Resource Management (National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry) Regulations 2017.

This Regulations, consisting of 106 sections divided into three Parts and four Schedules, are made under the Resource Management Act 1991 and prescribe national environmental standards for plantation forestry. Purpose of regulations Part 1 provides for matters of interpretation, application of the regulations, provision for plan rules, etc. Part 2 provides for 8 main plantation forestry activities to be permitted when carried out in accordance with specified conditions that require to manage the adverse environmental effects of the activities. The regulated activities are: afforestation (regulations 8 to 17); pruning and thinning to waste (regulations 18 to 21); earthworks (regulations 22 to 35); river crossings (regulations 36 to 49); forestry quarrying (regulations 50 to 61); harvesting (regulations 62 to 71); mechanical land preparation (regulations 72 to 75); replanting (regulations 76 to 81).
The permitted activity conditions include: standards to avoid, remedy, or mitigate environmental effects; requirements for compliance with management plans for higher-risk activities; the use of tools for risk assessment regarding erosion, wilding trees, and fish spawning. The risk assessment tools form part of the regulations. They enable a location specific assessment to be undertaken of the level of risk from plantation forestry activities in relation to erosion, wilding trees, and fish spawning. This allows the effects to be managed where risks are present. Part 2 provides for ancillary activities in for slash traps (regulations 83 to 92), indigenous vegetation clearance (regulations 93 and 94), and non-indigenous vegetation clearance (regulation 95) that occur when conducting the 8 main forestry activities; requirements and conditions for discharges, disturbances and diversions, noise and vibration, dust, indigenous bird nesting, and fuel storage and refuelling (regulations 96 to 105). Part 3 enables a local authority to charge for monitoring permitted activities.