Toi Moana Bay of Plenty Regional Council has paused release of draft freshwater plan changes while new Resource Management legislation and national direction are developed.
Toi Moana Bay of Plenty Regional Council has paused release of draft freshwater plan changes while new Resource Management legislation and national direction are developed.
In July 2025, the Government paused most Resource Management Act (RMA) plan changes and mandatory plan reviews as part of its transition to a new planning system. In August 2025, the Government also paused notification of freshwater changes until the new National Statement for Freshwater Management (NPSFM) is in place.
The Government sought feedback on updating national direction, including options to amend freshwater national direction, which closed at the end of July 2025. Further consultation on the proposed freshwater national direction is expected this year.
In December 2025, the Government introduced two bills to replace the RMA: the Planning Bill and the Natural Environment Bill. These are expected to be passed in 2026, with current “plan stop” settings remaining in place until the new Resource Management system takes effect.
Until the new freshwater national direction is in place, freshwater plan-making in the Bay of Plenty is on hold. Existing policies and rules in Regional Plans still apply, along with any relevant national freshwater rules. Applicants are encouraged to use the best available information, including the latest science, to carefully assess environmental effects and seek early advice, as some current policy settings may not reflect the most up-to-date information.
Following the Government’s announcement to suspend all plan changes until the new Resource Management Act 1991 replacement legislation and National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 comes into force, Toi Moana Bay of Plenty Regional Council has paused progress on changes to regional plans to improve how we manage freshwater in our region.
Despite this, we still have many issues to address. These include degraded estuaries, new science and information on how to manage freshwater better, potentially making more water available for use, the need for a streamlined Regional Plan to make the consenting process easier and approximately 350 pre-RMA water take consents which are up for renewal in 2026.
We would like to thank the many people in our community, including tangata whenua, community groups, farmers, sector organisations and key stakeholders who have invested time into the freshwater policy process to date. We appreciate your patience and look forward to reconnecting once the new legislation and national direction are in place.
Water quality and ecosystem health: how much change might be needed
Before plan changes were stopped, Regional Council had calculated contaminant load reductions needed to achieve environmental outcomes.
The tables below show an indicative scale of the contaminant load reductions needed to meet draft environmental outcomes for water quality and ecosystem health in each draft Freshwater Management Unit required by the NPSFM 2020. These are current as at 1 October 2025.
Freshwater Management Units: Information booklets
Please note: The booklets below were produced in 2022 to support public engagement on freshwater rule changes at the time. While these still provide very useful information on each draft Freshwater Management Unit (FMU) and their key issues, some of the information has since been updated or superseded.
This new information in the Freshwater Management Units: Information booklets include assessments of surface water and groundwater available for allocation and indicative scale of contaminant reductions needed to meet draft environmental outcomes for water quality and ecosystem health. Read more about new information
Region wide overview and summary draft issues and options papers
Please note: The region wide overview booklet and region wide summary draft issues and options papers below were produced in 2023 to support public engagement on freshwater rule changes at the time. While these still provide very useful information on issues and options for regional policy and plan change, some of the information has since been updated or superseded.
Iwi, stakeholder and community engagement
Intensive iwi, stakeholder and community engagement on freshwater issues and options including targets and rules ran from April to Sept 2023. Community feedback closed on 30 September. Feedback received is helping to shape draft options.
You can read a summary of what tangata whenua and the community have told us so far by checking out the information that was presented to councillors in October 2023 (page 19 onwards) or by reading the accompanying power point presentation. Relevant pages identified below:
In late 2021 we asked the community what freshwater areas are important to them and whether they were happy with its current state. We also ran online public engagement in 2022 about long term vision and outcomes for freshwater. We’ve started discussing issues and draft options with tangata whenua and advisory panels. You can learn more about the feedback we received on Mapping Our Freshwater Sites.
Learn more about the previous engagement we undertook around the Bay.
