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Quarrying |
This section on quarrying refers to the extraction of rock, gravel, limestone, sand, and clay. These types of material are not usually Crown-owned minerals, and their extraction does not produce toxic waste. A resource consent is required under the RMA.
Large amounts of aggregates and other material are used in building construction and roads – the equivalent of 6 tonnes per year for each New Zealander. There are currently over 600 aggregate mining operations throughout New Zealand - add to this the production of other minerals such as clays, pumice and limestone. So overall, the impacts of these activities are large. Quarries are located in all parts of NZ, as all regions have a demand for materials for building and road construction, and transporting material over large distances is costly.
With the increasing trend towards rural-residential living, the issue of reverse sensitivity has arisen with quarries. For more information on this, visit the 'Reverse Sensitivity' topic page.
A quarry or extraction operation will usually require;
- A land use consent from the local authority for excavation, land disturbance, vegetation clearance
- A regional authority permit to take or divert water
- Permits for discharges to water (ie wastewater containing sediment) and to air (dust)
- Coastal permits (from the regional authority) if the site is on or near the coast.
Choice of appropriate resource consent conditions will vary with the nature of the operation, and how adjacent properties are being used. The general ‘duty to avoid, remedy or mitigate adverse effects’ of Section 17 also apply.
The following is a list of resource consent conditions that could be required to avoid, remedy or mitigate the various impacts of quarrying and extraction activities;
- Dust control measures
- Hours of operation
- Noise standards – decibel limits at boundaries, hours of operation, buffer zone within site boundaries
- Traffic plan – to address routes taken by trucks entering and leaving site, damage to local roads
- Visual impacts –use of stockpiles or mounding for screening, screen planting, weed control
- Protection of site features –avoid disturbing areas of native vegetation, habitats, archaeological or geological features
- Prevent sediment entering waterways – settling ponds for washing water, sediment removal from stormwater coming from areas under excavation. Minimise sediment discharges from riverbed gravel or sand extraction.
- Site rehabilitation, replanting to deal with altered landforms and drainage patterns and provide for future productive use or habitat values on site.
- Monitoring programme, to ensure ongoing compliance with consent conditions.
- Consultation with local community
- Bonds required to ensure compliance, rehabilitation. Bond conditions can be for a time period longer than the term of the consent, to be most effective.
More information on appropriate consent conditions can be found in the MFE publications listed below.
The RMA requires monitoring of consent holders, to ensure that they are complying with consent conditions. This may be the responsibility of the consent holder, or the local or regional authority. As quarry operations are often hidden from public view, vigilant neighbours have a useful role to play here. If monitoring and enforcement by the local and regional authority are not of a satisfactory standard, the Act allows members of the public to apply directly to the Environment Court for an enforcement order.
During a district plan review, the plan should be examined to see where quarrying is a permitted or controlled use. A council cannot refuse consent to an activity which is classed as permitted or controlled. You may consider that discretionary (restricted) or discretionary status will enable your community to have more control over the environmental effects of quarrying or extraction activities.
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MFE (2001) Managing Rural Amenity Conflicts ME 372
Ministry for the Environment, Wellington 122p ISBN 0-478-24006-6
Description: This report identifies amenity issues that commonly concern rural communities. It examines a range of policy and planning approaches to managing conflicts. Includes discussion of relevant case law examples.
MFE (2001) Good Practice Guidelines for Assessing and Managing the Effects of Dust Emissions ME 408
Ministry for the Environment, Wellington ISBN 0-478-24038-4
Available from MFE, or online at www.mfe.govt.nz/publications
Description: Report contains information for industry, communities, and councils. Includes assessing environmental effects, considering resource consent applications, developing regional air plans, and compliance monitoring.
MFE (2003)Amenity Effects of PM10 and TSP Concentrations in New Zealand. Air Quality Technical Report no 41.
Ministry for the Environment, Wellington.
Description: Report reviews amenity effects of dust particles, and significance of nuisance.
Only available online, www.mfe.govt.nz/publications
MFE (2002) Quarrying and the Resource Management Act ME 451
Ministry for the Environment, Wellington
Printed copies available free from MFE, or online at www.mfe.govt.nz/publications
Description: Information for quarry operators considering establishing a quarry, or renewing consent for existing quarry.
MFE (2001) Guide to Landfill Consent Conditions ME 389
Ministry for the Environment, Wellington
Description: Report contains information relevant to quarries, as landfill operations involve excavation, stockpiling of material, onsite transfer etc with similar impacts to quarries. Prepared to assist in the development and effective enforcement of robust resource consent conditions. Contains suggested outline for a landfill management plan, and a case study.
Web-Based Materials
Site:www.nzmia.co.nz
Organisation: Site of the NZ Minerals Industry Association.
Resources: Variety of resources, including online ‘National Minerals Strategy’ (aims to increase NZ’s mineral production), and Industry codes of practice (these were being reviewed as this information was being prepared, and were temporarily unavailable)
Site:www.minerals.co.nz
Organisation: Another NZMIA site.
Resources: Good educational resources about the range of industrial minerals quarried and mined in New Zealand.
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