Officer

Key Points:

· Noted the steep increase in emissions over the past year and sequestration on Council land for the first time, in Pāpāmoa Hills

· Emissions came mostly from an increase in flood pump use due to persistent heavy rainfall. Plans were underway to electrify the main diesel pump and investigate electrifying two others

· Work was still underway looking at how to reduce high emissions overall, with a separate workstream exploring how to reduce energy demands

· The aim was to fully electrify the BOPRC vehicle fleet by 2033, this was slowed by electric utes unlikely to be available until 2026

· Highlighted current carbon storage from Pāpāmoa Hills Regional Park – calculations used showed how BOPRC could reach Net-Zero by 2050, supported by sequestration at a potential new regional park.

In Response to Questions:

· Increased bus patronage was the best outcome for the environment as it meant less cars on the road

· The blue carbon sequestration rates would be received in September 2023 and staff would report these to a subsequent meeting

· An updated climate change action plan would be brought to councillors for discussion and input.

Resolved

That the Monitoring and Operations Committee:

1 Receives the report, Climate Change Quarterly Report.

Nees/Macmillan

CARRIED

6.7

Environmental Code of Practice for Rivers & Drainage Maintenance Activities - 2022-2023 Annual Review

Presented by: Chris Ingle – General Manager, Integrated Catchments

Key Points - Members:

· Emphasised the importance of providing latitude and discretion to make immediate decisions in adverse events, relevant to the circumstances to the rivers and drainage team.

Key Points - Staff:

· There was provision under the Resource Management Act (RMA) to undertake emergency work.

Resolved

That the Monitoring and Operations Committee:

1 Receives the report, Environmental Code of Practice for Rivers & Drainage Maintenance Activities - 2022-2023 Annual Review.

Leeder/Crosby

CARRIED

6.8

Rates Collection Update

Presented by: Jo Pellew – Rates Manager

Key Points - Staff:

· Monthly instalment rates related to the financial year, meaning the remaining two instalments would be at the new rate.

Resolved

That the Monitoring and Operations Committee:

1 Receives the report, Rates Collection Update.

Nees/Shirley

CARRIED

1.29 pm – the meeting closed.

Confirmed

Cr Kevin Winters

Chairperson, Monitoring and Operations Committee



Report To:	Monitoring and Operations Committee
Meeting Date:	30 November 2023
Report Authoriser:	Reuben Fraser

Chairperson's Report

Executive Summary

This report provides an update on key matters of interest for Monitoring and Operations Committee members including:

· Biosecurity Update

· Regulatory Compliance Update

· Rotorua Air Quality Programme Update

· Water Shortage Programme Update

· Consents Update

Recommendations

That the Monitoring and Operations Committee:

1 Receives the report, Chairperson's Report.

1. Purpose

The report provides an update on key matters of interest for Monitoring and Operations Committee members.

2. Matters of Potential Interest

2.1 Biosecurity Update

2.1.1 Freshwater gold clam (Corbicula fluminea)

New protections for the Te Arawa lakes are in place via a mechanism under the Biosecurity Act known as a Controlled Area Notice (CAN). This new CAN came into effect at midday on Friday, 10 November 2023. The new CAN replaces the Initial temporary CAN, which saw the closure of Lake Ōkataina on 1 October, and applies to all 14 Te Arawa Lakes.

Specific requirements for Lake Ōkataina:

Under the specific requirements outlined in the new CAN, all boats intending to enter Lake Ōkataina must undergo cleaning at a designated wash station in Rotorua. This directive supplements the clam specific Check Clean Dry requirements applicable to all boats that have been in the Waikato River. Furthermore, access to Lake Ōkataina will be regulated, permitting entry only from Friday to Sunday, between 6:30 am and 7:00 pm.

Requirements for all 14 Te Arawa Lakes:

Any boat that has been in the Waikato River within the preceding 30 days must undergo mandatory cleaning at a designated wash station before being allowed on the water. This directive also supplements the clam specific Check Clean Dry requirements applicable to all boats that have been in the Waikato River

Designated wash stations:

At present, The Wash Place at 338 Te Ngae Road in Rotorua is the only designated wash down facility. Biosecurity New Zealand with support from response partners, Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Te Arawa Lakes Trust, Rotorua Lakes Council and Fish and Game investigating other potential wash sites including a temporary wash station on Lake Ōkataina.

At the station, boaties must thoroughly wash down their vessels/craft and certify that they have done so by either filling out a boat wash form and presenting this on the dash of their vehicles, or by filling out an electronic form by scanning QR codes found at the designated washdown facility. Our biosecurity contractors at Te Arawa Lakes Trust will monitor compliance with the CAN requirements at the boat ramps.

The Wash Place operates as a commercial facility, and a fee is applicable for the boat and trailer washing service, with costs varying based on the selected cycle length. The station remains open 24/7, and detailed instructions on how to complete the washdown are available on-site. Temporary staffing will be in place to assist individuals in fulfilling the washdown requirements.

2.2 Regulatory Compliance Update

2.2.1 Enforcement

For this reporting period (1 July 2023 - 1 November 2023), Regional Council has issued 63 abatement notices and 26 infringement notices, totalling $16,300 in fines in relation to breaches of Regional Plan rules and/or Resource Consent conditions. Abatement notices are for a range of activities and predominately require the cessation of discharges to land and air. Seven abatement notices were served to address non-compliance in association with taking water. Seven Infringements were served for breach of abatement notices, seven for discharge of contaminants to land and five infringements for discharges to air.

At the last meeting it was reported the Legacy Funeral Homes were convicted and fined a total of $70,000 and Brooklyn Dairy Farm Limited were convicted and fined a total of $56,250 for a discharge of farm dairy effluent to a nearby drain.

On Monday 6 November 2023 we received the sentencing decisions for Te Rahu Orchards Limited and Chlorofield Limited.

Te Rahu Orchard Limited, developed a gold kiwifruit orchard during 2021 and abstracted groundwater above permitted activity limits for the 2022 and 2023 season. Judge Smith convicted the company and fined it $35,000. Judge Smith stated the offending was deliberate and significant and noted strong deterrence is needed. This is the first sentence we have received of five prosecutions we have taken for unauthorised water takes.

Chlorofield Limited were convicted and fined $40,000 for the discharge of farm dairy effluent to land where was likely to have entered the Waitetī Stream. The discharge was caused because of poor operation of the travelling irrigator caused the hose to disconnect and the lack of a failsafe meant the pump continued to discharge until the sump was emptied.

We currently have seven matters before the courts in relation to RMA Enforcement. Five cases have had guilty pleas submitted and are awaiting sentencing decisions. Two are progressing through the courts.

Alpine Petfoods is one of the cases where we are awaiting sentencing decision on where there has been a long history of odour issues from the factory in Judea. At the beginning of November we were able to confirm that Alpine have now moved their petfood manufacturing operation to a new plant in Palmerston North.

2.2.2 Pollution Hotline and Complaints Response

· 821 service requests were received for the period 1 July to 1 November 2023. This equates to an average of seven jobs per day. 34% of service requests were received after-hours. 22 were urgent service requests responded to within 12 hours.

· 63% of all service requests during the period related to air quality concerns, the majority being odour (239 service requests) and smoke (192 service requests). 33% of service requests were related to water and land issues mostly discharges to water (121 service requests) and discharges to land (47 service requests).

· 24% of service requests (193) were substantiated (i.e. a confirmed breach of the Resource Management Act, a Regional Plan, or a National Environmental Standard).

· 88% of service requests were actioned within one day. 99% were actioned within three working days. All 22 urgent service requests were actioned within 12 hours of receipt of the initial call.

2.2.3 Forestry Compliance Update

Legislation and Regional Plan

Following the review of Cyclone Gabrielle the National Environmental Standard for Plantation Forestry (NES-PF) has been reviewed and amended. The newly named National Environmental Standard – Commercial Forestry (NES-CF) was released on 3 October 2023 and came into force on 3 November 2023.

The NES-CF applies to both plantation forests and exotic continuous-cover forests (carbon forests) that are deliberately established for commercial purposes.

According to the Ministry for the Environment, this will mean that environmental effects of large-scale forestry on the environment, communities and rural economies will be able to be better managed.

They will also:

· enable councils to consider more factors when making rules about forestry in their plans, including its location.

· require carbon foresters to plan out how they will meet environmental requirements for different forestry activities on their sites. These requirements for plantation foresters already exist. Existing requirements for plantation foresters have been updated and expanded.

· state clear rules for carbon forest harvest should this be undertaken.

· introduce a range of operational changes including a new permitted activity standard for managing forestry slash at harvest and new requirements around management of wilding trees.

Council staff are investigating how these changes may apply in our region or how it may affect the Regional Natural Resources Plan review. Alongside this staff area also looking at developing rules to address windthrow and the risks created by the woody debris and slope destabilisation that can occur from un-salvaged windthrow.

Training and Recruitment

Since the last update Paraone Butler started with the compliance team on in September to fill our forestry compliance vacancy. Paraone comes to Council with 20 years forestry experience including as contractor and crew manager in most of the Eastern Bay forests. This summer the Compliance team have a third-year forestry student joining for the Summer Assistant programme. Some of the projects they will be working on include upgrading Council’s forestry notification process to receive geospatial maps and reviewing the BOPRC erosion and sediment controls (forestry).

Compliance staff have commenced drone training, to incorporate drone imagery and mapping into forestry compliance monitoring, and enforcement.

Stakeholder Groups

The Central North Island Wood Council has picked up the administration of the Bay of Plenty Forestry Stakeholder group. This will help sustain the group long term. The group has another meeting on 22 November 2023, the final meeting of the year. The new NES-CF forming a large part of the agenda.

The first meeting of the Central North Island Forestry Regulators Group (Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay, Whanganui Horizons Regional Councils) was held in Taupō on the 16 and 17 August – the aim of this group is to increase consistency of Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement across forestry activities. The group will meet in person four times per year and more frequently online as required. The next online meeting is planned for December 2023 to discuss the new NES-CF.

Whitikau Forest

In 2018 non-compliance was prosecuted and parties fined $65,000. Since then the consent holder has changed. Staff faced challenges communicating with consent holder as they’re headquartered in India. This meant difficulty gaining access to the forest to recommence inspections. The first re-inspection occurred in October 2022 and was rated Moderate Non-Compliance. All harvesting operations have ceased at this point. After communication established with consent holder’s representative in Gisborne, remediation to address non-compliance commenced in January 2022. This included:

· Recovery and removal of multiple pieces of abandoned and damaged heavy equipment (hauler, log truck, swing yarder, digger).

· Establishment, re-establishment and maintenance of erosions and sediment controls.

· Remediation of perched slash and overburden on skid sites and road edges, and stabilisation of exposed ground.

· Removal of windthrown logs using helicopter.

· Decommissioning of infrastructure and roads as contractors withdrew from the site.

In late October 2023 the site achieved compliance and the consent holder has requested to surrender the consent. There is still 50ha of plantation remaining, but the consent holder does not view this as viable to harvest. This does not prevent the landowner or another entity, with landowner permission, from applying for a new consent and re-commencing harvesting at a later date.

Matangareka No.3B Block

This block was included in the risk assessment presented to this committee in June due to proximity to the Raukōkore River and the state highway. The forest was most recently inspected in October as part of a complaint from a local lands trust. Two compliance officers attended for two days to understand the concerns of the customers and conduct inspections into the forest. The complaint was not substantiated and the track upgrades in question were assessed to be compliant. Harvesting is not likely in the immediate future due to log price and cost of diesel. PF Olsen have been made aware of the concerns of landowners. If/when a notification to harvest is received, compliance staff will engage with PF Olsen accordingly. Although the complaint was unsubstantiated, Council staff fostered some great relationships with the Māori land trust and local community.

Haupoto Forest (Motu Bluffs) debris flow

The harvest area was audited by a Bay of Plenty Regional Council Compliance Officer on 15 June 2023. The site was assessed as complying and the audit report noted the efforts that had been made to remove debris from the steep incised guts, but that material still remained which would need to be monitored.

Following the debris flow across SH35 on 20 August 2023, Waka Kotahi maintenance contractor, Higgins Contractors, responded immediately, cleared the logs and reopened the road. In consultation with the community, the decision was made to defer the final clean-up of material on the riverbank until after the white bait season finished at the end of October. The material in its current location is well out of the flow path of the river so presents minimal risk. BOPRC compliance staff have further inspected the site and determined it to be compliant, but that risk remains from windthrown trees in the incised gully and standing trees above the road.

Council have received the draft investigation report from Manulife Forest Management. This report proposes how to further reduce risk from further discharge of debris. This has led to a number of stakeholder meetings (Manulife, Landowner, Waka Kotahi and BOPRC) to address the remaining trees and reduce risk of further discharge. Manulife and Waka Kotahi are developing options to manage the remaining areas of trees (~14ha) that are considered to be impractical for harvest due to the severe topographical limitations. It is proposed that wider consultation will be carried out to discuss and agree the preferred option.

2.3 Rotorua Airshed Update

2.3.1 Industrial Audits at Ngapuna, Rotorua

Staff began auditing Ngāpuna industrial sites in October, specifically to assess their site-management of dust and stormwater discharges. In an El Nino weather pattern Ngāpuna is high-risk for a Rotorua Airshed exceedance of the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality. Staff are raising this risk with industrial site managers and working with them to create and/or update Dust Management Plans. When dust levels are elevated, the Ngapuna (Moses Road) air quality monitoring site sends alerts to staff. Staff respond as quickly as possible to track down the source, and instruct the company to mitigate their dust i.e. activate sprinklers or their water cart. This compliance work is expected to be on-going over the summer months.

2.3.2 Winter domestic woodburner enforcement

Winter woodburner enforcement has ended. This was the first-time infringement notices were issued for non-complying burner use. Some rental properties were identified with form of heating other than non-complying burners. When compliance officers found these, enforcement action was taken against the landlords – not the tenants. Compliance officers also came across some low-income, vulnerable owner-occupiers using non-complying burners. This vulnerable group often have health issues, compounded by cold living environments. To protect the health of this group, and achieve the outcome of improved air quality, staff help them complete funding applications to EECA’s Warmer Kiwi Homes Scheme. The twenty percent (unfunded EECA portion) is topped up by Council through funding approved in Council’s Annual Plan, specifically for this vulnerable group.

2.4 Potential Water Shortage Event – Planning for the 2023/24 season

After a start to 2023 that saw severe rainfall events in many parts of the North Island, it is hard to believe that we are already starting to put our minds towards a summer of hot, dry and windy conditions. But that seems to be what the forecast for many parts of the North Island, particularly in the East, is suggesting. The NIWA seasonal climate outlook provides a summary of the predicted climate for the coming months.

Currently our region’s waterways, lakes and aquifer levels are not showing any signs of concern. However, it is possible that at some point over the coming months we may be needing to keep a closer eye on them as conditions dry out and water demand increases. We got through last spring and summer without much discussion around droughts and water shortage, but that was on the back of two to three particularly dry seasons where we got extremely close to having to issue a Water Shortage Direction (Section 329 RMA - Water Shortage Direction) for some parts of the region.

