Rotorua Lakes Council have used Plan Change 14 as the reason, that septic tanks are no longer allowed, prohibited or illegal in the Lake Tarawera area.
It is on the Lake Tarawera Sewerage website page on the Rotorua Lakes Council website, and has been used in correspondence, such as Stavros Michael's letter dated 19th August 2024;
The decision to declare the operating wastewater septic tanks non-compliant (for Tarawera) was under the regulatory authority of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (BOPRC) and not the Rotorua Lakes Council.Under the BOPRC’s Plan Change 14 (OSET rules), septic tanks will no longer be allowed.
On the website;
Q: I maintain my septic tank, can I continue to use it?
No. Under Plan Change 14 Bay of Plenty Regional Council will no longer issue new consents for septic tank systems or renew consents for existing septic tanks. The Local Government Act requires that properties connect to a reticulated wastewater system if one is provided.
Q: I have an Aerated Waste Treatment System, can I continue to use it?
No. The Local Government Act requires that properties connect to a reticulated wastewater system if one is provided.
On the Bay of Plenty Regional Council website;
What is the legal status of Draft Plan Change 14?
The Draft Plan Change document was for community consultation and has no legal effect. We wanted to know what the community thought about the draft rules so we can resolve any concerns before the rules are enforced. Feedback on the Draft Plan Change is now being used to develop new OSET provisions that will be notified in 2024 with the other plan changes under the Essential Freshwater Policy Programme to implement the NPS FM.
Once the new OSET provisions are publicly notified, the new rules will have legal effect. Council can decide to delay when new rules will be enforced.
In the meantime, under section 79 of the Resource Management Act 1991, the rules in the current Operative On-Site Effluent Treatment Regional Plan will remain in force.
My question to the Rotorua Lakes Council is;
1. Why are Rotorua Lakes Council using a draft plan change 14, that has no legal effect, and was a community consultation, as the legislation that septic tanks are no longer allowed, or prohibited in the Rotorua lakes areas - namely Lake Tarawera?
Response
I refer to your LGOIMA request of 16 October 2024 (highlighted) above, specifically:
1. Why are Rotorua Lakes Council using a draft plan change 14, that has no legal effect, and was a community consultation, as the legislation that septic tanks are no longer allowed, or prohibited in the Rotorua lakes areas - namely Lake Tarawera?
Reference to Plan Change 14 on Council’s website is an error. Thank you for bringing this to our attention and the website has now been updated.
The Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s (BOPRC) On-Site Effluent Treatment (OSET) Plan (August 2006), with plan changes in March 2011 and August 2014, regulates discharges from septic tanks. The Plan recognises the challenges associated with waste water treatment in the Lake Tarawera catchment and in 2017 Lake Tarawera was designated a Maintenance Zone. From December 2017 the discharge of treated domestic waste water into the land from an existing septic tank became a discretionary activity and all properties with existing septic tanks should have either connected to a reticulated system, or should have upgraded to an Aerated Wastewater Treatment System with Nitrogen Reduction (AWTS +NR). Any existing septic tank system without a resource consent within the Lake Tarawera community is currently non-compliant. Due to the soon to be available reticulation Bay of Plenty Regional Council has not actively enforced the upgrade requirements within the Plan or required property owners to spend a significant amount of money to upgrade their systems.
The Tarawera Sewerage Scheme has been the result of extensive community consideration over many years, including discussion with and input from iwi and hapū. Arriving at the preferred option followed careful and balanced consideration of all technical, cultural, financial, and planning factors.
