Minerals

13. Minerals

13.1 Recognising and providing for appropriate use and development of minerals
Background to the issue
Minerals are natural and physical resources, the sustainable management of which are to be promoted under the Resource Management Act. Minerals include aggregate such as rocks, gravel and sand, coal, and petroleum minerals such as oil, gas and condensate. Taranaki is one of the most important mineral producing regions in New Zealand containing the country's only commercially producing oil and gas fields. Interest in petroleum exploration in the region remains high.

There are quarries operating throughout the region producing a range of aggregates used in the roading building and construction industries and in the development and maintenance of the region's infrastructure. High quality aggregate which is accessible for extraction is in short supply in the Taranaki region. Access to and use and development of the region's mineral resources is important to New Zealand and to the Taranaki region to enable people and communities to provide for their social, economic and cultural wellbeing and for their health and safety. Without a reliable supply of minerals such as aggregate, these resources would need to be imported from other regions adding to transportation costs and environmental impacts and reducing economic benefits to local communities.

Mineral resources that do exist are fixed in location and unevenly distributed. An important issue for the region is therefore to ensure that mineral exploration, extraction and processing activities or potentially valuable sources are not compromised by other activities such as residential development which may be sensitive to the effects of mineral extraction activities. Even if mineral extraction and related activities adopt best management practices, some land uses will be incompatible with those activities. In practice, this can mean that the ability to extract and utilise the minerals may become compromised by sensitive land uses locating near mineral extraction and processing activities or along access routes. These "reverse sensitivity effects" need to be addressed.

Adverse environmental effects may result from mineral extraction and subsequent activities and some of these effects are potentially significant. For example there may be adverse effects on natural features and landscapes and on amenity and ecological values in the locality. There may be adverse effects on water quality. The relationship of Maori and their traditions and culture with their ancestral taonga may also be adversely affected. Where extraction activities occur in water bodies or on the foreshore and seabed their may also be significant impacts on natural character, ecological values and on the functioning of physical processes in these dynamic and sensitive environments.

Mineral extraction and development operations therefore need to be planned and managed carefully and adverse effects of those activities need to be avoided, remedied or mitigated. Other objectives and policies in this Regional Policy Statement provide further guidance on managing the adverse effects of activities on other resources and the environment.

The significant issues in relation to recognising and providing for minerals are:

Objective

MIN OBJECTIVE 1

To provide for use and development of the region's mineral resources while avoiding, remedying or mitigating any adverse effects on the environment.

Policies
Recognising and providing for mineral development

MIN Policy 1

Provision will be made to enable appropriate use and development of the region's mineral resources in a way that avoids, remedies or mitigates adverse effects on the environment.

Managing the effects of incompatible activities on mineral resources

MIN Policy 2

The adverse effects of subdivision, use and development activities that may be incompatible with mineral extraction activities by mainly limiting their operations or compromising their ability to extract minerals, will be avoided, remedied or mitigated.

Explanation of the policies

Policy 1 provides for appropriate use and development of the region's mineral resources to enable people and communities to meet their economic, social and cultural wellbeing. Provisions to enable appropriate use and development of minerals used in energy production and supply will contribute to New Zealand's energy supply needs while provisions to enable appropriate use of aggregates will facilitate construction and infrastructure developments important for the region's economic and social wellbeing. This must be done in a way that avoids, remedies or mitigates adverse effects on the environment. Policy 2 seeks to ensure that reverse sensitivity effects arising from activities that may be incompatible with mineral extraction activities and which may therefore unduly limit their activities, are avoided, remedied or mitigated.

 Related policies

All policies in sections 5.1 (Soil erosion), Section 5.2 (Soil health); Section 5.3 (Hazardous substances and contaminated sites); Section 6.1 (Sustainable water allocation); Section 6.2 (Surface water quality); Section 6.3 (Groundwater flows and quality); Section 6.4 (Wetlands); Section 6.6 (Use of river and lake beds); Section 6.7 (Public access to rivers and lakes); Section 7.1 (Air Quality); Section 7.2 (Climate change); Section 8.1 (Natural character of the coastal environment); Section 8.2 (Coastal water quality); Section 8.3 (Public access to the coastal environment); Section 9.1 (Indigenous biodiversity); Section 10.1 (Natural features and landscapes); Section 10.2 (Historic heritage); Section 10.3 (Amenity values); Policies 2 and 3, Section 11.1 (Natural hazards); Policy 1, Section 12 (Waste management); Policy 1, Section 14, (Energy); and all policies in Section 15.2 (Regionally significant infrastructure and Section 16 (Issues of significance to iwi).

Methods of implementation

The Taranaki Regional Council will:

Territorial authorities may wish to consider the following methods:

Principal reasons for adopting the objective, policies and methods

The objective, policies and methods of implementation establish a policy framework for providing for the use and development of mineral resources in the Taranaki region. Minerals are natural and physical resources and their sustainable management is to be promoted under the Act.

Access to and development of mineral resources is important for the economic, social and cultural wellbeing of people and communities in Taranaki. Some mineral deposits in Taranaki are of national importance. However there may be adverse environmental effects from mineral exploration, extraction and processing that must be avoided, remedied or mitigated. Furthermore, the ability to use and develop mineral resources may be unduly compromised by allowing incompatible activities to locate near mineral extraction activities. These matters are addressed in the objectives and policies. The implementation methods identify that the appropriate mechanisms to implement the policies are at the regional and district plans and resource consent levels. Codes of good practice can also assist in reducing conflicts. Information on the distribution and value of mineral resources can increase public awareness of their location and importance.

The policies and methods build on current approaches to this issue. They have proven to be effective in promoting integrated management and in achieving desired environmental outcomes and are considered appropriate having regard to their efficiency and effectiveness and benefits and costs.

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