Staff are building on the experience gained since early 2020 when very dry conditions resulted in a formal Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) being adopted by Council (subsequently updated). A summary of the SOP can be found on our webpage: https://www.boprc.govt.nz/environment/climate-change/dry-weather-water-management. Since early 2020 staff have made better use of the available data, including our own Council monitoring of rivers, groundwater, soil moisture and rainfall, to develop various tools and clearer reporting. An example of this is the regular issuing of Situation Reports, which were well received by stakeholder groups, and have continued to be refined.

In addition to our own inhouse refinements, various organisations are now collectively striving for more consistent messaging around Drought and Water Shortage Event management throughout New Zealand. Although the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) are a lead agency in relation to rural impacts, Local Government have a key part to play in managing effects on both the environment and on people. Regional Council representatives, including our own Environmental Information Services Manager, Glenn Ellery, sit on this National Group.

Last month staff commenced direct communications to various organisations within the Bay of Plenty, including MPI, Emergency Management Bay of Plenty, Territorial Authorities, as well as key stakeholders within the horticultural, agricultural and forestry industries. These communications set the scene for what may play out over the coming months. It is expected that a further update will be issued this side of Christmas. At this stage there is no need to issue a Situation Report, however this will be re-assessed in December.

2.5 Resource Consents Update

The consents team are off to a busy start for this financial year. There were 206 consent applications lodged during July – October 2022 and 223 for the same period this year. 188 consents have been granted in the same period and there have been a number of notified consent applications lately. The team is on track to meeting their statutory timeframe KPI.

Figure 1 - Resource Consent Applications Received and Decisions Made during July – October 2023

2.5.1 Customer Satisfaction Survey

For the calendar year to end of October there were 73 responses to our customer satisfaction survey. The link to the online survey is provided to consent holders a week after they receive their consent decision. The individual survey responses are anonymous unless a participant wants to be contacted and supplies their contact details. Of the responses received, 61 participants (84%) advised that they were satisfied or very satisfied with the service.

Many of the suggestions received, such as face to face meetings, making GIS information available, and making information easier to access, are already available. Staff are working on making this more accessible via our website and encouraging contact with the duty planner as the first step for any potential applicants.

The high standard of communication between staff and applicants or applicants representatives continues to be key reason given for the high levels of satisfaction.

2.5.2 Consents of Interest

The existing Whanarua Bay community water supply (from a private scheme) was granted consent and appealed by Nicholas Turoa, Te Motuaruhe 3B1 Trusts, the Owners of Te Motuaruhe 3B3A Te Whānau a Rangi-I-Runga, Te Whānau a Kahuratao, and Te Whānau a Apanui. Mediation with the appellant was undertaken on 8 November and has not resolved the appeal. Discussions between the parties are continuing.

Mediation for the Ōpōtiki marina (Ngāti Irapuaia and Ngāi Tamahaua) appeal starts on 15 November.

The Higgins asphalt plant (Hewletts Road, Mount Maunganui) replacement consent application hearing was on 7/8 November. The consultant planner for BOPRC recommended decline. Toi Te Ora presented evidence regarding the health impacts from poor air quality at Mt Maunganui and submissions were also heard from Whareroa Marae and Clear the Air community group. At the hearing the applicant changed the application to increase the stack height to 28m and seek a shorter consent duration (5.5 years down from ten years). A decision from the commissioners is expected in January 2024.

The Allied asphalt plant (Aerodrome Road, Mount Maunganui) resource consent application is continuing through the direct referral process with the Environment Court. Of the 103 submitters, five submitters have joined the direct referral process including Whareroa Marae/Ngāti Kuku, Clear the Air and Toi Te Ora. The date for the Environment Court hearing has not yet been set. The consultant planner for BOPRC has recommended approval and the proposal is for a major upgrade.

We are still waiting a decision from the Environment Court on the Port of Tauranga Stellar Passage consent application following the hearing in March.

The Minister for the Environment accepted the following applications to be processed through Fast-track:

• Taheke Geothermal proposal for a geothermal power station,

• Summerset Rotorua proposal for a retirement village and separate commercial hub on Fairy Springs Rd

• Pitau proposal for a multistorey retirement village at Mt Maunganui

• Ngongotahā residential development.

The Milbrow Estate 91 lot rural-residential development in Hamurana Rotorua was not accepted for Fast-track consenting.

We have been working with the four applicants prior to their lodgement of fast-track applications with the Environmental Protection Authority.

Commissioners decided to grant 294 applications for existing lake structures at Lake Rotoiti following a hearing. Te Arawa Lakes Trust submitted requesting a 10-year consent duration. Applicants sought a 30-year duration. The commissioners granted a 30-year duration and the decision has not been appealed.

Consent was granted to Genera for fumigation at the Port of Tauranga following a hearing. The decision has been appealed by Clear the Air and Tauranga Moana Fumigation Action Group.

The application from Southern Generation to remove debris islands and dredge the Rangitāiki River upstream of Lake Aniwaniwa is currently open for submissions. The work is proposed to alleviate flooding of surrounding farmland.

Te Huata 10,000 ha marine farm consent application is currently open for submissions. The site is approximately 6km offshore from Te Kaha.

243 submissions were received on the joint notification with Western Bay of Plenty District Council on the Te Puna Industrial Ltd application. A joint hearing with the district council will be scheduled for next year.

Rotorua Lakes Council has progressed their application for a Rotorua Comprehensive Stormwater Consent. The application is currently open for submissions.

The final decision from the Environment Court has been received for the Tauranga Bridge Marina. The decision bolsters the review conditions, relationship conditions (between Ngāti Kuku and the Tauranga Bridge Marina Board), kaitiaki group and marina management plan conditions of the consent.



Report To:	Monitoring and Operations Committee
Meeting Date:	30 November 2023
Report Writer:	Matthew Harrex, Compliance Manager - Land and Water
Report Authoriser:	Reuben Fraser, General Manager, Regulatory Services
Purpose:	Update on Compliance Activity for the 2022/23

2022/2023 Compliance Activity Report

Executive Summary

This report presents a summary of the compliance activity for the 2022/2023 year. It presents a summary of the consent compliance monitoring undertaken over the year, results of the permitted activity monitoring programme, an update on enforcement action and a summary of our pollution response activity.

Recommendations

That the Monitoring and Operations Committee:

1 Receives the report, 2022/2023 Compliance Activity Report.

1. Introduction

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council (Regional Council) uses a variety of regulatory and non-regulatory tools to manage the environmental impacts of activities throughout the region, including rules made and resource consents issued under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). Compliance with the requirements of these rules and resource consents provides an important measure of how we, as a regulatory authority, engage with the community to manage environmental impacts.

This report provides a brief summary of Regional Council’s compliance, monitoring and enforcement activity through the 2022/2023 year.

1.1 Legislative Framework

The Regulatory Compliance function primarily operates as a core council requirement under the Resource Management Act; which sets out an obligation for Regional Councils to monitor and enforce compliance with the Act and any associated instruments (eg. National Environment Standards), Regional plan rules and resource consents.

There is some crossover with other legislation through activities such as incident response and enforcement proceedings.

On 24 August 2023 the Natural and Built Environment Act 2023 (NBA) came into effect. While many provisions of the NBA do not come into effect until we have a new plan under the act there are some provisions in relation to compliance monitoring and enforcement that came into effect on the 24 August 2023:

· Offending that occurred post 24 August 2023 is now subject to increased penalties to $1 million (from $300,000) for individuals and to $10 million (from $600,000) for companies.

· Defendants can no longer elect trial by jury as the maximum prison sentence was reduced to 18 months.

· Abatement notices can be used to require preventative action to be taken.

· There is wider scope to recover costs for permitted activity monitoring and compliance.

1.2 Alignment with Strategic Framework

A Healthy Environment	We develop and implement regional plans and policy to protect our natural environment.
Freshwater for Life	Good decision making is supported through improving knowledge of our water resources.
The Way We Work	We provide great customer service.

1.2.1 Community Well-beings Assessment

Dominant Well-Beings Affected

þ Environmental

High - Positive

þ Cultural

Medium - Positive

þ Social

Low - Positive

þ Economic

Low - Positive

This report provides a brief summary of Regional Council’s compliance, monitoring and enforcement activity through the 2022/2023 year.

2. Compliance Monitoring

2.1 Overview

Compliance monitoring is an important tool for ensuring that consent holders and members of the public are undertaking activities in the correct manner and complying with the conditions of any applicable resource consents or Regional Plan rules.

Consented activities are monitored through a combination of site inspections and desktop performance monitoring, which involves the review of data and reporting provided by consent holders.

The frequency for site inspections is determined according to a range of factors, including the nature, scale, and environmental risks associated with the activity. This frequency is reviewed annually and outlined in Council’s RMA and Building Act Charges Policy.

The frequency for performance monitoring is considered during the consent application process and set out in the conditions of a resource consent.

2.2 2022/2023 Compliance Monitoring Results

Throughout 2022/23, Regional Council undertook 3,572 site inspections and reviewed 13,761 performance monitoring returns from consent holders across 4,439 consents.

Compliance results for site inspections showed that 77% were complying with their consents, and only 1% were in significant non-compliance. While full compliance is down from last year (79%) we have not seen an increase in significant non-compliance. Compliance remains relatively consistent with numbers seen in previous years and across other regions.

Of the 13,761 Performance Monitoring returns assessed, 81% were found to be compliant, which is consistent with the previous year. The majority of non-compliance was considered to be low risk, with 55 significant non-compliances identified down from the 144 last year.

The most frequently monitored activities were earthworks, dairy effluent discharges, and water takes. This is consistent with previous years and reflects both the environmental risks associated with these activities, and the volume in which they occur within Bay of Plenty Region.

A number of other activities, such as major infrastructure and industrial facilities, can also present a significant risk and are inspected regularly; however, these are fewer in number, and often have a more significant reliance on performance monitoring.

Compliance results for dairy effluent discharges (65%) were similar to last year, which continues a trend of decreasing compliance levels observed over the last five years. Key issues this reporting period were effluent management and ponding, which was exacerbated by the wet year. Although most issues were considered to be low risk, a number of moderate and significant non-compliances were identified and referred to our investigations team for consideration of further enforcement.

Performance on earthworks sites remained strong with 85% compliance across all inspections; this reflects the significant effort that has been put into monitoring earthworks sites and industry engagement and education, particularly in high-risk and/or intensive development areas in the Western Bay of Plenty.

In recent years, Council has increased focus on consented water use and promoted the uptake of telemetry, in line with the 2020 amendments to the Resource Management (Measurement and Reporting of Water Takes) Regulations 2010. This results in a significant volume of data coming into Council which needs to be reviewed and responded to where necessary. The assessment of water records returns is in the process of being automated which will reduce the staff time required to assess compliance.

Activity	Total inspections	Complying		Low Risk Non-Compliance		Moderate Non-Compliance		Significant Non-Compliance
Activity	Total inspections	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Dairy	278	181	65%	52	19%	27	10%	19	7%
Discharges to air	274	231	83%	36	13%	7	3%	0	0%
Earthworks	1074	892	85%	95	9%	79	7%	8	0.7%
Forestry	29	19	66%	8	28%	2	7%	0	0
Geothermal	994	850	86%	126	11%	16	2%	2	0.2%
OSET	824	371	45%	280	34%	168	20%	5	1%
Water Takes	10,723	9,550	89%	864	8%	257	2%	52	0.4%

Table 1: Compliance Results for High Risk/Priority Activities – site inspections and performance monitoring

3. Permitted Activity Compliance Monitoring

Since early 2022 a programme dedicated to compliance monitoring and enforcement of permitted activities has been delivered. The focus of the programme has been on water takes, earthworks and on-site effluent treatment (OSET) systems. Desktop analysis identified over 400 sites of interest which led to 322 site inspections across the region.

o From the 322 site inspections 69 sites (21%) were identified as non-compliant with permitted activity rules.

o For earthworks activities 52 sites were inspected, 17 were compliant on initial inspection, eight required closer monitoring to ensure compliance through the activity, and 27 were found to be non-complaint

o OSET system inspections identified 16 non-compliant properties, 20 requiring ongoing monitoring and eight compliant systems.

o 22 non-compliant water takes were identified, 93 required closer monitoring to ensure compliance, and 107 were found to be meeting permitted activity rules.

Monitoring level of compliance means the site is either progressing towards a resource consent application or progressing towards complying with permitted activity rules. This is monitored this through follow ups requesting specific actions or further information. In summary, there is active monitoring on their progression towards compliance.

The four “other” activities have been identified through this process are a dam, stormwater discharge to surface water, farm drain cleaning and drilling.

Figure 1: Level of compliance found on initial permitted activity compliance inspections.

A range of approaches were taken, from education and warnings, requiring action to avoid remedy and mitigate environmental effect, and finally taking enforcement action. 33 abatement notices and 12 Infringement notices have been issued. Eight investigations were opened which led to five prosecution proceedings being initiated. Of these we have four guilty pleas and one concluded with the company fined $35,000 for the unauthorised take of ground water. For an individual site there may have been more than one enforcement action taken.

Figure 2: Action taken in response to non-compliance with permitted activity rules.

Of the 332 initially identified sites, 121 are still being actively monitored. The 69 non-complying sites are either now compliant with permitted activity rules or are actively working towards compliance with 23 resource consent applications received. All earthworks sites are now compliant, whereas the process for OSET systems is more complex and time consuming to achieve compliance.

Figure 3: Outcomes achieved from permitted activity monitoring programme

Initial responses from property owners and contractors to compliance visits was generally negative and resistant to engage. Unlike with compliance monitoring for consents this was often their first interaction with the Toi Moana Compliance team. Through taking a balanced approach of education and relationship building and using our enforcement tools in a fair and reasonable manner we are now seeing increased levels of compliance. We are now having contractors and property owners reaching us proactively before they start works to ensure they are undertaking their work in the correct way.

Overall outcomes we are seeing from permitted activity monitoring:

· Increased level of compliance; activities are either authorised by a resource consent, actively progressing their resource consent application, or complying with permitted activity criteria.

· Increased engagement and education resulting in decreased ongoing non-compliance across the Bay of Plenty.

· Capturing potential non-compliance and subsequent environmental outcomes before they occur.

4. Enforcement

In 2022/2023, Regional Council received decisions from the court in relation to three matters, resulting in a total of $69,475 in fines, and 200 hours community work (refer to Table 2). As of 1 July 2023, there were nine other cases still before the courts.

Matter	Summary
BOPRC v. J & F J Nettleingham	On 21 February 2023, Council received the final decision from Judge Kirkpatrick in relation to BOPRC v. J & F J Nettlingham. This case was in relation to a discharge of farm dairy effluent on to land where it may have entered water. The discharged occurred from washdown water from the dairy shed being discharged into the stormwater diversion into a gully and away from the farm dairy effluent storage system. The two parties pleaded guilty and were fined $14,000 each.
BOPRC v. Maitai Ltd	On 6 July 2022, Council received a decision from the Court for the matter of BOPRC v. Maitai – A prosecution relating to the discharge of septic tank waste from a truck onto land where it may have entered the Orini Canal. Mr Maitai pleaded guilty to the charges. Judge Kirkpatrick imposed a sentence of a $5,850 fine and 200 hours of community work for Mr Maitai.
BOPRC v. Whakatāne Mill Ltd	On 6 July 2022, Council received a decision from the court for the matter of BOPRC v Whakatāne Mill Ltd – A prosecution relating to the discharge of plastic waste into the Whakatāne River. Whakatāne Mill Ltd pleaded guilty and Judge Kirkpatrick imposed a fine of $35,625.

