Farmers Consider Nitrogen Cap Appeal

FEDERATED FARMERS is likely to lodge an Environment Court appeal against a nitrogen cap, intended to stop water deterioration, which has been imposed around Lake Taupo.

Environment Waikato adopted Variation 5 to its regional plan last week, making sheep, beef and dairy farming a controlled activity from July 1.

Farmers around the lake’s 3487-square-kilometre catchment will need a resource consent to continue normal activities, though the council has guaranteed a consent to all farmers and is helping them meet a cap on nitrogen. Overuse of nitrogen on farms leads to runoff and pollutes waterways.

The council said an appeal against the process would probably delay the number of consents issued but it would continue working with landowners. Opponents have four weeks to appeal.

The measure was made legally effective in July 2005 but enforcement has been delayed to give landowners time to assess their nitrogen output.

Federated Farmers Rotorua-Taupo president Gifford McFadden said it was highly likely that the group would appeal.

If adopted more widely, the variation would “stop all innovation and change and would have a severe economic impact on New Zealand as a whole”, he said.

The council’s acting policy group manager, Robert Brodnax, said if an appeal went ahead the cap would remain while the appeal was considered by the courts.

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