If you hold a Resource Consent to discharge Farm Dairy Effluent to land, it’s likely that one of the requirements is to prepare and submit an Effluent Management Plan to Council. If you haven’t prepared this Effluent Management Plan already, we recommend getting started as Environment Southland are likely to request a copy during the term of your Resource Consent.
Here’s an Example of a Resource Consent condition:
Within one month of the consent being granted, the Consent Holder shall prepare and submit to the Consent Authority a Wastewater and Effluent Management plan. The Wastewater and Effluent Management
- provide concise and clear direction to the Person in Charge and other staff on the operation of the discharge system;
- identify environmental risks of discharges specific to the properties including, but not limited to, the cumulative risks of the wastewater and farm dairy effluent, locations of drains, surface waterways, sub-surface drainage and critical source areas in the disposal area;
- identify how the above environmental risks are avoided;
- describe how each component of the wastewater system is maintained;
- describe how wastewater in storage is managed; and
- describe how wastewater is managed when soils are at or above field capacity and/or during adverse weather conditions.
The main purpose of your Effluent Management Plan is to show how effluent discharges will be managed to minimise environmental impacts and to reduce risk. The key thing to note is that the Effluent Management Plan must be farm-specific and will need to align with your Resource Consent conditions.
The Effluent Management Plan usually includes a description of your effluent management system, operational information, problem-solving guidance, maintenance standards, a description of the receiving environment, and details around required monitoring and reporting.
Think you need support with developing an Environmental Management Plan? Our team has extensive operational and compliance experience. We can support you in preparing the required documentation. We will liaise with you to understand how your operations work and collate this information to fulfill Resource Consent requirements. Our goal is to streamline the documentation and to produce a practical and effective Effluent Management Plan. Together, we can ensure your operations have a high level of compliance.
Let the WM Environmental Team streamline the process and ensure your Effluent Management systems are compliant moving forward.
Contact the WM Environmental Team now
Posted: 10 May 2023