Table 2: Prosecution Decisions Received in 2022/23

Regional Council issued 217 (119 in previous year) abatement notices, and 85 infringement notices (51 in previous year), totalling $57,000 in fines. There has been a significant increase in the number of abatement and infringement notices issued this year. Moving to the enforce phase in the Rotorua airshed accounts for many of the increases since the previous year (43 abatement notices and 3 infringement notices). The majority of abatement and infringement notices related to Section 15 offences (discharges of a contaminant).

5. Pollution Hotline Response

The Pollution Hotline is a 24/7 service for members of the community to report incidents and pollution which may be in breach of consent conditions or regional plan rules. In addition to providing an opportunity to identify and respond to incidents as and when they happen, it provides a useful insight into community concerns, particularly when these relate to permitted activities and/or emerging issues.

Figure 4: Number of Pollution Hotline incidents received and responded to by year

In 2022/23, Regional Council received and responded to 2,338 calls through its Pollution Hotline, which is 831 fewer calls than 21/22. In 2020/21, Regional Council received and responded to 3,771 calls through its Hotline, therefore the numbers show a downward trend which most likely can be attributed to reduced dust from open earthworks during a wetter than usual summer and a reduction in odour related calls as two pet food production facilities relocated away from our region. For 22/23 period 100% of urgent service requests were responded to within 12 hours and 98% of all service requests were responded to within three working days.

Figure 5: Service requests by activity for the 2022/23 year

6. Airsheds

The compliance team monitor and investigate any PM10 National Environment Standards for Air Quality (NESAQ) exceedances within the two Air Sheds in our region, Rotorua, and Mount Maunganui. Both Air Sheds continue to show a downward trend in relation to PM10 exceedances of the NESAQ. Rotorua is currently meeting the Air Quality Standard and the Mount Air Shed has recorded two exceedances in this reporting period (Rata Street on 1 December 2012 (80 µg/m³) and Aerodrome Road on 31 January (51 µg/m³)). One exceedance was measured at Rata Street on 19 April 2023, but was granted exceptional circumstances because it was caused by a heavy sea mist.

7. National Benchmarking

For the last five years, the Regional Sector Compliance and Enforcement Special Interest Group (CESIG) has produced an annual report of compliance data collected from Regional Councils and Unitary Authorities. The report is primarily for the purpose of promoting consistency across the regional sector; it also provides an opportunity to benchmark compliance performance in the Bay of Plenty, compared to the rest of the country, at a high level. The report will be shared once it has gone through final approval.

As in previous years, BOPRC is performing well against national benchmarks; monitoring 83% of the required resource consents against a national average of 84% and responded to 100% of calls through to the pollution hotline. From a volume point of view, consents monitored (3,702) and complaints responded to (2,338) are the second and third highest in the country respectively.

Compliance levels of consents are relatively high with over 77% of consents found to be fully complying and only 1% of consents having significant non-compliance. This is above the national average of 67% fully complying nationally and 3% significant non-compliance nationally.

8. Considerations

8.1 Risks and Mitigations

The compliance function operates in a number of high-risk areas, both in terms of environmental risk (particularly through the incident response function), and legal risk through the enforcement function. Regional Council has a number of robust systems and policies in place to manage and mitigate these risks.

8.2 Climate Change

The matters addressed in this report are of a procedural nature and there is no need to consider climate change impacts.

8.3 Implications for Māori

The Māori population in the Bay of Plenty equates to about 28% of the total population. BOPRC has clear statutory obligations to Māori under the Local Government Act 2002 (LGA), and the RMA. In particular, Part 2, Sections 6 and 7 of the RMA recognise and provide for participation in decision-making, having regard to kaitiakitanga, consultation and fostering development.

Tangata whenua, as kaitiaki, seek to protect the natural and physical environment, waahi tapu and other sites of cultural significance to ensure community and cultural sustainability is achieved. This aligns closely with the goals of compliance monitoring and enforcement and is considered in the day to day implementation of our compliance programme.

In practical terms, this may include ensuring tangata whenua are notified of incidents in their rohe ("no surprises" approach) and seeking involvement in projects where appropriate (eg. marae wastewater). We are also more actively looking into opportunities to form partnerships to support shared goals and outcomes. We are working closely with relevant iwi and hapū to understand and articulate the effects of significant non-compliance on tangata whenua to better describe the environmental and cultural harm caused.

8.4 Community Engagement

Engagement with the community is not required as the report is for information only

8.5 Financial Implications

There are no material unbudgeted financial implications and this fits within the allocated budget.

9. Next Steps

The Regulatory Compliance group will continue to implement process improvements to ensure that the compliance monitoring programme is implemented effectively and efficiently. Similarly, staff are continuing to hone data over time to provide avenues for more proactive approaches to encouraging compliance. With a change in Government there is uncertainty around what the future legislative framework will look like. However, we are prepared and agile to respond to changes that may come over the horizon.



Report To:	Monitoring and Operations Committee
Meeting Date:	30 November 2023
Report Writer:	Matthew Harrex, Compliance Manager - Land and Water
Report Authoriser:	Reuben Fraser, General Manager, Regulatory Services
Purpose:	To provide an update on the compliance performance for Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants in the Bay of Plenty Region

Overview of Municipal Wastewater Compliance in the Bay of Plenty Region

Executive Summary

This report is an annual update to the Monitoring and Operations Committee on municipal wastewater (treatment, conveyance, and discharge) in the Bay of Plenty Region. There are 19 municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) servicing communities across the Bay of Plenty.

There are a significant number of challenges faced by Territorial Authorities in the operation of their wastewater treatment plants, which can result in failure to comply with their consent conditions. These challenges are experienced across the region, with a number of non-compliances identified throughout the 2022/2023 financial year, ranging from low-risk or technical non-compliance to significant non-compliance.

2022/2023 was an exceptionally wet year which put additional pressure on Municipal Wastewater Plants. Network overflows continue to be a challenge for Territorial Authorities; however, the adoption of the best practice guide for the management of, and response to overflows from wastewater networks has helped to drive improvements in the quality and consistency of responses to such events.

Central Government continued to work through the water services reform programme, which proposes changes to wastewater asset ownership and operation, as well as oversight of regulation of wastewater activities. With the change of Government, the future of the reforms is unclear. BOPRC will continue to work with councils to respond to any changes in direction when they arise.

Recommendations

That the Monitoring and Operations Committee:

1 Receives the report, Overview of Municipal Wastewater Compliance in the Bay of Plenty Region.

1. Introduction

The attached report is an update on the current situation with regards to municipal wastewater (treatment, conveyance, and discharge) in the Bay of Plenty Region.

There are currently 19 municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) servicing the various communities spread across the Bay of Plenty Region. There are a total of 37 resource consents held by the Territorial Authorities (TAs) authorising the discharges from these WWTPs. There are six TAs responsible for the operation of the WWTPs and compliance with the resource consents.

Additionally, there is one WWTP operated by a community organisation (Kāingaroa Village Inc).

1.1 Legislative Framework

Compliance monitoring is a core council requirement under the Resource Management Act, which sets out an obligation for Regional Councils to monitor and enforce compliance with the Act and any associated instruments (eg. National Environmental Standards), Regional Plan rules and resource consents.

Central Government continued to progress reforms to the three-waters infrastructure sector, which has seen the introduction of a new drinking water regulator, Taumata Arowai, and a number of pieces of legislation to establish the new framework and entities associated with the reform.

In August 2023, the Water Service Legislation Bill was given royal assent, which provided for the establishment of ten Water Service Entities instead of the proposed four. Through Department of Internal Affairs, a National Transition Unit (NTU) has now been established to facilitate the transition of three waters infrastructure from its current owners, TAs, to the new Water Service Entities. As part of this, all relevant resource consents which Regional Council currently administers will need to be transferred to the newly established entity.

Through Te Uru Kahika, the Regional Sector is assisting with the planning for transition of consents, providing information on compliance history and risks, and developing guidance to ensure the regional sector takes a consistent approach for regulation of the new entities.

1.2 Alignment with Strategic Framework

A Healthy Environment	We manage our natural resources effectively through regulation, education and action.
Freshwater for Life	We collaborate with others to maintain and improve our water resource for future generations.

A strong regulatory oversight of wastewater treatment plants and systems allows us to ensure we have a healthy environment as we can pre-empt issues and work with TAs to solve problems relating to non-compliant discharges.

Collaboration and good working relationshipa with TAs and tangata whenua is important to ensure we take a “no surprises approach”. The Regional Wastewater Management Group allows us to share ideas across the region. TAs more experienced in some areas can provide support to others.

1.2.1 Community Well-beings Assessment

Dominant Well-Beings Affected

þ Environmental

High - Positive

þ Cultural

Medium - Positive

þ Social

Medium - Positive

þ Economic

Low - Positive

2. 2022/23 Wastewater Infrastructure Performance

2.1 Compliance Performance

There are a significant number of challenges faced by the TAs in the operation of their WWTPs, which can result in failure to comply with their consent conditions. These challenges are experienced across the region, with various non-compliances identified throughout the 2022/2023 financial year, ranging from low-risk or technical non-compliance to significant non-compliance. These challenges include:

• Aging infrastructure (both at WWTPs and wastewater networks)

• Increased rainfall due to severe weather events

• Increased population during the popular summer months

• Inflow and Infiltration (I&I) into the pipe networks

• Unforeseen mechanical and electrical failures

• Expected permanent population increase

• Budget constraints for infrastructure upgrades and maintenance and securing adequate workforce and technical training.

No TA was fully compliant with their resource consents for the 2022/2023 reporting period.

2.2 Network Overflows

Network overflows can present a risk to both the environment and the community. There are several factors that can lead to an unauthorised network overflow, including blockage because of wipes, congealed fat, and roots. Whilst emergency discharges from WWTPs may be provided for by resource consent, network overflows are neither permitted nor consented. A Regional Wastewater Management Group, comprised of representatives from all the TAs, Toi te Ora and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, was set up to develop a best practice guide for the TAs to follow in the reporting and management of overflows. The best practice guide was finalised in November 2019 and has been adopted by all TAs to guide their response to overflows.

Given network overflows are uncontrolled events, they cannot be authorised as discharges under a resource consent. Therefore, adherence to the Guide, which includes maintenance and proactive measures to avoid overflows occurring, is a critical component in considering enforcement in relation to such discharges.

Figure 1 below shows that there has been an increase in wastewater overflows for the 2022/23 year. This is not surprising given the exceptionally wet year and number of intense rain events experienced, putting additional pressure on the networks.

Figure 1: Number of network overflows to land, water, or the storm water system for 20212/22 and 2022/23

3. Considerations

3.1 Risks and Mitigations

3.2 Climate Change

The matters addressed in this report are of a procedural nature and there is no need to consider climate change impacts.

However, the impact of climate change on wastewater infrastructure is a significant issue facing TAs, particularly in low lying coastal areas. The Bay of Plenty Lifeline Utilities Group (Emergency Management Bay of Plenty is a member) is tendering for a full Climate Change Risk Assessment which will focus on infrastructure, including the three waters. The outcomes will inform adaptation by individual Lifeline Utilities (including TAs).

3.3 Implications for Māori

Māori have identified discharges of treated and untreated wastewater to water to be of concern, particularly where that discharge is to freshwater. New consents such as the Rotoiti/Rotoma WWTP have included pre-treatment in response to cultural impact assessments developed by the relevant iwi and will use land treatment and disposal methods. Other consents require the formation of Iwi Liaison and Kaitiaki Groups.

Staff understand that the key aspects identified by iwi include:

· The transport of wastewater through and disposal of wastewater in separate rohe

· Active involvement in monitoring both before and after the consent is granted

· Consultation in the proposed WWTP design and disposal method

· Sharing of information

· Up-skilling of young people in environmental management and the RMA

· Introduction of aspects of mātauranga Māori in monitoring and response to issues.

TAs are encouraged to notify tangata whenua of network overflows, and each TA is currently developing their own Iwi notification procedure following consultation.

3.4 Community Engagement

Engagement with the community is not required as this report is for information only.

3.5 Financial Implications

There are no material unbudgeted financial implications and this fits within the allocated budget.

4. Next Steps

Council will continue to monitor TA’s compliance with their respective consents relating to wastewater operations. With a number of consents due to expire in the next 10 years we will work with TAs to support early planning for the re-consenting process.

Attachments

Attachment 1 - Overview of Wastewater Treatment Plant Compliance in the Bay of Plenty 2022/23 ⇩



Report To:	Monitoring and Operations Committee
Meeting Date:	30 November 2023
Report Writer:	Stephen Mellor, Compliance Manager - Air, Industry & Response; Reece Irving, Senior Regulatory Project Officer and Kim Boyer, Executive Assistant - CE and Chair of Council
Report Authoriser:	Reuben Fraser, General Manager, Regulatory Services
Purpose:	To provide an update on activities undertaken to improve air quality and the wider environment in the Mount Maunganui industrial airshed.

Mount Maunganui Industrial Area Update

Executive Summary

This report provides an update on activities undertaken to improve air quality and the wider environment in the Mount Maunganui industrial airshed. The report covers the period from mid-August until early November 2023

During this period, no breaches of the PM10 National Environmental Standards for Air Quality (NESAQ) were recorded within the airshed meaning there have been no breaches recorded for the 2023/24 financial year. An application made to the Ministry for the Environment for dispensation for a breach in April 2023 was granted meaning there were a total of two breaches of PM10 in the airshed in the 2022/23 financial year of which one is permitted under the NESAQ.

The report includes an update from the Data Services Team on the implementation of the low-cost monitoring network which is now live in the Mount Maunganui residential area and the early findings of data collected from there, as well as the findings of the comprehensive NERMN Air Quality Report which undertakes a detailed analysis of air quality trends within the Mount Maunganui air-shed. The overall picture is that the levels of contaminants detected on the Regional Council air monitoring network shows continued downward trends in air-borne contamination.

Recommendations

That the Monitoring and Operations Committee:

1 Receives the report, Mount Maunganui Industrial Area Update.

1. Introduction

This update continues regular reporting on activities and actions undertaken to mitigate the impacts of discharges to air and the wider environment in the Mount Maunganui industrial area. Air quality in the area has been perceived as degrading over time as industrial activities and vehicle movements have increased significantly in recent years.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council has an extensive work programme underway to improve air quality in this area. Measured breaches of National Environmental Standards for PM10 and SO2 have been reducing year on year, however the community remain concerned that airshed pollution is impacting human health. The objectives of the programme are:

Short term: meet our legislative requirements for air, land, and water quality.

Long term: deliver on the community’s expectation to live in a healthy environment.

The Mount Air Quality Working Party remains active in bringing together various central and local government agencies, iwi / hapū, community groups, councillors, commissioners, and industry representatives. The final Air Quality Working Party hui for 2023 was held on Wednesday 15 November 2023 when the independent Chair, Graeme Marshall was farewelled. It was agreed that the Working Party will continue in 2024, with details to be determined.

1.1 Legislative Framework

The Mount Maunganui Airshed was gazetted as a polluted airshed under the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality (NESAQ) Regulations 2004, coming into effect in November 2019. The gazetting was based on breaches of the limits for fine particulate matter, PM10. As per the regulations, five continuous years with no NESAQ PM10 breaches must be recorded for the polluted status to be reviewed. Whilst year on year the number of PM10 breaches recorded has been reducing, we have yet to record a year since the airshed was gazetted with no breaches of the NESAQ regulations. The 2022/23 financial year was the most improved since monitoring and data collection began with just two breaches of PM10 standards detected (one permitted under the legislation) and to date in 2023/24 no breaches have been recorded.

