Essential freshwater 2022 amendments

The Government’s Essential Freshwater reforms in 2020 set a clear signal to protect and restore wetlands and established measures designed to halt the decline in freshwater quality by controlling high-risk practices.

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After the introduction of the reforms however, the Ministry for the Environment recognised some changes were needed to address specific issues and support effective implementation of:

The Ministry for the Environment has since consulted on proposed amendments and acknowledges everyone’s contributions. Information on all closed consultations is available on the Ministry’s consultation website.

Having considered submissions and the Ministry’s recommendations, the Minister has:

  • amended the NPS-FM and NES-F to:
    • clarify the definition of a natural inland wetland;
    • provide consent pathways for certain activities;
    • make restoration and wetland maintenance easier to undertake;
    • improve the clarity of policies, reduce the complexity of drafting and, in some cases correct errors.
  • amended the NES-F so its wetland provisions no longer apply to wetlands in the coastal marine area:
  • revised the low slope map for stock exclusion to address some inaccuracies and better capture land that was intended to be included.

All changes will come into effect on 5 January 2023.

  • The amended NES-F and Stock Exclusions Regulations will be available on the legislation website.
  • The amended NPS-FM is available here.
  • The revised low slope map is available here.

The Ministerial press release on these amendments can be found on the Beehive website.