Rule 40 Removal of vegetation

The trimming and removal of vegetation

[, including any associated;

• disturbance of any lake or river bed; or
• deposition on the river or lake bed; or
• temporary diversion;]

from the bed of any river or lake:

• to avoid or mitigate the adverse effects of flooding or erosion, or
• for the purpose of protecting structures;

which is not in a river or lake bed identified in Policy 4.2.10 (Appendix 2 - water bodies with a high degree of natural character (click here for a pdf High Natural Character (2.5mb) )) is a permitted activity provided it complies with the conditions listed below.

Conditions

(1) No contaminants (including but not limited to oil, petrol, diesel, paint, or solvent) shall be released to the river bed from equipment being used for the operation, and no refuelling of equipment shall take place on any area of river or lake bed.

(2) All reasonable steps shall be taken to minimise the release of sediment to water during the activity.

(3) In any part of the river or lake bed covered by water in any water body identified in Policy 4.2.14 (Appendix 4 - Water bodies with important trout habitat (click here for a pdf Important Trout Habitat (146k))), the activity shall not take place between 31 May and 31 August.

(4) There shall be no disturbance to nesting Banded Dotterels (Charadrius bicinctus), Black Fronted Dotterels (Charadrius melanops), Black Billed Gulls (Larus bulleri), Pied Stilts (Himantopus leucocephalus), or Variable Oystercatchers (Haematopus unicolor) South Island Pied Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus), Caspian Terns (Sterna caspia), White-Fronted Terns (Sterna striata), and Spur-Winged Plover (Vanellus miles).

(5) Public access shall not be restricted more than is necessary to complete the removal of vegetation.

(6) No machinery shall be left overnight in an area of river or lake bed covered by water.

(7) All equipment and materials used for the removal of vegetation shall be removed from the river or lake bed on completion of the operation.

Note: The spray application of agrichemicals over water bodies or over river and lake beds is addressed in the Regional Air Quality Management Plan.

In Rule 40, the words in square brackets were inserted by Decisions on Plan change 1 to the Regional Freshwater Plan December 2002