1.2 Alignment with Strategic Framework

A Healthy Environment	We develop and implement regional plans and policy to protect our natural environment.
Freshwater for Life	We collaborate with others to maintain and improve our water resource for future generations.
Safe and Resilient Communities	We work with our partners to develop plans and policies, and we lead and enable our communities to respond and recover from an emergency.
A Vibrant Region	We work with and connect the right people to create a prosperous region and economy.
The Way We Work	We look to partnerships for best outcomes.

1.2.1 Community Well-beings Assessment

Dominant Well-Beings Affected

þ Environmental

Medium - Positive

þ Cultural

High - Positive

þ Social

High - Positive

þ Economic

Medium - Negative

2. Updates – mid-August to early November 2023

2.1 PM₁₀ monitoring and exceedances in the current reporting period

The following provides an overview of the Mount Maunganui Airshed and the activities being undertaken to improve air quality and the wider environment in the Mount Maunganui industrial area. The report covers the period from mid-August to early November 2023.

During this period, no breaches of the PM₁₀ standard were recorded within the airshed. No breaches have been detected in the 2023/24 financial year. It was previously reported that an application to the Ministry for the Environment had been submitted as exceptional circumstances for a breach recorded on 19/04/2023. This application was successful and the total number of breaches of PM₁₀ in the airshed for the 2022/23 financial year was two, with one permitted in every 12-month period.

The full list of PM₁₀ exceedances since the monitoring network was established is included in Appendix 1. Investigations of PM₁₀ exceedances continue to show a single pollution source is seldom the cause and the cumulative effect of emissions from multiple sources is generally responsible.

2.2 Natural Environment Regional Monitoring Network – Air Quality 2023 Report

An Air Natural Environment Regional Monitoring Network (NERMN) report has been produced by the Science Team, titled Ambient Air Quality Data Update 2023. It covers sites throughout the region but has a strong focus in the Mount Maunganui Airshed given the density of monitoring undertaken within this locale.

The current air quality monitoring network is based around a combination of a regional network of monitoring sites designed for state-of-the environment monitoring and reporting, and source specific monitoring in targeted areas. In combination, this monitoring arrangement determines the overall impact of activities on the regional air environment.

This report is the latest in a series of air quality monitoring reports and, more recently, snapshot environmental report cards summarising data collected within the Bay of Plenty region. The report uses standards and guidelines against which to compare individual contaminant levels. These are typically human health-related but also include values that are associated with nuisance effects. The report doesn’t attempt to address the issue of cumulative contaminant exposure (e.g., elevated levels of PM along with elevated levels of SO2) which occurs in a number of the MMA monitoring locations. This is a complicated situation as the permutations of such situations are many, particularly in areas with multiple activities and contaminants. The approach for the Bay of Plenty Regional Council is one whereby strategies are put in place for the individual contaminants of concern, with the ongoing objective of not breaching the limits of the standards or guideline for each.

Data records are continuing to grow in the Mount Maunganui Airshed. This allows Council staff to undertake more robust trend analysis for air quality. This is important for public health reasons but is also a critical measure to determine if management and actions are making a difference. Several sites are showing early signs of reduced contaminant concentrations within the MMA.

A proposed monitoring schedule looks to increase Council staff knowledge of the environment around the Mount Maunganui area. This will involve two additional monitors at the Whareroa Marae site, with the inclusion of NOx and PM2.5 monitoring. There will also be the addition of a monitoring site within the residential area at Mount Maunganui. Other sites will see the inclusion of PM2.5 monitoring as the focus continues to grow in relation to this parameter.

The effect of climate and weather often influences contaminant sources and associated emissions. Given these factors and spatial and temporal variation, there are many additional complexities to determining patterns within collected air quality datasets. Factors such as MARPOL and COVID also cannot be discounted when looking at trends in ambient air quality data. A number of statistical and data quality control measures can be implemented to fully or partially address these confounding factors but, more often than not, increasing length of record is normally the most robust method for addressing such factors. As such, the Council is continuing with a comprehensive air monitoring programme which not only uses the data that is collected by the NERMN network, but also other tools within the areas of planning, consenting and compliance to manage ambient air quality within the region.

2.3 Mount Maunganui Air Quality Working Party

The third and final hui of the Mount Air Quality Working Party for 2023 was well attended with 30 representatives from a cross section of Toi Moana Regional Councillors, Tauranga City Council Commissioners, business and industry operators, Clear the Air Mount Maunganui, a Whareroa marae representative, Toi Te Ora and Primary Health Officers, Priority One and council staff presenting on a variety of topics.

The meeting also represented the final time that Graeme Marshall as the independent chair headed the hui. Graeme has decided to step aside to allow the direction of the group be re-thought moving forward.

The first presenter was Leonard Sampson, Chief Executive of the Port of Tauranga. Leonard delivered a thought-provoking presentation showing the economic impact the Port has, not only the within the region but on the wider New Zealand economy, accounting for in excess of $60 billion annual export value moving across the wharves. Leonard outlined the challenges faced in operating the largest export port in New Zealand in terms of limiting the environmental impacts of activities undertaken on Port land and working with mana-whenua in trying to maintain a competitive commercial environment able to accommodate large container ships whilst enhancing the natural environment of Tauranga Moana. The Port have invested heavily in mitigating air discharges and are currently undertaking research into a fully upgraded stormwater treatment system, suitable not only for Port discharges but treatment of the wider Mount industrial stormwater network which currently discharges under the Port of Tauranga wharves.

Shane Iremonger (BoPRC) presented the chapters of the 2023 Ambient Air Quality Data Report which focussed on six years of monitoring data that now exists from the Mount Industrial air monitoring network. The over-all trends have shown a downward movement in levels of PM10, PM2.5 and SO2 detected across the network, however, also show that H2S is regularly detected at levels above the WHO Guideline values at Whareroa Marae. The report also shows that NO2 related to traffic emissions continues to be an issue within the industrial area. As a comparison, Shane showed data from the Rotorua air-shed which would endure entire winter months in breach of PM10 thresholds, however a concerted long-term project moving to clean heating has completely reversed this to a point that there have now been three consecutive years with the Rotorua air-shed being in compliance with the NESAQ.

Jenny Simpson from Tonkin + Taylor was invited to give an independent perspective on the current situation and future opportunities within the air-shed. Jenny has had many years working on several projects within the Mount industrial airshed having been contracted by councils and several private businesses. Jenny’s presentation reflected on the narrow scope of regulation there is to work with and how the WHO guidelines are not necessarily applicable within an industrial airshed, but rather to be applied where populations live (and with pollutant values very difficult to comply with in virtually any urban landscape around the globe). She delved into the complexities of determining how population impacts cannot be measured by the levels of air contamination detected within an industrial area, and suggested regulatory authorities could make a step shift from concentrating on compliance to minimising exposure risk in populations, concentrate monitoring in locations where people live and with a lack of national guidance take a lead through local rules and air plans relevant to the local area.

Reuben Fraser (BOPRC) and Sarah Omundsen (Tauranga City Council) presented on actions undertaken by both regional and city councils associated with the release of the interim court decision on Plan Change 13 (Air Plan) and what process are being implemented as a final decision from the court is waited on. The court decision has clear direction on human health being the key priority in implementing processes to reduce air pollution and will be a key consideration in consenting processes going forward. In light of the release of the Health Risk Assessment study from Toi Te Ora the Regional and City Councils are looking to undertake an independent peer review of the report to determine how the findings will direct council actions in the future, particularly the influence the report findings will have on future consent decision making and in framing specific air-shed rules under upcoming Plan Change 18. A flyer outlining the short, medium, and long-term actions of both councils presented to the meeting is attached as Appendix Two.

The final presentation of the very full agenda was from David Phizacklea who gave an overview of interim findings of the Mount Industrial Planning Study which is a Tauranga City Council project to look at the urban landform of the Mount Industrial area over the next 30 years. To guide the planning study there have been extensive engagement workshops with mana whenua, the local community and businesses held over the past five months. From these several blueprints looking at the landform of the Mount Industrial area have been refined to three scenarios which have been presented to the TCC commissioners. Some broad themes that emerged are over the long term, polluting industries may not necessarily be located within the Mount air-shed, better transport connections will be vital, large green-space buffer zones will be developed to better delineate the borders between commercial and residential areas and there will be areas of much higher intensity housing which will need to be shielded from exposure to industrial emissions.

Graeme Marshall closed the meeting by presenting a challenge to all Working Party participants about how the group can refocus on their effectiveness in causing change and reducing the impact of air pollution within the industrial area. This would require all parties to put aside feelings of aggrievement when attending meetings to better engage in a meaningful dialogue to have the maximum impact of working towards common goals.

2.4 Mount Maunganui Residential Air Quality Indicator Network – Initial Results

2.4.1 Introduction

The Mount Maunganui residential air monitoring network, utilising low-cost Clarity sensors, has been in operation since June 2023. The monitoring network was implemented to provide Mount Maunganui residents an indicator of local air quality in real-time and provide advice on how mitigate potential health impacts. The residential network can confidently be used as an indicator but does not have the required accuracy for regulatory purposes, those needs are met by Council’s existing reference air quality monitoring network.

Eleven sensors have been installed in residential streets to the east of the Mount Industrial area. The sensors provide an air quality indicator (AQI) that utilises the United States Environmental Protection Agency approach to classify levels of pollution and provide guidance. Sensors provide indicators of particulate (PM10 & PM 2.5) and nitrogen dioxide, with the highest of the three pollutants used to derive a location indicator and resulting advice.

2.4.2 Initial observations

Now that a reasonable length of data is available, staff have begun to explore how recorded indicator values can be used to determine informative longer-term trends and observations of interest.

Figure 1 provides a graph of indicator values from the residential network from 1 June 2023 until 24 October 2023 (noting that some locations only came on-line approximately midway through this period). Encouragingly, AQIs are sitting predominantly in the ‘Good’ band, with some movement into the ‘Moderate’ band, and one instance of being in the ‘Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups’ band.

Figure 1 All locations air quality indicator

A summary of pollutants contributing to higher levels of AQI’s are provided in Figure 2.

Figure 1 AQI category percentages - whole network

The ‘Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups’ AQI value was recorded at Mount Maunganui at Oceanview Road, with the high indicator value resulting from measured PM2.5 fine particulate, refer Figure 3. The cause is unknown, however since this occurrence a mobile coffee cart, with a bean roaster, has been seen parked and operating under the sensor.

Figure 2 High AQI value measured at Oceanview Road

Another observation of interest is the low values that occurred across the network on 25 September 2023, refer Figure 4 & 5. This period of low AQI values appears to coincide with a prolonged period of winds from the south-east; it will be interesting to see if this effect is replicated over the longer term.

Figure 3 Low AQI value period 25 September 2023.

Figure 4 Wind direction

2.4.3 Conclusion

While the Mount Maunganui residential air monitoring network primary purpose is to provide an indicator of local air quality in real-time to residents, it appears that there is likely be value gained from the longer-term analysis of indicators.

Staff will continue to review collected data to determine insights that support improved understating of air quality in the Mount Maunganui airshed and its surrounds.

2.5 Pollution Hotline Complaints Response

From 1 August to 31 October 2023, 38 service requests were received through the Pollution Hotline relating to air quality within the Mount Maunganui Airshed. Of these, 68% related to odour (see Figure ). Five complaints during the period related to dust, however the primary cause of these was attributed to pollen.

38% of the odour complaints received during the period related to one source event whereby an animal feed product (dried distiller’s grain) in a bulk storage shed started to smoulder and discharged an acrid burnt smell during the weekend of 26-27 August. The investigation resulted in two abatement notices and two infringement notices (detailed below), and the animal feed was subsequently removed from the storage facility.

Other odour complaints related to the Higgins and Allied asphalt plants, Ballance Agri-Nutrients and Greenmount Foods, however breaches were not substantiated.

All urgent calls were responded to within 12 hours and non-urgent calls responded to within three working days.

Figure 6: Pollution hotline calls contaminant type for Mount Maunganui Airshed 1 August to 31 October 2023.

2.5.1 Enforcement

Three abatement notices were issued relating to activities taking place in the Mount Maunganui Airshed between 1 August and 31 October 2023.

· Two companies, the bulk storage shed owner (RMD Transport Ltd) and the animal feed product owner (Viterra New Zealand Ltd), received an abatement notice each in relation to the odour event described above. The notices required the companies to cease discharging a contaminant, namely offensive and objectionable odour, to air. Viterra was also required to remove its product from the site and provide disposal records.

· Allied Asphalt Limited received an abatement notice for breaching condition 6 of its resource consent 62740 in relation to maintenance of its pollution control equipment.

During this period, four infringement notices were served for activities within the Mount Maunganui Airshed.

· RMD Transport Ltd and Viterra New Zealand Limited received infringement notices for breaching section 15(1)(c) of the Resource Management Act 1991 (fee of $1,000 each) in relation to the offensive and objectionable odour discharge described above. Both notices have been paid.

· Fulton Hogan Ltd and Tauranga City Council were issued with infringement notices for breaching section 9(2) of the Resource Management Act 1991 (fee of $300 each) in that they disturbed contaminated land at the Tauranga Airport site without first obtaining the appropriate resource consent from BOPRC. The notices have not yet been paid.

Infringement fees for specific offences are set by the Resource Management (Infringement Offences) Regulations 1999.

2.5.2 Odour and pro-active monitoring

Odour continues to dominate service requests through the Pollution Hotline. The main industrial odour sources have been identified and since November 2022 the compliance team has undertaken daily pro-active odour assessments of key industrial locations which involves undertaking an outdoor odour assessment at known odour-producing business locations. Within the Mount Maunganui airshed these include:

· Storage areas for Palm Kernel Expeller (PKE) and other bulk stock foods. These tend to be concentrated around De Havilland Way and Newton St and as well as odour are also a source of dust complaints.

· Bakels Edible Oils has occasional cooking oil odours at times of production.

· Greenmount Foods, odours mainly isolated to cooking seafood stock and poor storage of waste food products outside the factory.

· Ballance Agri-nutrients and Lawter Ltd with consented sulphur dioxide discharges.

· Higgins & Allied Asphalt, primarily when an asphalt mix is in production.

· Penguin Pools and their use of chemicals and resins in the fibreglass pool manufacturing processes.

· Tanks farms mainly at the Totara Street end of Hewletts Road, which can be odourous when tank filling is being undertaken.

A project is being undertaken to scrutinise industrial odours arising from within the Mount Maunganui Airshed and Truman Lane industrial area and investigate their causes and better ways to manage them.

Staff are currently mapping odour sources within the two areas and site visits are being made to the most problematic locations. This information will be used to aid the Council’s air quality management work in Mount Maunganui.

2.6 Consents

There are currently nine businesses that have applied for discharge consents within the Mount Industrial air shed. Three new applications are on hold pending the final Environment Court decision on Rule AQ R22 (Bulk Solid Materials) of the Air Chapter of the Regional Natural Resources Plan. A second interim decision has been received from the Environment Court on 20 October 2023. Once the relevant provisions become operative, these applications will progress. Additional consent applications are anticipated once the final decision is made.

