Your Project

Consent and obligations

Know the details of the resource consent for your project. If consent is not needed, be aware of the relevant Permitted Activity obligations.

Management plan

Depending on the size of the project and the site, consider the need to create a Management Plan. This plan could include how to manage and/or locate:

• Risks and emergencies, eg flooding, mechanical problems, re-fuelling, spills, incidents, discovering historical or cultural artifacts, contaminated or hazardous material, or other accidental discoveries.
• Biosecurity – avoid introducing pest plants and animals to waterways. What can you do to keep equipment and materials clean? Do you need a washdown area? Or do you need to allow time and room for brushing down materials that have come from the yard or another site, eg sheet piling.
• Re-fuelling distance – at least a 20 m separation from the water is best, or in accordance with the relevant resource consent. If it is not possible to refuel equipment outside the minimum separation distance, you’ll need to put extra contingencies in place to prevent and manage spills.
• Isolate the worksite from the rest of the waterway if possible, eg by a coffer dam or curtains.
• Carry out all or as much as possible of the work without putting equipment into the water or disturbing soil or rock below the waterline. If this has to happen, minimise it.
• If you are dewatering a section of waterway, plan the methods for the rescue and relocation of fish. For example, this might involve electrofishing. Get expert advice early on in your planning.
• If using any hazardous materials, eg putting cement in the water, plan for hazardous substance management and monitoring effects on the waterway by checking and comparing upstream and downstream (eg pH).
• Clearly define – and stabilise – the site access points.
• Plan to stabilise disturbed areas as quickly as possible.

Staging the activities

Plan the timetabling of the project activities. Following the general principles of erosion control, plan how you will do site earthworks in sequence so that you can work on then stabilise different parts of the site at different times. Work to weather conditions where possible, or allow extra time to apply the stabilisation and other techniques that will achieve your goals even when the season and other conditions are not ideal.

Resources

Identify which types of skills and experience you will need on site and confirm the availability of relevant staff. Identify the appropriate plant, equipment and tools to do the job – if these are the appropriate scale for the job and the site, site disturbance is minimised, making your job easier.

If working on boggy ground, you may need swamp pads to protect the delicate soil.

Provide appropriate equipment, eg provide waterway spill kits (usually white) not marine spill kits (usually grey).

Stakeholders

Identify and make contact with your key stakeholders (interested parties). These are likely to be a mix of official organisations and local individuals or groups. For example, if there are specific cultural, economic or community values associated with your site, stakeholders from these areas need to be involved. Or circumstances are affected by whether it is a ‘natural state’ or ‘high naturalness’ waterway.

Use Environment Canterbury’s online Stock Exclusion Rules map to check. Click on the Layer List button to display the ‘High naturalness water bodies – lakes’ layer.

Your stakeholders could include:

• Rūnanga (the local Māori council or iwi authority)
• The relevant urban, district or regional council authority
• Environment Canterbury (ECan)
• The Department of Conservation (DOC)
• The local Fish and Game Council
• Any scientific experts that this project may require, eg in biology, hydrology
• Any engineering or design experts that this project may require, eg landscape design
• Regional Council river engineering
• Local businesses, including farmers
• Local community groups, trusts and working parties
• Local sporting clubs, eg rowing, kayaking, yachting
• The Harbourmaster – who may also be able to connect you directly with all known stakeholders. See this information about and contact details for Environment Canterbury’s harbourmaster office.

Communication

Factors to consider include:

• Site signage should be installed
• The signage may need to convey general public information about the project as well as the necessary health and safety information – this informative approach is especially appreciated for longer projects and in urban/high visitor areas
• Any letterdrop notifications and local advertising that should be carried out in advance
• Specific notice to recreational groups
• Notifying Environment Canterbury or the relevant territorial local authority of the start date.