Nelson City Council

Approved with modifications 12 April 2007

Council approved the Bylaw with minor modifications at a meeting on 12 April. One key change was made to the section on residential wash water: to discourage the discharge of wash water containing detergents and chemicals through an awareness campaign, with a staged, low key, enforcement process.

The consultation on the proposed Stormwater Bylaw 2006 was open from 20 January to 23 February 2007. Twenty-one (21) submissions were received and five submitters made remarks at the Policy Committee hearing on 20 March.

From rain to river

Stormwater is rainwater that runs off the land into rivers and streams or underground aquifers, and eventually finds its way to the sea. In urban areas, stormwater is generally collected and channelled into drainage systems. Nelson’s stormwater ends up in rivers and streams, the Waimea Inlet, Tasman Bay and Nelson Haven.

Contaminants come from many sources

Unfortunately in urban areas a variety of contaminants are also flushed into the system along with the stormwater when it rains. Some of these contaminants come from vehicles and are deposited on the surfaces of roads and car parks. Others come from spills in industrial and commercial areas, building and construction activities or unsatisfactory disposal of contaminating substances around the home.

In any stormwater drainage system collected contaminants become concentrated where the pipes discharge into rivers and the sea. The four major contaminants are:

• Sediments
• Heavy metals (e.g. zinc, copper and lead)
• Oils and greases
• Excess nutrients and bacteria

Stormwater quality needs to be high

A high standard of stormwater quality is needed to maintain the health of local river and sea ecosystems and for:

• Domestic water use
• Commercial water use in industry, aquaculture and fishing
• Recreational water uses such as swimming, shellfish gathering and fishing
• Scenic and tourism activities
• To protect, manage and nurture ngá taonga tuku iho (the treasured resources) for the benefit of present and future generations

The Stormwater Bylaw 2006

Read and download the full Stormwater Bylaw, No 212.

The Reticulated Stormwater Quality Improvement Plan

The Reticulated Stormwater Quality Improvement Plan is a requirement of the Nelson Resource Management Plan (Nelson RM Plan) if discharges from Council’s stormwater infrastructure are to be considered as a controlled activity.

The relevant Plan rule, FWr.22 states: “Nelson City Council’s point source stormwater discharges to water are a controlled activity if a reticulated stormwater quality improvement plan is provided in the discharge application which outlines how best practicable options will be used to control discharges to the Council’s stormwater infrastructure.”

The Plan discusses the best practicable options available to control discharges into Council’s stormwater infrastructure and will facilitate the establishment of new Levels of Service.

Download the Reticulated Stormwater Quality Improvement Plan (PDF @ 615KB) (615KB PDF).

What does the Bylaw require?

Large construction sites where the total area of land likely to be disturbed is greater than 3,000m2 will require erosion and sediment control plans, which need to be approved by Council staff before any work began. All construction activities will require a minimum level of erosion and sedimentation control. 

The bylaw also aims to preserve the quality of stormwater by limiting what can enter the public stormwater system. It will be up to all land owners and land occupiers to ensure that any water entering the system is free from pollutants, including:

• chemicals, paint, oil, grease, pesticides, fertiliser, tannins, detergent, grass clippings, rubbish, litter, or heavy metals that could be toxic to the aquatic ecosystem, and
• anything that might cause the production of oil or grease films, scums or foams, or floatable material, an obvious change of colour or visual clarity, objectionable odours or anything that might have an adverse effect on aquatic life, and
• water that contains high suspended solid concentrations, any hazardous substances, waste water or trade wastes*.
  Trade Waste Bylaw* ‘Trade waste’ is any liquid discharged by a business (retail, commercial or industrial), for example, from a restaurant kitchen, petrol station or photo processing lab. This is covered by a separate Trade Waste Bylaw.

There are exceptions to the minimum standards for dye and tracer material used for testing pipes or tanks, swimming pools and discharges from high risk industrial or trade process where a Pollution Prevention Plan has been approved by Council.

High risk industries must prepare Pollution Prevention Plans, which will be reviewed every three years, or more frequently if there have been significant changes to the way the facility operates. The Pollution Prevention Plan will cover a site assessment identifying all actual and potential stormwater pollution, site plans of stormwater and sewage drainage, best practicable options to ensure potential contamination is minimised, and a description of the maintenance procedures. The Pollution Prevention Plans must be submitted to Council for approval by 30 June 2008.

Download the Pollution Prevention Plan Guide and Template

Pollution Prevention Plan template (PDF @ 70K) (77KB PDF)

Pollution Prevention Plan template (3.5MB RTF) (RTF word processing format to complete form on your computer)

Pollution Prevention Guide (PDF @ 40kb) (294KB PDF)

Under the bylaw, anyone found to be discharging pollutants or, in the case of high risk industries, those found not complying with their Pollution Prevention Plans, will face a fine of up to $20,000. The Council may independently monitor, sample and analyse discharged stormwater and recover costs from the property occupier, if a breach of the pollution prevention plan is found.

Who is affected by the bylaw

The bylaw applies throughout Nelson City and to any premises which, although located outside the City, can discharge, or will discharge stormwater into a public drain within it.

High Risk Industrial and Trade Processes

These include:

• aggregate and material storage/stockpiled yards which are subject to erosion and/or leaching of contaminants
• boat building and repair facilities,
• construction and maintenance depots
• demolition activities
• facilities for the production, use, storage or disposal of hazardous substances and/or trade waste occurs
• facilities where vehicle and plant wash water is generated
• food and beverage manufacturers
• landfills and quarries
• laundries and dry cleaners
• liquid waste removal contractors
• manufacture, storage or handling of products derived from animal slaughter
• metal processing works, metal recyclers and foundries
• operations where water used to wash buildings uses detergents and chemicals and liquid waste removal contractors
• printers
• retail service stations, truck stops, oil terminals and depots and lubricating oil blending and grease manufacturing plants
• recycling and waste centres
• spray painting, panel beaters and sign writers workshops
• timber treatment, preservation and timber storage plants
• transport depots
• vehicle and mechanical engineering workshops
• vehicle recyclers
• wood and paper product and furniture manufacturers
• any other facility or operation which the Manager Infrastructural Assets considers to have the potential to discharge stormwater which does not meet the minimum stormwater quality standard

Contact

For more information contact Senior Engineering Officer on +64 3 546 0303.