Allied Asphalt are not applying for a like-for-like renewal of their existing consent but intend to install a new plant. This will also trigger consent requirements from the City Council due to the proposed stack height. Allied have applied for a direct referral to the Environment Court. A court hearing date has not been set.

The Higgins application was heard at a hearing held on 7 and 8 November 2023. Higgins now propose to install a new plant in the future and are seeking a consent for the current plant until the new plant is built and commissioned. A decision is pending.

The hearing for Genera fumigation activities at the Port of Tauranga was concluded on 15 September 2023 and a Decision to grant, subject to conditions, was issued on 5 October 2023. The decision has been appealed by Clear the Air Trust and Tauranga Moana Fumigant Action Group Incorporated on 30 October 2023. The appeal has been accepted by the Environment Court, but a hearing date has not yet been set.

The HR Cement application has been granted on a non-notified basis. HR Cement have best practice mitigation and modelling indicates that their discharges have a less than minor effect beyond their boundary.

A summary of where in the process each of the renewal application are at is outlined below:

Renewals:

· Lawter – Further information required, with public notification undertaken 17 November 2023

· Waste Management – Further information required. Meeting held in October with the applicant regarding progress with the further information requested and this is expected to be lodged before the end of the year.

· Allied Asphalt - Publicly notified, jointly with TCC on 12 May 2023, submission period ended on 12 June 2023. Direct referral to the Environment Court.

· Higgins – Hearing held on 7 and 8 November 2023. Decision pending.

· Genera Ltd – Consents granted. Decision appealed to the Environment Court.

The applications and technical documents for all notified applications can be found on the BOPRC Website: https://www.boprc.govt.nz/environment/resource-consents/notified-applications-submissions-and-hearings/notified-applications

2.7 Policy Matters

In February, the Environment Court released its interim decision on the appeal to Rule AQ R22 of Plan Change 13 – Air Quality (PC 13) pertaining to Bulk Solid Material handling in the Airshed. The PC13 interim decision identified unsealed yards as the largest remaining unaddressed contributor to PM10 and noted the intent to direct Council (under s293 of the Resource Management Act) to make changes to PC13 to control PM₁₀ emissions from unsealed yards in the Airshed.

The interim decision also noted that BOPRC will be required to consult with all parties to the PC13 appeal, air discharge consent holders within the Airshed and “other affected parties”, for which staff have identified the owners and occupiers of unsealed yards within the Airshed.

The Court requested a memorandum, submitted 11 August 2023, in relation to the s293 process for unsealed yards, to include draft provisions to control PM₁₀ discharges from unsealed yards, details of affected parties, and a timeline for the overall process.

A second interim decision was released on 20 October. It has directed BOPRC to commence a plan change to control emissions from unsealed yards in the Airshed in line with the February interim decision and the August memorandum. Stakeholder engagement will commence later in November, and submissions sought in the coming months. As the s293 process is part of the PC13 appeal, it is the Court that will decide on changes to PC13.

The release of the interim decision for the PC 13 appeal and the need to ensure consistency within the Regional Natural Resources Plan means there has been no change to the development of the high-level framework of provisions for Plan Change 18 – Mount Maunganui Airshed (PC18). However, the interim PC 13 decision has given Council staff direction on the likely final form of the s293 provisions to inform PC13, which will in turn shape the approach to PC18.

2.8 Communications

The Mount Maunganui residential air quality webpage went live. This displays data from the 11 air sensors located throughout the residential area in real-time.

• A newsletter insert was prepared for Mount Maunganui early childhood education centres and schools promoting the Pollution Hotline.

• A similar flyer was prepared for a localised mail drop in the Ōmanu area.

• The quarterly newsletter was distributed in August.

• A number of media enquiries were received for this period. Including: Bay of Plenty Times and TV3 regarding dried distiller’s grain, Radio NZ and Bay of Plenty Times regarding the Toi te Ora health report, consents being processed and compliance.

3. Considerations

3.1 Risks and Mitigations

Air emissions from industrial activities in the Mount Maunganui industrial area and in particular activities on Port of Tauranga land are identified as a key risk for Council with several mitigation measures in place. This report is an information only update and no additional risks have been identified.

3.2 Climate Change

The matters addressed in this report are of a procedural nature and there is no need to consider climate change impacts.

3.3 Implications for Māori

Ngāi Tukairangi and Ngāti Kuku ki Whareroa are the Ngāi Te Rangi hapū affiliated with Whareroa Marae and with whom Regional Council staff have been endeavouring to foster closer relationships to ensure council actions will have direct and positive impacts on the Taiaho Place and papakainga communities. Ngāi Tukairangi and Ngāti Kuku ki Whareroa are active participants in several planning and consenting processes. Staff have also been working hard to ensure the communities relate to agencies such as Ministry for the Environment and Toi te Ora and surrounding business and industry.

The establishment of the Air Quality Working Party has provided another platform for engagement with iwi and hapū and for their concerns to be heard around a wider table. This is a space of ongoing commitment from all parties involved as there is clearly still a degree of distrust of government agencies and actions held by the Whareroa community.

3.4 Community Engagement

Engagement with the community is not required in relation to this report as it is for information only.

3.5 Financial Implications

There are no material unbudgeted financial implications and this fits within the allocated budget.

4. Next Steps

Staff will continue to update this Committee on all work underway to improve air quality in the Mount Maunganui Industrial Area. There is a wider focus on all environmental discharges and ensuring the minimal impact on human health resulting from industrial activity. The six-monthly updates on these works requested by the Minister for the Environment from Bay of Plenty Regional Council continues to be provided with the most recent sent to the Ministry in July 2023. Another is due to the incoming parliament in December.

Attachments

Attachment 1 - Total PM10 Exceedances by Financial Year 2018-2023 ⇩

Attachment 2 - Mount Maunganui Air Quality Working Party flyer ⇩



Report To:	Monitoring and Operations Committee
Meeting Date:	30 November 2023
Report Writer:	Nic Newman, Climate Change Programme Manager and Niteshni Nitesh, Programme Coordinator Climate Change
Report Authoriser:	Chris Ingle, General Manager, Integrated Catchments
Purpose:	Reporting on the Climate Change Programme of Work

Climate Change Programme Quarterly Report

Executive Summary

This report provides an update on climate change actions set out in the Climate Change Action Plan, for the last quarter. Delivery and reporting of these actions occurs through the Climate Change Programme.

Highlight of this quarter include:

· Successful completion of a Community-led adaptation project by Ngāi Tamawhariua. Two other current projects are progressing well with recent workshops and field trips held.

· Significant progress in flood pump electrification with the electronic upgrade complete at Bell Rd C and the electric switch over to take place in early 2024.

· The Toi Moana Climate Change inaugural scholarship has been awarded to a local student, providing support towards her third year of study in the Bachelor of Climate Change degree at the University of Waikato.

Recommendations

That the Monitoring and Operations Committee:

1 Receives the report, Climate Change Programme Quarterly Report.

1. Introduction

Climate Change is a strategic priority for Council. The vision is to strengthen the long-term resilience and sustainability of the Bay of Plenty region through climate change action and awareness.

Council’s delivery of climate change actions are managed through the Climate Change Programme, ensuring coordinated delivery, monitoring, and reporting on the programme of work.

A dashboard is attached to this report to provide a snapshot of progress under the Programme.

1.1 Alignment with Strategic Framework

The projects highlighted in this report contribute principally to the Safe and Resilient Communities outcome, via the partnerships way of working.

1.1.1 Community Well-beings Assessment

Dominant Well-Beings Affected

þ Environmental

Medium - Positive

þ Cultural

Medium - Positive

þ Social

Medium - Positive

þ Economic

Medium - Positive

The projects highlighted in this report contribute positively across the well-beings.

2. Climate Change Programme

2.1 Programme highlight for this period

2.1.1 Toi Moana Climate Change Scholarship

The Toi Moana Climate Change inaugural scholarship for the world’s first climate change degree, has been awarded to second year University of Waikato student Jessica Mitchell, 32 of Mount Maunganui. The scholarship is one of the initiatives that Toi Moana has taken to support the advancement of Climate Change understanding in the Bay of Plenty.

The Climate Change degree combines scientific knowledge of the biophysical world with understanding of economic and political systems and the impacts on Māori, Pacific and Indigenous communities. The degree allows students to become an expert in one of a wide range of different major subjects, to develop effective climate change solutions.

After completing her studies Jessica would like to contribute towards BOPRC’s Climate goals. Quote from her application: “I want to make sure the conversation around climate change is a positive one where all voices are heard, and the community feels included”.

Jessica will present to the committee about the Climate Change Degree.

Image 1: Toi Moana Climate Change scholarship recipient Jess Mitchell with Chris Ingle and Nic Newman

2.1.2 Community Led Adaptation Projects

Ngāi Tamawhariua

Ngāi Tamawhariua have just completed their community led adaptation project. The project aimed to build an understanding of a changing climate and how this would specifically affect Te Rereatukahia Marae. The project engaged NIWA to develop series of maps showing various coastal inundation scenarios and carry out an assessment of coastal hazards at Te Rereatukāhia Marae and Tutaetaka.

Image 2: Te Rereatukahia low lying whenua. Note the water level of the river compared to the whenua and to housing. The harbour is in the near distance.

This information has brought into clear focus the climate change risks for the community. Knowing this now allows for the community to plan for the future with much greater certainty. The findings of the project have been shared in a number of workshops with hapū members. One of the comments made was “only together can we all move forward with the best solutions for Tamawhariua”.

The project team are planning their next steps following completion of the project. Staff are supporting those ongoing discussions.

Waihī Beach Lifeguards

This new community led project seeks to understand the impacts of predicted climate changes and develop a plan to enable Waihi Beach Lifeguard Services to continue to provide essential services to the community. The first workshop was held in July and established a shared understanding of the climate hazards faced by the club and how these could impact the club’s objectives and operation.

On August 31, the second workshop explored what could be done to help the Club respond to the identified climate hazards over time. The board and their stakeholders worked through a number of exercises developing a range of different adaptation pathways for further testing. A subsequent meeting with the board further explored these pathways and staff are now preparing a draft plan for their consideration. Key is to develop options that enable the club to carry out their essential services, while adapting to the different climate hazards that they face.

With BOPRC technical staff providing support to this project, it will be the first in the region, and one of the first in the country to complete the Dynamic Adaptive Planning (DAP) process. Upon completion, staff will be able to present to Council on both the process and the outcome, as a way to understand community adaptation planning.

Image 3: Workshop 2 August 31.

Motuhoa Island

The Community led project with the Motuhoa Island Whānau, is progressing with a field trip following the first workshop. The community field trip aimed to catalogue changes to the island using a variety of information and knowledge. The purpose of the project is to understand climate risks to the island and identify a range of adaptation options.

Image 4: Motuhoa Island Climate Change Field Trip

2.1.3 Flood Pump Electrification

The Bell Rd C pump station is one of three diesel powered pump stations situated in the lower Kaituna Catchment Control Scheme. During the wettest period recorded in the lower Kaituna catchment (2022 -2023) it was identified that the Bell Rd C pump station needed more staff resources to keep it operational than most other stations.

The electrification and electronic upgrade of the site will require less staff intervention to keep the site operational. Retaining the diesel generator with remote monitoring and control will provide the scheme with greater resilience should we lose electricity supply during a storm event.

The electronic upgrade has been completed and the electric switch over will take place early 2024. The line design and electrification of the two diesel powered pumps is also being investigated.

Image 5: Planning for electrification of Bell Rd C.

2.1.4 Staff Travel Project

The Staff Travel Project supports Toi Moana’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions across the region and encourages environmentally sustainable transport choices for staff with health and wellbeing benefits. It is a low cost but highly visible project and contributes to a culture of sustainability within Toi Moana that relates to our climate change goals.

Over the past 6 months we have rolled out number of sustainable travel incentives for staff:

- Guaranteed return ride home

- Free bike safety check

- Staff commuting travel loan (up to $3000 to purchase bike/e-bike/scooter/e-scooter/UBCO 2x2 electric motor bike)

- New bike parking space in Whakatāne

- Learn confidence with cycle training

- Bike repair kit installed in all 3 offices

- Trial bee card with $20 top-up

The next initiative will be a focus on carpooling. The annual staff travel survey is the measure by which progress will be reviewed.

Image 6: Evaleigh parking her bike Image 7: Scooter purchased through staff travel loan

in the new parking space in Whakatāne’s West Wing

2.1.5 Sustainable Homes

As of October 2023, BOPRC has supported 201 low-income households throughout the region to upgrade to lower emission and energy efficient heating. The Sustainable homes project directly supports our community outcomes Toitu te rohe – A vibrant region, specifically the objective and strategic priority to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions and help the region transition to a low carbon economy.

Our partner, Sustainability Options, works closely with whānau struggling with cold, damp and poor housing conditions which prevent homes from reaching 20 degrees, through issues such as ventilation and heating. There are countless heart-warming stories behind this operation with recipients now ‘on cloud 9’, kids not getting sick, not seeing black mould and people ‘beyond stoked’ with the outcome.

The work of Sustainable Options can be seen at: https://www.20degrees.org.nz/3-minute-video/

2.1.6 Blue Carbon

Staff presented the “Potential saltmarsh restoration sites” report (Environmental Publication 2022/14) to the Ōhiwa Harbour Implementation Forum in November, which led to a number of new potential saltmarsh restoration sites being brought forward by interested landowners. Discussions between Coastal Catchments team and the landowners will continue to assess site viability for saltmarsh restoration. The current extent of saltmarsh restoration that has been facilitated by regional council is now around 80 hectares.

The saltmarsh blue carbon coring project has had the fieldwork component completed, and reporting is due to be delivered in early 2024.

The saltmarsh restoration and treatment wetland project at Waihī Estuary is well into its planning phase, with preliminary fieldwork lined up for mid-late November. Additional sampling is planned, which includes measurements of methane gas from intact saltmarsh, the restored saltmarsh, and a nearby pasture site. This will support our understanding of how emissions change when converting pasture land to saltmarsh.

There is national interest in blue carbon, and new working group lead by DOC and The Nature Conservancy is bringing together experts, iwi, government and practitioners to develop a set of working principles towards increasing our knowledge in blue carbon.

2.1.7 Aotearoa Climate Adaptation Network

The Aotearoa Climate Adaptation Network (ACAN) is a network of motivated local government professionals involved in developing and/or implementing climate adaptation interventions within New Zealand. ACAN was established in 2021 to support and connect New Zealand climate adaptation and resilience professionals and to advance innovation and excellence in this new field of practice. BOPRC staff have been involved with the network since it was established, with Jane Palmer joining the ACAN Steering Group this year and on the Hui organising committee.

The third Annual ACAN Hui took place on 26-27 October at Tūranga Library, Ōtautahi Christchurch, with over 100 local council climate adaptation practitioners coming together to connect and share learnings and experiences. The varied agenda was focused around the ‘Dynamic Adaptative Pathways Planning’ (DAPP) process and included panel sessions and deep dive discussions with local government practitioners around effective engagement with our communities, planning and implementation strategies, and the impacts of extreme events.

A particular highlight was a mock planning session working in groups to develop a dynamic adaptative pathway, facilitated by Ana Serrano and Nic Newman, using the Waihī Beach Surf Club project as a case study. Other highlights included exploration of psycho-social wellbeing in the adaptation space and hearing from Ngā Tahu iwi and hapū about their perspectives on adaptation. BOPRC also provided administrative support to the Hui, with Nietshni Nitesh helping to manage the finances.

