No, Waikato Regional Council does not provide funding towards the cost of applying or implementing a resource consent for catchment or river management works.
Catchment management in the Coromandel
Waikato Regional Council can offer up to a 35% subsidy towards this.
Yes, funding is available to landowners who have signed an agreement called an Environment Programme Agreement (EPA) – drawn up for the landowner’s particular situation.
Typically, these include:
Excluding stock from riparian, bush, wetland, seep, gully and high-risk erosion steep hill country areas (Class 6-8 in Land Use Capability) as well as the Coastal Marine Area (CMA).
Enhancing biodiversity through planting of suitable Coromandel native plant species in stock proof areas
Enhancing water quality through riparian and wetland restoration, sediment traps, best practice culverts, crossings and farm track considerations as well as sediment retention/filtration.
Land use change and re-vegetation for harvested blocks or steep land (Class 6-8 LUC) or slip prone land, with either native plants or appropriate open space planting with exotics (such as poplars), and fencing for retirement of stock
Waikato Regional Council has secured funding from the Ministry of Primary Industries Hill Country Erosion Fund.
The amount of funding available to landowners depends on whether landowners are in an identified priority catchment, or whether the council has secured additional funding for work programmes outside business as usual. Funding can be up to 70%, depending on the type of work and funding available. Landowners are able to use their contribution as work in kind.
River management in the Coromandel
Waikato Regional Council can assist with the removal of gravel that has built up in a channel after a flood event or from normal river deposits (where appropriate).
Start with the online Request for Service form and select ‘Regulatory, consents and compliance’.
Following this or alternatively, contact your local Waikato Regional Council office for additional information and advice. If the Waikato Regional Plan permitted activities cannot be complied with, then a resource consent may be required.
Landowners have the primary responsibility for maintaining rivers and streams on their property.
Landowners can do this by:
Managing stock to keep rivers and other waterways clear.
Planting vegetation to protect and stabilise riverbanks.
Maintaining vegetation to prevent waterway obstruction.
Managing animal and plant pests.
Waikato Regional Council can provide funding assistance, but funding may not be available where the waterway does not have full stock exclusion.
For activities like obstruction removal, the landowner is expected to provide in-kind contributions such as dropping/reinstating fences to provide access and disposing of material removed from a channel. For larger projects such as erosion protection of riverbanks, Waikato Regional Council can fund up to 50% of the total cost, although a landowner can lessen their share through in-kind works.
Waikato Regional Council can undertake the removal of major blockages and obstructions beyond normal landowner maintenance.
