Before the Environment Court
At Wellington
I Mua I te Kōti Taiao
Te Whanganui-a-Tara Rohe
ENV-2019-346-103
Under
Clause 14 of Schedule 1, Section 310, and Section 293 of
the Resource Management Act 1991
In the matter of
appeals on the Proposed Natural Resources Plan
And
In the matter of
an application for a declaration under section 310 and an
order under section 293
Between
Various
Appellants
ENV-2019-000103, 105-133
And
Wellington Regional Council
Respondent
Application for declaration under section 310 and an order under section
293 in relation to the definition of river 'mouth'
Date: 6 October 2021
Level 4, 20 Customhouse Quay, Wellington 6011
PO Box 2791, Wellington 6140
DX SP20002, Wellington
Tel +64 4 472 6289
Fax +64 4 472 7429
Solicitor on the record
Kerry Anderson
[email address]
Tel +64 4 474 3255
Contact solicitor
Emma Manohar
[email address]
Tel +64 4 918 3016
7087056.6
To:
The Registrar
Environment Court
WELLINGTON
Wellington Regional Council applies for the following declaration under section
310 of the RMA:
Declaration
A
When determining the location of a river mouth in the Wellington
Region, not shown on Maps 42 to 48, the mouth is deemed to be a
straight line representing the continuation of the line of Mean High-
Water Springs on each side of the river at the river outlet.
The grounds for this application are:
1
The accompanying memorandum of counsel provides details of the
grounds for the application. In summary:
1.1
Through an error, the Proposed Natural Resources Plan
(
PNRP) does not identify river mouths (except for those
rivers on Maps 42 to 48).
1.2
This is an error that the Wellington Regional Council
(
Council) seeks to address through the declaration process.
The Council relies on (b) of the definition of 'mouth', and
section 310(e) of the RMA, both of which state that a
declaration may declare the point at which the landward
boundary of the coastal marine area crosses any river.
1.3
This approach is endorsed by
Re Auckland Regional Council
Environment Court, Auckland, 3/4/1997, A046/97.
1.4
The Council also relies on the affidavit of Dr Dawe, as
providing support for this declaration.
7087056.620210917 - 3 - Application for declaration and order under section 293 of the
RMA(7087056.5).docx1
Wellington Regional Council applies for the following orders under section 293
of the RMA:
Orders sought
A
That the following text be inserted into the PNRP
in Chapter 13 and
placed immediately above Map 42 (below the heading which reads:
'Coastal marine area and river mouth boundaries'):
Maps 42 to 48 show where the Coastal Marine Area and
river mouth boundaries are located. For the remaining
rivers in the Wellington Region not shown on Maps 42 to
48, the mouth is deemed to be a straight line representing
the continuation of the line of Mean High Water Springs
on each side of the river at the river outlet.
The Coastal Marine Area means the foreshore, seabed,
and coastal water, and the air space above the water—
(a)
of which the seaward boundary is the outer
limits of the territorial sea:
(b)
of which the landward boundary is the line of
mean high water springs, except that where
that line crosses a river, the landward
boundary at that point shall be whichever is
the lesser of—
(i)
1 kilometre upstream from the
mouth of the river; or
(ii)
the point upstream that is
calculated by multiplying the
width of the river mouth by 5.
The grounds for this application are:
2
The accompanying memorandum of counsel provides details of the
grounds for the application. In summary:
2.1
The Court's powers under section 310 of the RMA are
declaratory in nature. They give the Court to power to
determine what the appropriate location of the 'mouth' is, but
arguably not the power to amend the PNRP to implement this
declaration regarding location.
2.2
Given this, a direction is sought under section 293 of the
RMA as consequential relief to the above declaration, to
7087056.620210917 - 3 - Application for declaration and order under section 293 of the
RMA(7087056.5).docx2
allow for the amendment to the PNRP to give effect to the
declaration.
2.3
Section 293 authorises the Environment Court to order a
change to the PNRP.
2.4
The affidavit of Dr Dawe provides support for this
amendment to the PNRP as being the appropriate correction
to address the error.
Date: 6 October 2021
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kerry M Anderson/Kate H Rogers
Counsel for Wellington Regional
Council
This document is filed by Kerry Murray Anderson of DLA Piper New Zealand, solicitor
for Wellington Regional Council.
The address for service on Wellington Regional Council is at:
DLA Piper New Zealand
4th Floor
Deloitte House
20 Customhouse Quay
Wellington 6011
Documents for service on Wellington Regional Council may be:
•
left at the above address for service, or
•
posted to the solicitor at PO Box 2791, Wellington 6140, or
•
transmitted to the solicitor by fax on +64 4 472 7429.
Please direct enquiries to:
Kate Rogers
Tel +64 4 918 3050
Fax +64 4 472 7429
Email [email address]
7087056.620210917 - 3 - Application for declaration and order under section 293 of the
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