The Hui was a great success, with strong representation from BOPRC’s Climate Change Team, which was widely recognised. We will be looking to build on the connections and learnings that were made and support the growth of the network as it looks to transition to an incorporated society next year.

3. Considerations

3.1 Risks and Mitigations

Climate Change is listed on Council’s Key Risk Register, due to the impact this will have on our council’s decision-making processes over the longer term. An internal audit review of climate change programme is scheduled.

3.2 Climate Change

The Climate Change Programme delivers, monitors, and reports on Council’s response to climate change in terms of priorities and actions around both mitigation and adaptation. This report highlights progress in the last quarter against the programme.

3.3 Implications for Māori

Climate Change could potentially have significant impact on whānau, hapū and iwi in the region. Many marae in the Bay of Plenty region are located in coastal or low lying areas, or next to lakes or rivers, potentially exposed to flooding and coastal hazards.

The economic livelihood of many of the region’s hapū and iwi are linked to natural resources, through activities such as farming, forestry, aquaculture & tourism.

Council’s regional climate risk assessment demonstrated risk to Māori through case studies to help build understanding and highlighted current and future risks for Māori. The funding we provide for community adaptation planning is supporting a number of hapū and iwi to develop their own climate change understanding and response. The majority of applicants for this funding are hapū, demonstrating the connection of people and place are at the forefront of adaptation in our region.

3.4 Community Engagement

EMPOWER

Whakamanahia

To place final decision-making in the hands of affected communities.

Each of the projects in this report involve internal and external collaboration.

3.5 Financial Implications

The projects highlighted in this report are all within budget and there are no material unbudgeted financial implications from this report. The wider Climate Change Programme is operating within Long Term Plan 2021-2024 budget.

4. Next Steps

Staff will continue to report to the Monitoring and Operations Committee quarterly on progress of the Climate Change Programme.

Attachments

Attachment 1 - Climate Change Programme Overview November 2023 ⇩



Report To:	Monitoring and Operations Committee
Meeting Date:	30 November 2023
Report Writer:	Claire McCorkindale, Land Management Officer
Report Authoriser:	Chris Ingle, General Manager, Integrated Catchments
Purpose:	To update Councillors on the Cutwater Road Wetland Project in the Waihī Estuary Focus Catchment.

Cutwater Road Wetland Project

Executive Summary

This paper provides an update on the 30 hectares of low-lying farmland on the margins of Waihī Estuary that was purchased in partnership with Te Wahapū o Waihī. The acquired land presents an opportunity to create a new wetland to treat agricultural drainage water from the adjacent dairy farms, to help improve the estuary’s health, enhance indigenous wetland habitat and to sequester carbon. This paper outlines the preferred design option, the progress that has been made through the feasibility study work that is currently underway and provides a summary of community engagement that has been undertaken to date.

Recommendations

That the Monitoring and Operations Committee:

1 Receives the report, Cutwater Road Wetland Project.

1. Introduction

The 35,000 hectare Waihī Estuary catchment was identified as a ‘Focus Catchment’ in Council’s Environmental Grants Policy because of the significant reductions in water contaminants required to improve the estuary health. The Waihī Estuary Freshwater Management Unit needs a high level of change to reduce four key contaminants: 70% less nitrogen, 30% less phosphorus, 25%- 50% less E. coli, and 20%-65% less suspended sediment.

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council is working in collaboration with Te Wahapū o Waihī (TWOW) to restore the health of the estuary. TWOW overarching objectives are that the restoration of Te Wahapū o Waihī will be succeeding when we have healthy mahinga kai (food harvesting areas or resources), as an indicator of a thriving Waihī estuary, catchment and community for the long term.

“He oranga te wahapū, he oranga te iwi: the health of the estuary is a metaphor for the health of the people.”

One of the key workstreams is Mahinga Kai Repo/Saltmarsh Wetland, which is focused on the establishment of 20 ha of new saltmarsh or other tidally connected wetland, including 40,000 indigenous plants.

On 9 February 2023, Council approved the submission of a tender to purchase a 109 hectare farm at 264/265 Cutwater Road and to enter into an on-sale agreement to sell 79 hectares to the neighbouring landowner and retain the 30 hectares of low-lying farmland closest to the estuary.

The tender was successful and settlement for the property occurred on 1 June 2023. The purchase of the 30 hectare block was funded 50% from the Coastal Catchments Activity’s existing capital budget ($315,000) and 50% was from the Ministry for the Environment’s Freshwater Improvement Fund, which was granted to TWOW to achieve the vision of Te Wahapū o Waihī. The existing farm titles are in the process of being re-arranged to recognise the future wetland area.

Regional Council has been working in partnership with TWOW to co-design a preferred wetland creation option that will benefit the estuary, the catchment and its landowners and contribute to improved water quality, wetland habitat, biodiversity, cultural and climate change resilience outcomes.

This paper provides a project update on the preferred design option that has been supported by the TWOW board and the progress of the feasibility studies that are currently underway.

1.1 Legislative Framework

The overall Land Management programme that this project falls under is an education and incentives-based work programme. It both complements and aligns with the legislative requirements and priorities of the Essential Freshwater Programme for the Bay of Plenty, as well as other priorities such as biodiversity and care group support.

1.2 Alignment with Strategic Framework

A Healthy Environment	We work cohesively with volunteers and others, to sustainably manage and improve our natural resources.
Freshwater for Life	We deliver solutions to local problems to improve water quality and manage quantity.
Safe and Resilient Communities	We work with communities and others to consider long term views of natural hazard risks through our regional plans and policies.
A Vibrant Region	We invest appropriately in infrastructure to support sustainable development.
The Way We Work	We continually seek opportunities to innovate and improve.

In addition to the strategic framework alignment above, this proposal is a partnership with Māori and local farmers, and an innovative nature-based contribution to climate change mitigation and adaptation.

1.2.1 Community Well-beings Assessment

Dominant Well-Beings Affected

þ Environmental

High - Positive

þ Cultural

High - Positive

þ Social

Medium - Positive

þ Economic

Low - Negative

2. Cutwater Road Wetland Project Update

2.1 Concept Design

The following three design concepts were considered for this project:

1) Fully integrated saltmarsh wetland: create 30 hectares of saltmarsh habitat that is connected into the estuary as much as possible.

2) Large scale constructed treatment wetland: create 30 hectares of constructed treatment wetland to reduce contaminant loading from the 617 hectare contributing catchment entering the estuary.

3) Hybrid option: create 10 hectares of constructed treatment wetland and 20 hectares of saltmarsh habitat that is connected to the estuary.

Option 2 was ruled out at an early stage due to the significant cost of creating constructed treatment wetlands versus saltmarsh habitat.

After consulting with TWOW and other relevant stakeholders, the hybrid option was chosen as the best way to move forward. This option balances the need to improve water quality by reducing the contaminant load from the catchment area and the need to create more saltmarsh habitat to increase the tidal flow of the estuary and enhance its biodiversity. TWOW emphasised that the focus of every decision that is made needs to be on cleaning up the estuary and restoring mauri.

2.1.1 Wetland Hybrid Option

Figure 1 below shows the initial proposed layout of the hybrid option for the 10 hectare constructed treatment wetland and 20 hectare saltmarsh area.

The proposed saltmarsh habitat area is located on the Pukehina Canal side due to the closer proximity to the estuary as well as the lower flow rate and lower energy environment of the Pukehina compared to the Pongakawa. This will be more conducive to the establishment of saltmarsh habitat and will also provide an opportunity to increase the tidal prism of the estuary. Regional Council has commissioned DHI to carry out preliminary assessments for connecting the proposed conversion area to the estuary and Pukehina Canal through some type of structure (i.e. culverts) or stop bank removal.

Within the saltmarsh habitat area, we are also proposing to create further inanga spawning habitat, similar to what has been constructed on the DOC marginal strip land at the end of Cutwater Road as the site is also located within the saltwater wedge. It is likely that the location of the proposed inanga ponds will change from what is on the map above and instead will be shifted to come off the blue line, which is the historic exit point of the Pongakawa River.

The proposed constructed treatment wetland is located on the Pongakawa side of the site due to the proximity to pump station 10, which will play a key role in enabling the wetland to function. The wetland will treat a contributing catchment area of 617 hectares (Figure 2). Therefore, the treatment wetland sizing based on the contributing catchment area will be 1.62%, which is within the NIWA constructed treatment wetland guideline of 1-5%.

In order for the treatment wetland to function, water will be pushed from pump station 11 towards the wetland and then pump station 10 will be used to draw water through the wetland before discharging the treated water back into the Pongakawa (Figure 3).

Regional Council has engaged AWA Environmental to complete a feasibility study for treatment wetland construction. Based on progress to date, it is likely that an additional pump station will be required at the inlet of the wetland to create enough hydraulic head for water to be able to be drawn through the wetland. The consultant is currently working on sizing and cost estimates for this new pump.

If successful in finding a feasible pathway, this will be the first treatment wetland to be constructed in a pumped drainage system in New Zealand.

2.1.2 Indicative Project Costs

Below is a breakdown of the initial project budget. Figures around construction and planting for the constructed treatment wetland have been based on actual figures from the Baygold and Hickson treatment wetland projects and figures for the saltmarsh habitat creation have been based on the actuals from similar projects in the Kaituna catchment.

Cutwater Road Wetland Estimate Project Budget
2022/23 Financial Year
Item	Start date	End date	FIF contribution	BOPRC contribution	Other funders	Total cost
Land purchase and covenant registration	1/10/2022	1/12/2024	$ 315,000.00	$ 315,000.00	$ -	$ 630,000.00
		Total	$ 315,000.00	$ 315,000.00	$ -
					Total	$ 630,000.00
2023/24 Financial Year
Item	Start date	End date	FIF contribution	BOPRC contribution	Other funders	Total cost
Feasibility/design	4/07/2023	23/12/2023	$ -	$ 78,000.00	$ -	$ 78,000.00
Consenting	1/02/2024	15/09/2024	$ -	$ 100,000.00	$ -	$ 100,000.00
Rates			$ -	$ 9,450.00	$ -	$ 9,450.00
Grazing revenue	1/07/2023	30/06/2024				-$ 38,000.00
		Total	$ -	$ 187,450.00	$ -
					Total	$ 149,450.00

2024/25 Financial Year
Constructed Treatment Wetland
Item	Start date	End date	FIF contribution	BOPRC contribution	Other funders	Total cost
Earthworks + erosion & sediment control + aqueduct + bunds	1/10/2024	23/12/2024	$ 200,000.00	$ 1,500,000.00	$ -	$ 1,700,000.00
Planting	1/03/2025	30/03/2025	$ -	$ 490,000.00	$ -	$ 490,000.00
Fencing	15/02/2025	28/02/2025	$ 10,000.00	$ 10,000.00	$ -	$ 20,000.00
Grazing revenue						-$ 4,500.00
Rates				$ 9,450.00		$ 9,450.00
		Total	$ 210,000.00	$ 2,009,450.00	$ -
					Total	$ 2,214,950.00
Saltmarsh Wetland
Item	Start date	End date	FIF contribution	BOPRC contribution	Other funders	Total cost
Earthworks + erosion & sediment control	20/01/2025	1/03/2025	$ 50,000.00	$ 50,000.00	$ -	$ 100,000.00
Fill material	20/01/2025	1/03/2025		$ 200,000.00	$ -	$ 200,000.00
Planting	1/03/2025	30/03/2025	$ 175,000.00	$ 325,000.00	$ -	$ 500,000.00
		Total	$ 225,000.00	$ 575,000.00	$ -
					Total	$ 800,000.00
				$ 2,584,450.00
					2024/25 total	$ 3,014,950.00
2025/26 Financial Year
Item	Start date	End date	FIF contribution	BOPRC contribution	Other funders	Total cost
Releasing	1/10/2025	1/04/2026	$ -	$ 170,000.00	$ -	$ 170,000.00
Planting	1/03/2026	30/03/2026				$ 500,000.00
Rates				$ 9,450.00		$ 9,450.00
					Total	$ 679,450.00
		Total	$ -	$ 179,450.00	$ -

			Total FIF	Total BOPRC	Total Other
			$ 750,000.00	$ 3,266,350.00	$ -


					Overall total	$ 4,473,850.00


Ongoing Maintenance Costs (7 Remaining LTP Years)
2026-2032
Item	Start date	End date	FIF contribution	BOPRC contribution	Other funders	Total cost
Rates				$ 66,150.00
Releasing				$ 350,000.00
Maintenance				$ 70,000.00

			Total	$ 486,150.00

			Total FIF	Total BOPRC	Total Other
			$ 750,000.00	$ 3,752,500.00	$ -

					Overall total	$ 4,502,500.00

2.1.3 Community Engagement

There is already a significant level of community interest in this project, particularly due to the potential positive outcomes that can be achieved. To date, we have engaged with the following groups:

-TWOW: We have a highly collaborative relationship with TWOW as co-owners of this 30 hectare section. The hybrid wetland option has been supported by the TWOW board members. Regional Council are also part of the TWOW operational team and meet on a fortnightly basis to discuss the project.

-WDDS: Regional Council staff recently presented a catchment update at the Waihī District Drainage Society (WDDS) AGM, which included several slides on the proposed hybrid wetland option. WDDS were supportive of the proposed design option and are keen to continue working closely with Regional Council as we progress the design. A key measure for the design is that it cannot decrease the current level of service provided by the pump scheme network.

-WBOPDC: Regional Council have had initial meetings with Western Bay of Plenty District Council through the subdivision process and they have also indicated their support for the proposed design.

-Cutwater Rd landowners: An initial meeting was held between Regional Council staff and all of the landowners on Cutwater Rd to discuss the design. They provided support for the direction of the project but had similar concerns as the drainage society around the level of service not being impacted as a result of this project.

-DOC: Due to the current location of the DOC Marginal Strip and the likelihood of the Pukehina Canal being impacted by the design, discussions were initiated with DOC very early on in the process. DOC have indicated their support for the proposed design, provided that access is maintained down to pump station 10 and the inanga ponds at the end of Cutwater Road. They have also proposed that Regional Council assumes delegated authority of the DOC marginal strip to simplify the construction and consenting process. This is currently being investigated further.

3. Considerations

3.1 Risks and Mitigations

Financial risk exists as the current LTP 2021-31 estimates are insufficient to construct the project based on the concept design and cost estimates to date. This can be mitigated by seeking further co-funding which is underway, and/or by increasing Council capital budgets through the LTP 2024-34, and/or by changing the timeframe for construction. The last mitigation option available would be to change the scope of the concept design from hybrid treatment/coastal to pure coastal, but this will diminish the environmental benefits substantially.

There is another risk around whether the treatment wetland will deliver similar benefits to recently constructed treatment wetlands elsewhere in the focus catchment. This risk is due to the low-lying nature of the land, and the reliance on pumping to deliver water into (and potentially out of) the wetland, rather than using gravity. This is a risk that staff believe is worth taking as there are a large number of pumped catchments in the region with water quality challenges, so the method may have wider application. There are linked operational risks such as maintaining the level of service for landowners within the Waihi District Drainage Society’s operational area; managing salinity at the farm/wetland interface, and restoring coastal wetlands within the elevation ranges available. However, these can be addressed during the detailed design and consenting process.

