The
national environmental standards for telecommunications
facilities came into force on 9 October
2008.
In essence, the standards
say:
An activity (such as a mobile phone transmitter)
that emits radio-frequency fields is a permitted
activity provided it complies with the existing
New Zealand Standard (NZS2772.1:1999 Radio-frequency
Fields Part 1: Maximum Exposure Levels 3kHz-300GHz).
The installation of
telecommunications equipment cabinets along
roads or in the road reserve is a permitted
activity, subject to specified limitations
on their size and location.
Noise from telecommunications
equipment cabinets located alongside roads
or in the road reserve is a permitted activity,
subject to specified noise limits.
The installation of masts
and antennas on existing structures alongside
roads or in the road reserve is a permitted
activity, subject to specified limitations
to height and size.
The national environmental
standards are regulations made under the
Resource Management Act 1991. Activities
that do not qualify as permitted activities
under the regulations will continue to be
managed by local councils through the existing
rules in their district plans under the
Resource Management Act 1991.
The regulations will
substitute existing district plan rules
that address the same subject material.
A plan change is not required to substitute
that part of a district plan affected by
the regulations.
The Ministry for the
Environment is running a series of workshops
to help councils and the telecommunications
industry understand and implement the new
regulations. A user’s guide is also being
developed and will be available shortly.
Resource Management
(National Environmental Standards for Telecommunication
Facilities) Regulations 2008
Background to the standards
The regulations were developed to provide
for a nationally consistent planning framework
for radiofrequency fields of all telecommunication
facilities and low impact telecommunications
infrastructure on road reserves to:
assist in network and equipment design and
equipment sourcing for roll outs,
create a reduction in compliance costs and
timeframes for service providers
reduce the timeframe and lower costs for
the availability of new services to consumers
contribute to a reduced workload to councils
in processing and determining consent applications
set an appropriate balance between local
participation in community planning and
cost effective national infrastructure investment.
In July 2005 the Government approved national
policy statements and national environmental
standards for telecommunications infrastructure
to be scoped using an industry-led approach.
An industry reference
group was convened with representatives
from Telecom, Vodafone and TelstraClear,
Local Government New Zealand, the Ministry
for the Environment, Ministry of Health,
and Ministry of Economic Development.
After considering several
options for national instruments under the
Resource Management Act, the industry reference
group proposed a package of national environmental
standards for radiofrequency exposure and
specific telecommunications facilities.
The industry reference
group presented its report to the Ministry
for the Environment (copies of the industry
reference group’s report are available on
request from: standards@mfe.govt.nz). The
Ministry for the Environment then led the
process for further developing the standards.
The discussion document,
“Proposed National Environmental Standards
for Telecommunications Facilities”, was
released for public consultation 16 June
2007. Consultation ran for eight weeks until
10 August 2007.
A series of workshops
were run in conjunction with the launch
of the discussion document. These workshops
provided the opportunity for proposals in
the document to be discussed with Ministry
staff.
In total, 82 submissions
were received from local and central government,
industry, community groups and individuals.
A report on submissions
is available. The report provides a summary
of the responses received during the consultation
and outlines the main issues raised by respondents.
Several key changes
to the standard were made based on consideration
of submissions. These included:
Strengthen links to
district plan provisions where specific
values such as amenity have been identified
as a local issue.
Reducing the potential for street clutter
through increased minimum separation distances
between cabinets
Aligning the noise standards with the new
Standards New Zealand standard.
Future proofing the standards by not specifying
specific types of panel antennas and including
allowances for dish antennas.
+ More
Limiting extensions
to roadside structures to one extension
only - to prevent incremental height creep.
Cabinet paper – Policy Background
In February 2008, Cabinet
decided the National Environmental Standards
for Telecommunications Facilities should
proceed and that regulations should be drafted
to give effect to the standards. For detail
on the policy background for the national
environmental standard, refer to the Cabinet
Paper: Proposed National Environmental Standard
for Telecommunications Facilities, or download
the PDF (259 KB)
The Cabinet paper was
accompanied by a regulatory impact statement,
which is a short document setting out the
costs and benefits of the policy: Regulatory
impact statement: National environmental
standard for telecommunications facilities,
or download the PDF (9 KB)
Section 32 report
The section 32 report evaluated the efficiency,
effectiveness and appropriateness of the
national environmental standard. This is
a requirement under the Resource Management
Act 1991 when developing a regulation, including
a national environmental standard.
The report also includes a response to public
submissions
Section 32 Report: National
Environmental Standards for Telecommunications
Facilities
What is a Section 32 report?
See Questions and answers –national environmental
standards for telecommunications facilities
for more information.
If you would like more
information about standards for telecommunications
please contact standards@mfe.govt.nz.
Report provides clarity
on sawmill contamination
9 October 2008 - Media
Statement - The Ministry for the Environment
has published a technical report which outlines
the extent of dioxin contamination at sawmill
sites in New Zealand.
The report is the result
of an investigation by consultants of 255
sites where pentachlorophenol (known as
PCP) was used as a treatment of timber in
sprays or dips until its withdrawal in 1988.
PCP contained dioxin impurities in its commercial
forms.
Sue Powell, general
manager of the Ministry’s Local Government
Group, says the report provides excellent
information for territorial authorities:
“The report shows that there is one very
large, six large, 28 medium, and 220 small
sawmill sites where PCP was used. The consultants
obtained data at 17 sawmills to estimate
the extent of dioxin present.”
Of the 255 sites, 100
are no longer sawmills. Most are zoned commercial
or industrial, but a small number of sites
are now used for residential purposes and
land records were not clear whether those
sites had been appropriately managed.
“The risk of health
impacts is regarded as low, but as a precaution
health and council officials visited those
sites and spoke to residents. All of the
residents were aware of the land’s former
sawmill use,” Sue Powell said.
The report updates the
national estimate of dioxin in soils at
sawmill locations, and contributes to a
reporting obligation under the Stockholm
Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.
Sue Powell says all
councils in New Zealand have received the
report, and under the Resource Management
Act’s 2005 amendments are obliged to ensure
their land databases correctly reflect sites
known to have a history of contamination.
“Councils should require
the clean-up or ongoing management of former
sawmill sites where PCP was used before
approving future land-use changes.”
As part of its usual
work, the Department of Labour will visit
current and former sawmill sites to ensure
employers know about the soil contamination
that may be present, and to provide them
with information on safe management practices.
The report is available
at http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/hazardous/assessment-dioxin-contamination-sawmill-sites-2008-10/index.html.
For answers to frequently asked questions
on dioxin, see http://www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/hazardous/contaminated/dioxin-faq/.
Lester Thorley, Media Advisor,
Ministry for the Environment – Manatu Mo
Te Taiao
