Renewing your on-site wastewater discharge consent

All existing consented discharges of domestic wastewater need a replacement resource consent on expiry.

Chapter 36 of the Tasman Resource Management Plan (TRMP) has the rules for wastewater resource consents. It identifies wastewater sensitive areas, and the reasons for managing them through the resource consent process. Chapter 37 also sets out the information and assessment you must include with your application.

These are explained further below.

Resource consent application form - domestic wastewater replacement.pdf (pdf 1.3 MB)

Chapter 36 of the Tasman Resource Management Plan has the controls for wastewater discharges. It identifies wastewater sensitive areas, and the reasons for managing them through the resource consent process. The chapter also sets out the information that every applicant must provide.

Link to Chapters 36 and 37 of the TRMP.

Some areas of the district are identified in the TRMP as more sensitive to wastewater discharges. These areas are called:

• the Wastewater Management Area (WMA), and
• the Special Domestic Wastewater Disposal Area (SDWDA). 

The reasons these areas are designated include:

• underlying site specific characteristics such as soil, geology, and topography, or
• risks of adverse effects to neighbours, public health or the larger environment.

Extra requirements apply to these areas.

See if your property is within the Wastewater Management Area overlay of the TRMP. 

The boundary of the area is marked in red.

If you're unsure from this map, check the TRMP maps.

See "Find out if your property is in the Special Domestic Wastewater Disposal Area" below.

To find out if you are in the Special Domestic Wastewater Disposal Area (or for more detailed maps of the Wastewater Management Area) check the TRMP maps and look for the following:

SDWDA

WMA

 These are the locations covered by these overlays and you can view the Part VI Discharges TRMP maps to check.

If your property is not on this list, then neither the Wastewater Management Area nor the Special Domestic Wastewater Disposal Area overlay applies. 

Your replacement application must include an on-site wastewater management system evaluation report done by a suitably qualified professional. 

They will do a stocktake on how your existing system is working, and identify what maintenance or upgrades are needed to keep it performing over the lifetime of any replacement consent. 

When you lodge your replacement consent application affects whether you can continue to rely on the old consent if Council has not made a decision on the replacement consent at the expiry date.

When organising to get an application lodged with Council in these time-scales, you should take into account that the wastewater professionals you need are busy. After you have engaged them, you will have a wait before they can complete the assessment and report. This assessment and evaluation report is needed to make your application complete enough so that we can accept it.

If this wait is going to affect your rights to continue under your old consent after its expiry, get the following written confirmation from the wastewater professional to form part of your lodged application:

• that you have engaged them to complete the assessment and OWMS evaluation report, and
• when they anticipate completion of the finalised report for submission to the Council to support the application.

If you do not include evidence that you have engaged a wastewater professional to complete the assessment and report we must return your application as incomplete. 

Suitably qualified professionals must be on-site wastewater specialists.

Typically they include wastewater system designers or engineers.

Some OSWM maintenance contractors or drainlayers can also assess and report on your wastewater system if they have the appropriate competencies with the relevant standards - AS/NZS1547:2000 and AS/NZS1547:2012.

When talking to individuals about engaging their services, ensure they know you need an existing site and system evaluation for a replacement discharge consent, not a site and soils assessment. 

The following is a list of professionals known to operate in the Nelson-Tasman region.

[last updated 14 Jan 2025].

Disclaimer - this list is for information purposes only, and it's up to the party engaging the professional to confirm their accreditation.

[If you are an OWSM professional and believe you have the competencies as an on-site wastewater professional for inclusion on this information list, contact [email protected]]