Climate change risks are addressed below.

3.2 Climate Change

Mitigation			Adaptation
Reduce GHG emissions	Produce GHG emissions	Sequester carbon	Anticipate climate change impacts	Respond to climate change impacts
☐	☐	☒	☒	☒

This proposal is aligned with Council’s climate position statement and the principles of the National Adaptation Plan, it responds to projected climate risks and it seizes an opportunity to increase resilience and sequester carbon, along with significant co-benefits for water quality and wetland habitat creation/restoration.

Climate projections for the coastal lowlands of the Western Bay of Plenty include an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events, rising groundwater, and net sea level rise.

Our Climate Action Plan Position Statement states that we will ‘act proactively and with urgency to address climate change risks [and opportunities]’ and that we will ‘work collaboratively’ and ‘align with national direction’. Our goals include ‘As a region we are adapting to a changing climate’.

The National Adaptation Plan (2022) sets out a number of principles to guide adaptation action. Relevant to this proposal these include:

• Be Proactive

• Think long-term and take an intergenerational perspective

• Maximise co-benefits

• Collaborate

• Work with Nature

• Adapt locally

This proposal provides an opportunity to act proactively to respond to both climate risks and a significant opportunity to secure co-benefits. The development of a 30ha coastal wetland will provide not only biodiversity gain: The restoration of wetland species (in particular Saltmarsh) will sequester carbon, know as Blue Carbon. Healthy Blue Carbon ecosystems can store significant carbon and provide biodiversity and resilience benefits. This proposal would complement other work to measure local saltmarsh sequestration rates and develop local opportunities, it would provide an example at scale; and in time contribute towards Council’s internal Net Zero Goal. The proposal is a collaborative one, both with farm landowners and with Te Wahapū o Waihī. It therefore also delivers on the “Partnerships with Māori” Impact area.

Establishing a coastal wetland will provide multiple benefits including responding to climate risks / providing resilience and sequestering Blue Carbon, at a scale that could be an exemplar for how to implement Nature Based Solutions to climate challenges.

However, sea level rise also poses a long-term risk to the functioning of the treatment wetland, and over the even longer term, risks to the persistence of the coastal wetland (and the surrounding farmland). On balance, staff believe that proceeding with this project with its clear benefits to freshwater, biodiversity, cultural values and both climate adaptation and mitigation is a risk worth taking, given its overall alignment with Council’s strategic framework, and the fact that it can be adapted in the future as the wider environment changes.

3.3 Implications for Māori

As a financial and co-design partnership with Te Wahapū o Waihī, representing Ngati Whakahemo, Ngati Whakaue ki Maketu, Ngati Makino, Ngati Pikiao and Tapuika to jointly acquire land and then co-design and create wetland, this proposal is considered to have very positive implications for Maori. It is fully supported by Te Wahapū o Waihī and its member iwi as it will directly contribute to the achievement of their vision.

3.4 Community Engagement

INVOLVE

Whakaura

To work directly with affected communities throughout the process to ensure that their issues and concerns are consistently understood and fully considered in Council’s decision making.

The success of the Cutwater Road Wetland Project relies strongly on collaborative partnerships with TWOW, WDDS, WBOPDC, landowners and other stakeholders within the community.

3.5 Financial Implications

The land purchase costs in 2022/23, and the investigations/design/engagement and consenting costs estimated for 2023/24 can be sourced from existing Coastal Catchments Activity budgets.

However, if the project proceeds as per the timeline above with the bulk of construction occurring in 2024/25, there is an estimated Capital budget shortfall of just over $2.2 million in that year based on LTP 2021-31 budget estimates. As discussed above, this can be partly addressed via third party funding contributors and discussions are already underway in that respect. Additionally, much of the $2.2M could be found by re-prioritising and re-sequencing existing capital budget items within the coastal catchments budget.

The estimated costs in 2025/26 are within the LTP 2021-31 budget estimates.

4. Next Steps

Once a detailed design option and project costing has been prepared, present to Council for approval before progressing the consenting process.



Report To:	Monitoring and Operations Committee
Meeting Date:	30 November 2023
Report Writer:	Jo Pellew, Rates Manager
Report Authoriser:	Mat Taylor, General Manager, Corporate
Purpose:	To provide an overview for the 2023/24 rates instalment period.

Rates Collection Status Update

Executive Summary

This report provides an overview of 2023/24 rates instalment period.

· The 2022/23 rates instalment was due for payment on 20 October 2023. Collection of the current instalment is at present 87%.

· Invoices were sent over a two-week period (1-16 September), with a staged release across the region, starting with the eastern bay and concluding in the western bay.

· This instalment period saw 10,920 rates ‘customer request tickets’ raised for service between 1 September to 20 October.

· Over 28,000 monthly and annual direct debit arrangements were processed on 20 October 2023, this amounted to $9.2 million or just over 10% of the total rates assessed for the 2023/24 rating year.

· The targeted direct debit campaign yielded positive results with over 3,000 new customers signing up during this promotional period.

· Instalment penalty was added on 31 October 2023, 21,934 accounts received penalties of $1.22 million.

Recommendations

That the Monitoring and Operations Committee:

1 Receives the report, Rates Collection Status Update.

1. Introduction

This report provides an overview the payment process for the first rates instalment of the 2023/24 rating year, which was due on 20 October 2023.

Invoices and assessments were sent in batches over two weeks (1-16 September), starting in the eastern bay and ending with the western bay. This was done to manage the workload of the Rates Team, and Customer Services for customer queries. The Rates Team were able to provide accurate and timely responses, and Customer Services was able to manage phone queries. The earlier release also ensured that customers received their invoices on time.

More than 28,000 monthly and annual direct debit arrangements were processed on 20 October 2023, totalling $9.2 million or about 10% of the total rates assessed for the 2023/24 rating year.

The increase in the uptake of using direct debits as a method of payment is likely due to the convenience of not having to remember to make payments manually, with payments processed directly and automatically. The direct debit campaign was successful, with over 3,000 new customers signing up during this promotional period.

Instalment penalties were applied on 31 October 2023, amounting to $1.22 million ($1.48 million in 22/23). We continue to make every effort to encourage full payment or offer a suitable payment arrangement to avoid customers becoming subject to debt collection measures.

1.1 Legislative Framework

The Local Government (Rating) Act 2002 (“LGRA”) and the Rating Valuations Act 1998 (“RVA”) are the primary enactments governing the setting, assessment, and collection of rates by Local Government.

In addition to complying with this rating specific legislation, Council also needs to ensure that the rating function and process complies with the Local Government Act 2002 (“LGA”) and the Privacy Act 2020 (“PA”).

1.2 Alignment with Strategic Framework

A Vibrant Region

We work with and connect the right people to create a prosperous region and economy.

The Way We Work

We deliver value to our ratepayers and our customers.

We continually seek opportunities to innovate and improve.

We provide great customer service.

1.2.1 Community Well-beings Assessment

Dominant Well-Beings Affected

¨ Environmental

þ Cultural

Medium - Positive

þ Social

Medium - Positive

þ Economic

Medium - Positive

Positive social benefits include the community having more awareness about the work that we do and engaging with us more, the public receiving an improved customer experience and equity across the region, as we have control over rating policies and can have a more consistent and holistic view of the Bay of Plenty community.

Cultural benefits include direct engagement with Māori landowners and greater control over rating policies for Māori land, rating whenua Māori, including decisions on rates arrears, remissions and consolidation of whenua Māori land blocks or multiple dwellings for rating purposes.

The current economic climate poses many challenges and opportunities for us as a region. We are aware of the ongoing impacts of the pandemic, inflation, and current environmental issues on our local businesses and residents in the region. We recognise the ability of the public to make payment for rates and provide informative communications.to support the knowledge and awareness of the work that we do in the region.

2. Rates Status Update

2.1 Rates Updates for the 2023/24 rating year

2.1.1 Rates Status Update

Total rates assessed for the 2023/24 rating year were $91.1 million. To date, we have received just over $66 million (72.5%) in payments for the current instalment (as of 8 November 2023).

There is also $13.2 million of committed payments (direct debits) to be collected over the remainder of the rating year, to 30 June 2024. There remains $11.8 million to be collected.

2.1.2 Rates Invoicing

Rates invoices were dispatched from 1 – 16 September. This release period was more condensed than last year, enabling customers to receive their invoice in a timely manner, well in advance of the due date. No adverse feedback was received this year in relation to the timeframe of the receipt of the rates invoice, which had been raised as a concern last year. Other points to note include.

· Customer reaction to the clearer refreshed invoice has been positive.

· Invoice feedback was primarily focused about the direct debit messaging on the invoice, which we will update for the 2024/25 rating year.

Zendesk queries

Overall, we received 10,920 queries from customers over the period 1 September 2023 – 20 October 2023, in contrast to last year for the same period, there were 20,437 queries for the period.

Now in our second year of collection, the reduction in queries was to be expected as more ratepayers are aware of the change in collection arrangements, and queries are now based around their rating assessments.

The graphs shown below provide a comparison in the level of contact, the peaks, and troughs activity for both rating years for rates tickets.

Tickets received 2023-24 Rating Year

Total Tickets: 10,920

Tickets received 2022-23 Rating Year

Total Tickets: 20.437

This year, queries have generally been of a ‘business-as-usual’ nature. The majority of our queries were about rating-related matters such as the general rates increase, rate charges, and payment options.

Little feedback was given in relation to the change of process, and there were fewer complaints than previously.

· Total complaints received over this period was 50. These include general complaints (48), or complaints about the new process (2). In comparison last year, complaints which were bundled under one category, complaints about the new process were 206.

· Passenger Transport, and Rivers and Drainage, feature predominately in terms of rate charge queries from customers.

· Valuation changes in three of the Local Authorities have seen some reasonable shifts in the general rates for some customers in areas where their values increased more than their district average.

· Overall general queries saw a significant reduction from 7,000 last year, to less than 4,000 this year.

We continued with our communication campaign building upon our past engagement efforts, using familiar channels such as social media, newspapers, our website, and other established mediums.

2.1.3 Rates Penalties

Penalty Date and Amount

The penalty date was Tuesday, 31 October for customers who did not have a payment arrangement, and their rates instalment remained unpaid. A 10% penalty was applied to their rates account.

Penalties totalled $1.22 million on 22,000 accounts. This is less than last year, which was $1.48 million on just over 29,000 accounts.

Penalty Notification

We sent emails and letters, depending on customer preference, to those whose accounts remain unpaid.

We are currently in a penalty remission period, offering customers the opportunity to pay their rates in full or set up a direct debit to clear their rates to provide the ability to remit the penalty that they have incurred.

Penalty Remission Policy

We have provision within our Rates Remission policy, for a penalty to be remitted where certain criteria can be demonstrated. The penalty remission only applies when the instalment has been paid.

Rates Reminder campaigns

From January to June, we will be completing three campaigns of rate reminder notifications for ratepayers that have not paid their rates.

We aim to encourage ratepayers to set up a direct debit arrangement to assist in clearing their rates in an affordable manner.

2.1.4 Direct Debit

As of 8 November 2023, there are 40,798 active direct debits for rates payments. In comparison with the September Monitoring and Operations report, in which there were 37,467 direct debits.

This is due to the successful promotion we ran in August, which offered customers who pay their rates by direct debit a chance to win a prize. This incentive prompted more than 3,000 customers to switch to this convenient and cost-effective payment method.

Direct debits allow ratepayers to spread their rates payments over the rating year, which can help manage personal budgets. We appreciate that there are those who want to pay their rates in other ways, and we provide a variety of other methods for customers to pay their rates as shown on our website and the rates invoice.

We will continue to promote direct debit as our preferred payment method for rates, as it benefits both the customers and Council. It simplifies the payment process, ensures a steady cash flow, reduces processing costs, and allows for easy recalculation of payments once a year. The pie chart below shows the distribution of direct debit payment frequencies in customer preference for payment of their rates.

2.1.5 Rates Collection

For those customers who had not made an acceptable payment arrangement for their previous years rates before 30 June 2023, we initiated collection action to recover this amount.

Formal collection action is detailed in the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002, section 62 Recovery of rates if owner is in default.

Collections through 1st Mortgagee notifications were 40% of the total 2022/23 outstanding debt. As of 1 November 2023, two-thirds of these accounts are now under an active arrangement or have been paid, with the remainder to be demanded through the 1st Mortgagee in early January 2024.

For those referred to Baycorp Collections, a collection strategy has been undertaken. Collections through Baycorp Collections totalled 23% of the total 2022/23 outstanding debt. As of 1 November 2023, over a quarter of these accounts are now under an active payment arrangement or have been paid, with the balance of the accounts now receiving defaults on the owner’s credit rating.

Customers that have rate arrears remaining from 2022/23 or prior and the account remains unpaid, a further 10% penalty will be applied to this account on 9 January 2024.

3. Considerations

3.1.1 Considerations

3.2 Risks and Mitigations

There are no risks in relation to this service delivery performance update.

3.3 Climate Change

The matters addressed in this report are of a procedural nature and there is no need to consider climate change impacts.

3.4 Implications for Māori

Rating Māori land can be complex. With our engagement and strengthening relationships we can address economic disparity and rebuild trust, forging better relationships with local Iwi, Hapū, Trusts and owner/occupiers.

With greater control over rating policies, Bay of Plenty Regional Council can decide how to rate whenua Māori including decisions on rate’s arrears, remissions and consolidation of whenua Māori land blocks or multiple dwellings for rating purposes.

3.5 Community Engagement

Engagement with the community is not required as the recommended proposal / decision [relates to internal Council matters only].

Rates collection is a statutory process under the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002. Information provided to customers around the rating process is done so under the Act requirements.

3.6 Financial Implications

There are no material unbudgeted financial implications and this fits within the allocated budget.

4. Next Steps

As part of our continuous improvement process, the Rates team will analyse the feedback and queries from customers regarding the rates instalment period. This will help us plan several aspects of the 2024/25 rating year, such as improving the direct debit communication on the invoices, finding more ways to provide educational information about Passenger Transport and River and Drainage schemes, which are two main areas of customer interest, and ensuring that customers can appreciate what their rates fund.

We will continue to pursue the collection of the now overdue 2023/24 rates instalment from customers who have not paid or arranged a payment plan. Penalty letters will be sent to these customers, followed by three further reminder letters at regular intervals. Customers will be encouraged to pay their rates in full or sign up for a direct debit arrangement to avoid further penalties and possible collection action.

The next Monitoring and Operations committee meeting will receive a Rates Collection report that will highlight the key aspects and outcomes of the second year of in-house rates collection.



Report To:	Monitoring and Operations Committee
Meeting Date:	30 November 2023
Report Writer:	Rachael Burgess, Customer Contact Manager
Report Authoriser:	Mat Taylor, General Manager, Corporate
Purpose:	To update the committee on customer service performance

Customer Service Performance Update

Executive Summary

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Councils’ customer service performance, including the quality of service provided, customer satisfaction levels, and overall performance metrics. The data collected allows us to identify areas of strength and areas for improvement, with the ultimate goal of enhancing the customer experience and driving business efficiency across all activity areas.

This report also examines the second year of rates collection, revealing a noteworthy transition from the challenges observed in the first year of collection to a commendable resolution of many issues. The insights within the report provide a narrative of resilience, adaptability, and the successful normalisation of rates collection processes that has been achieved during the second year.

