Resource use - It's what we do | Waikato Regional Council

Resource use. It's what we do.

In 2023/24, we managed 2646 consents across 875 sites and took 86 actions against consent non-compliance. We also received and responded to 1675 reports of environmental incidents.

Regional councils are responsible for regulating the use of natural resources, such as water, soil, air, geothermal areas and the coastal marine area. We also seek ways to sustainably manage the adverse effects to people, property and the environment that arise from resource use. This work is done through a mix of statutory regulatory functions and education, guided by compliance strategies and working with other organisations and our communities. It includes:
- providing consents to use natural resources in the Waikato region
- providing building consents for large dams for the whole of the North Island
- checking people comply with their consents as well as other environmental rules
- working alongside primary sector stakeholders to support farmers and growers to meet their regulatory obligations
- supporting schools with educational programmes Enviroschools and Kura Waitī Ki Kura Waitā
- investigating potential breaches of the law and take appropriate enforcement actions when breaches are found
- responding to reported pollution incidents or complaints 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
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We are required to produce a regional policy statement (RPS), which gives an overview of the resource management issues for the region and ways in which integrated management of the region’s natural and physical resources will be achieved. We are also responsible for producing the Waikato Regional Plan and the Waikato Regional Coastal Plan, which contain policy and methods to manage the natural and physical resources of the region and the coastal marine area respectively. All these plans are currently under review to give effect to national direction.

Proposed Waikato Regional Plan Change 1: Waikato and Waipā river catchments (PC1) is before the Environment Court. PC1 introduces new rules for managing the farm activities that may adversely affect freshwater quality in the Waikato and Waipā river catchments. A significant number of new resource consents are likely to be required over the coming years as PC1 becomes operative and urban growth across the region continues.
The Environmental Performance Committee, which is made up of six councillors and meets every three months, is responsible for overseeing the effectiveness of, and compliance with, the council’s regulatory responsibilities, including:
- monitoring the effectiveness of the council’s Resource Management Act and Building Act implementation responsibilities
- considering emerging environmental issues relating to environmental and regulatory monitoring and performance matters and providing advice on the implications for effective resource management in the region
- receiving the reports of resource consent hearing committee decisions as constituted under the Resource Management Act.
- receiving the reports of resource consent hearing committee decisions as constituted under the Resource Management Act.
Waikato Regional Council’s Strategy and Policy Committee, which is made up of 14 councillors and meets bi-monthy or as required, is responsible for:
- setting the council’s strategic direction and policy responses
- signalling regional issues that require council intervention
- setting the council’s advocacy position on regional issues
- responding to external agency statutory planning processes
- providing thought leadership across matters of regional significance
- establishing strategic priorities for organisational direction and policy setting.
We partner with iwi Māori to ensure resource use is managed sustainably while upholding Māori values, rights, and aspirations.
- Co-governance arrangements and joint management agreements ensure resource management aligns with cultural and environmental priorities.
- Mātauranga Māori informs resource use, balancing economic, environmental, and cultural considerations.
- Iwi actively participate in resource consent processes, policy development, and environmental planning.
- Māori contribute to regional resource management by developing their own plans and appointing tribal representatives in council decision-making.
- The Kura Waitī ki Kura Waitā programme advances mātauranga Māori in environmental education, blending traditional and contemporary approaches while creating career pathways for rangatahi.
Through these partnerships, Waikato Regional Council upholds its Te Tiriti o Waitangi commitments while fostering responsible, inclusive, and sustainable resource management.

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Consents and compliance Policies and Plans Farmers' hub

Consents and compliance Policies and Plans Farmers' hub

What else do we do?

Improving water quality, enhancing the health of our coastal and marine ecosystems, protecting and restoring our unique native plants and animals and the ecosystems they live in, keeping people safe on our roads and waterways as well as from floods and other hazards, and providing passenger transport services.

We do all this, and more.

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Waikato Regional Council has co-governance and co-management arrangements with several iwi partners.

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