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Te aromatawai me te whakahaere i te oneone paihana

Assessing and managing contaminated soil

Land affected by contaminants in soil must be identified and assessed before it is developed. If necessary, the land will need to be remediated or the contaminants contained to make it safe for human use.

Our responsibilities are defined in a National Environmental Standard (NES) which is administered under the Resource Management Act. We are required to enforce the requirements of this NES by ensuring contaminated soil is identified and managed to protect human health.

Types of developments that trigger National Environmental Standard (NES) are:

  1. removing and replacing fuel storage systems
  2. disturbing soil and earthworks
  3. soil testing for contamination
  4. subdivision
  5. changes in land use.