Recommendations

That the Monitoring and Operations Committee:

1 Receives the report, Customer Service Performance Update.

1. Introduction

Considerable operational changes have been made over the past four years to improve the way we engage with our customers in terms of the technology we use, the processes we follow and the functionality of our public interfaces. A series of initiatives included in the Customer First work programme that commenced in early 2019, has ensured that we now have fit-for-purpose systems and streamlined processes in place to support an improved service delivery. These initiatives have resulted in an improved level of service and have had a positive impact on customer satisfaction levels. They also supported our readiness for collecting our own rates payments as part of the rates transition project that was implemented in July 2022.

Following the first year of in-house rates collection a thorough review was carried out on the customer data and feedback collected, and opportunities were identified to ensure future rates collection programmes maintained a customer-centric focus. As a result, the activities surrounding rates collection have settled into a state of business as usual, demonstrating a more streamlined and efficient operational framework has been achieved over the course of the second year.

1.1 Alignment with Strategic Framework

A Healthy Environment
Freshwater for Life
Safe and Resilient Communities
A Vibrant Region
The Way We Work	We provide great customer service.
	We deliver value to our ratepayers and our customers
	We continually seek opportunities to innovate and improve

2. Customer Service Performance

2.1 Customer Contact Centre Highlights

In the 12 months ending 31 October 2023, approximately 123,000 customer queries were received across our six customer service channels. For queries that require a response, service tickets are generated in Zendesk, our customer relationship management system (CRM).

There were approximately 108,000 Zendesk service tickets generated and resolved during this 12-month period. This is a 19% decrease in service tickets compared to the previous reporting period ending 31 January 2023. This is attributed to the reduction in rates queries now that we have moved into the second year of rates collection and the majority of ratepayers have adjusted to the change.

Phone

Reception

Email

Web Forms

Web Query

Social Media

Antenno

Total Queries

Zendesk Service Tickets

55,366

45%

24,069

19.5%

21,188

17%

18,171

15%

3868

3.2%

190

0.2%

168

0.1%

123,020

107,846

2.1.1 Call Volumes

Calls remain the most popular method of contact with 55,300 calls received during the 12 months ending 31 October 2023. This is a 5% decrease in calls compared to the previous reporting period ending 31 January 2023. This is consistent with the patterns experienced across other customer service channels whereby call volumes have reduced as customers are now aware of the rates collection change.

Volume of calls received from October 2022 to October 2023

The above graph shows the impact that rates calls have on overall call volumes. High call volumes were experienced in October and November following the release of the 2022 rates invoices and penalty notices. Call volumes reduce in December and January and remain relatively stable from February through to August. Call volumes increase again in early September when the 2023 rates invoices were released.

Rates calls received from August 2023 to November 2023

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During the period from August 2023 to November 2023, rates-related calls accounted for half of all calls received into the call centre although it is important to note that rates call volumes over this period have reduced by 40% compared to the same period last year. Following the release of rates invoices on the 6 September, call volumes averaged a manageable 320 calls per day for the following nine weeks.

In alignment with the trend observed in 2022, call volumes experienced a significant spike following the release of penalty notices, doubling in comparison to the relatively lower activity observed when invoices were initially released. The call centre experienced its busiest days on the 9 and 14 November when 881 calls were received following the release of rates penalty notices on the 8 November. This is 57% less calls compared to the busiest day last year when 1,385 calls were received on the 11 November following the release of 2,022 penalty notices., During peak periods where call volumes averaged 700 per day it was not possible to answer every call immediately. A call-back service was available so people could save their place in the queue. This was well-received by customers as we were able to respond to call backs within a 24-hour timeframe in most cases.

2.1.2 Call Categories

There are five separate phone lines that are managed by our internal call centre. These include the BOPRC general query phone line, the Baybus phone line, the pollution hotline, the 0800 5KNOTS maritime line and a dedicated rates phone line.

Having a dedicated rates phone line allows the team to better manage the calls coming into the call centre by providing better visibility of rates call patterns for reporting purposes. It also means that specific rates messaging can be used while callers are waiting for their call to be answered. During the rates collection period, we use customised messaging to respond to common queries and this means that customers are often able to get the information they need without needing to speak to a customer service agent. This result in a reduction on call volumes overall and has allowed us to better manage peak call periods by reducing pressure on the call centre team.

The following graph shows the volume of calls received to each of these phone lines for the 12 months ending 31 October 2023.

Phone Line Statistics from November 2022 to October 2023

Rates-related calls make up the largest call category, increasing our overall call volumes by 48% over the 12-month period. The call centre received approximately 6,893 rates-related calls in September and October after rates invoices were released across the region.

When looking at monthly call volumes, January and April experience a significant drop in calls across all phone lines. This is consistent with call patterns from previous years where people take leave over the Christmas holidays and Easter.

Baybus calls fluctuate between 1,000 and 2,000 calls each month and totalled 18,300 calls for the 12-month reporting period. Call data shows Baybus calls increase in February and March as students return to school after the summer holidays and again in May 2023 when new timetable changes were implemented. Maritime calls have reduced slightly with approximately 740 calls received over 12 months.

General queries continue to reduce with 1,800 less calls in the 12-month period ending 31 October 2023. The reduction in general calls isn’t attributed to a specific business activity, most call categories have reduced slightly when compared to the previous reporting period.

Calls to the pollution prevention hotline are consistent with the previous reporting period with 1,200 calls received over the 12-month period. Monthly call patterns show that calls to the pollution hotline decreased in June and July before increasing in August when seasonal spraying results in an increase in drift and notification calls. Calls in relation to odours and outdoor smoky fires tend to spike once the spring weather arrives and this is reflected in call volumes for September and October.

2.1.3 Call Abandonment

Abandoned calls are calls that are disconnected before the customer can connect with a staff member. A call may be abandoned for many reasons, including the wait time in the queue, a connection error or a distraction meaning the customer is no longer available to make the call. The service level measure for call abandonment is based on the percentage of calls that are able to be answered each month. The service levels are monitored as these provide an insight into the impact that peak call periods have on call centre operations and where staff scheduling might need to be adjusted to meet the demand during certain times of the day.

High call abandonment levels were experienced during the last three months of 2022 due to the large volumes of rates queries being received each day. In addition to large volumes of calls being received each day, there were also peak times during the day when the call queue had a longer waiting time. This can result in higher levels of abandoned calls; however, our telephony system offers a call back service which enables customers to retain their place in the queue and have a customer service advisor call them back rather than having to wait on the line.

Call abandonment returned to normal levels in January, and this was maintained during September and October despite higher call volumes being received following the release of rates invoices.

Call Answer Service Level from October 2022 to October 2023

A total of 7,200 rates related calls were received through the dedicated rates phone line in September and October after the rates invoices were released. 81% of these calls have been answered and resolved by the call centre immediately, 8% have requested a call back, 7% have been transferred to the rates team and 4% have been abandoned. Reporting to date for November shows call abandonment levels have increased to 44% following the release of penalty notices.

Call patterns reveal that rates calls are particularly heavy on Mondays between 10am and 2pm so this has helped inform the best timing for releasing batches of emailed invoices. Where possible we were also able to adjust our staff resourcing during the day to respond to peak call periods as well as employing additional temporary customer service staff to help manage the higher call volumes.

When scaling up our resourcing to accommodate a new service such as rates collection, there is a fine balance between having enough staff to provide a good service, but not too many to create additional costs and inefficiencies that have to be borne by the ratepayer. This balance is particularly difficult when you are planning for an unknown number of future enquiries.

2.1.4 Call Resolution

The Customer Contact Centre has a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) to resolve 97% of calls at the first point of contact. While call resolution has been averaging around 95% at the beginning of the year, the KPI target was achieved in August and September 2023. This demonstrates that the systems and processes put in place to support the rates collection service have been effective and the customer service team have built up the level of knowledge required to resolve most rates queries. The average call handing time for rates calls is between 3 – 5 minutes, and this reflects that most enquiries are being dealt with at the first point of contact.

Call Resolution Service Level from October 2022 to October 2023

2.1.5 Visitor Numbers

Just over 24,000 people visited our offices in the 12 months ending 31 October 2023. This is a 14% increase compared to the same period last year when 21,000 people visited our offices. This increase in visitors is attributed to a larger number of customers visiting our Tauranga and Whakatāne offices in March when half price bus fares were announced.

In terms of monthly trends, the first few months of 2023 were twice as busy, with double the number of visitors compared to the beginning of last year. Many of these were Bee Card customers wanting to get their bus card sorted before the start of the school year.

Visitor numbers per site from October 2022 to October 2023

During October 2022, visitor numbers peaked at 4,500 as customers came into one of our offices to make their rates payment before the 20 October due date. The number of visitors has reduced by 900 in October 2023, and this reflects that many of these customers are now paying their rates by direct debit. The busiest day was on 19 October where 95 people visited our Rotorua Office. Visitor patterns are noted as being quite different to call patterns as there are no peak times during the day and no particular day of the week that is noticeably busier.

In person rates queries from September 2023 to November 2023

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2.1.6 Website

One of the key objectives for the Rates Collection project was to increase people’s awareness of the work we do, and we’ve been able to gauge how successful this has been by using the data that relates to our website traffic. The graph below shows the most frequently visited webpage is still the property search page which contains the Rating Information Database. The Information Hub which contains key rates related FAQs remains popular and this has helped reduce the number of enquiries coming through to the Customer Services team as answers to common queries can be found easily online.

Top Ten Webpages viewed from November 2022 to October 2023

Many people within our community use our website to access information to common queries and these patterns change depending on the time of year. The chart below shows that while rates-related searches still account for a large amount of web traffic, other types of seasonal information like monthly rainfall, live cameras and safe swimming areas are also being searched regularly.

Top Seven Webpage Searches from November 2022 to October 2023

2.2 Customer Satisfaction Feedback

Our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system provides the ability to develop customer satisfaction measures that enable customer service performance management and monitoring across a variety of different customer service touchpoints. This includes comprehensive data reporting to help us better understand our customers and their needs, as well as customer satisfaction surveys that provide valuable feedback regarding the quality of our service.

Customer Satisfaction surveys are sent to customers who contact us by email or provide their email address over the phone. The survey is voluntary, so only a very small proportion of people reply.

From November 2022 to October 2023, a total of 70,000 surveys were sent to customers, with 3,129 responses received. This is an overall response rate of 4.5%, up from 3.9% during the last reporting period ending 31 January 2023. Collecting this data over a 12-month period has enabled us to analyse the trends that emerge during times where there are issues arising in the community. We can then focus extra attention on these services areas to ensure the contact centre have the correct information they need to respond to queries and that response timeframes are reasonable.

Recent customer satisfaction results show that satisfaction levels for rates queries have improved by 8% and this is attributed to the fact that the rates team have been able to respond to queries much faster now that call volumes have reduced. The biggest change in customer satisfaction levels was the pollution hotline calls which saw customer satisfaction levels decrease by 8%. While the survey responses are not often clear as to why the customer is dissatisfied, the comments that have been provided indicate many these complaints relate to issues with seasonal spraying and odours caused by outdoor smoky fires where the customer is unhappy with the response provided by council.

Customer Satisfaction Survey Results from November 2022 to October 2023

CALL CATEGORY	No. of Responses			Change from July 22
General Call Queries	916	75%	25%	-5
Rates Calls	1,417	90%	10%	+8
Baybus Calls	308	78%	22%	+2
Consents Calls	129	76%	24%	-
Pollution Hotline	263	62%	30%	-8
Maritime 0800 5 KNOTS	98	78%	12%	-

The comments that are extracted from survey data are valuable as they provide further opportunities to improve our service delivery both internally and externally. We receive a wide range of both positive and negative feedback, and these are recorded and shared with the respective team activity areas, to ensure that reoccurring issues are followed up as quickly as possible.

2.2.1 Mystery Shopper Survey Results

Mystery Shopper surveys are carried out monthly and include a series of calls to each of our call lines as well as visits to our reception counters when Covid restrictions allow. Call quality is measured in terms of the service provided, the knowledge and understanding of the issue and whether the mystery caller was satisfied with the response. On-site visits also include the office surroundings and customer interaction aspects of the service being provided in person.

The following table provides an overview of the mystery shopping results for both calls and site visits. Since December last year, satisfaction results over 90% have been achieved for calls managed by our internal call centre. Survey results are slightly lower for our after-hours call service which dropped below 80% in November 2022 and September 2023 when rates invoices and penalty noticed are released. We currently receive very few rates calls after hours; however, we are providing additional support to our external call service provider to ensure they have the information they need to resolve our non-technical rates queries.

Mystery Shopper survey satisfaction results from February 2022 to January 2023

3. Considerations

3.1 Risks and Mitigations

Regrettably, an incident occurred at the Tauranga office in November, prompting a thorough review of the reception design at all offices. In response to this event, a comprehensive review is underway to assess vulnerabilities and ensure that any necessary security enhancements are identified and promptly implemented.

While this incident is the first time that the safety of our reception team has been compromised in this way, it highlights the importance of a proactive approach to security measures, and the ongoing review aims to strengthen the security at our reception counters, providing a safer and more secure environment for both staff and visitors. This incident serves as a catalyst for continuous improvement and underscores the commitment to fostering a safe workspace.

3.2 Climate Change

Anything we can do to reduce carbon emissions is important, no matter how small, and that includes how we engage with our customers through our various customer service channels. We have four separate service channels available that provide an opportunity for our customers to connect with us digitally. This is important as recent customer service data shows a growing trend in people wanting to access customer services and process their bill payments online.

Our customers are able to access answers to many frequently asked questions through our website or send us a request by email or via social media. We also use the Antenno app which helps ensure members of our community are informed about issues affecting their area and enables another channel to log requests. In addition to this our customers can call us 24/7 and speak to a call centre agent. As part of the rates project planning, it was important that our customers were able to pay their rates locally at an NZ Post agency as this reduced the need for people to travel into one of our offices contributing to a reduction in travel emissions.

3.3 Implications for Māori

The Bay of Plenty region is growing and changing, and this is reflected in our increasingly diverse population. Embracing cultural differences in customer service empowers our people to better predict and accommodate the needs of their customers, as well as connecting with them on a more meaningful and human level. Our customer service model is designed to provide inclusive and accessible customer service that all our customers can use and benefit from. Our staff training focusses on the need to be flexible, patient, and empathetic to ensure that our customers have a positive customer experience.

3.4 Financial Implications

There are no material unbudgeted financial implications and this fits within the allocated budget.

4. Next Steps

4.1.1 National Ticketing System Project

The preliminary stages of groundwork are underway for the forthcoming National Ticketing System (NTS) project due for implementation in the Bay of Plenty in 2025. In recognition of the magnitude of this transition, the initial efforts mirror the comprehensive review undertaken in preparation for the successful Regional Integrated Ticketing System (RITS) implementation in 2020.

The team is currently working to understand the requirements, potential challenges, and lessons learned from past system implementations to inform a robust customer service strategy for NTS. This proactive approach will ensure that the implementation process is well-informed, drawing from the experiences of previous projects and paving the way for a seamless integration of this new technology currently scheduled for 2025.

Chairperson	Cr Kevin Winters
Deputy Chairperson	Cr Ron Scott
Members	All Councillors
Quorum	Seven members, consisting of half the number of members
Meeting frequency	Quarterly