Chemical spraying for weed and pest control is generally permitted without needing resource consent.
The sprays and any drift should be limited to your property to avoid any eﬀects on neighbours or non-target areas.
Spraying for weed and pest control is generally permitted without a resource consent provided you comply with the following requirements.
Neighbours must be notiﬁed unless they agree not to be or if the agrichemicals are applied with hand operated and manually pressurised spray equipment. Notiﬁcation should include the areas to be sprayed, the dates and times of spraying and the measures that will be used to prevent or minimise spray drift. Different notiﬁcation requirements apply if spraying is done from the ground or from the air (see the Regional Air Quality Plan or contact the Council’s consents staff).
Avoid environmental problems by following the guidelines in our Regional Air Quality Plan and Regional Freshwater Plan. Note the Guidelines in the Freshwater Plan on the use of aquatic herbicides.
Notify the Council as soon as you can if there is an accidental or unintended discharge of agrichemicals.
Keep good records of your agrichemical use. This should include the name of the user, the agrichemical equipment and methods of use, the volume and concentration of the agrichemical used, the locality, area and date of application, and the location and nature of any sensitive areas. Your records should also include weather conditions at the time of application, including wind speed and direction and any abnormal situation or incident. You will need to supply these details to the Council on request.
You must meet all of these requirements. Otherwise, you will need a resource consent.
Full details of the requirements can be found in the Regional Air Quality Plan and Regional Freshwater Plan.
Applying fertiliser to land is generally permitted without the need for a resource consent.
The fertiliser does not spread into any water (including streams, lakes, drains or wetlands). Aerial operators should take particular care to avoid waterways.
The fertiliser has been approved by the Ministry for Primary Industries.
There is minimal chance of the fertiliser drifting off your property or on to non-target areas – consider the wind direction.
Dust and odour is minimized.
Pungent fertilisers such as chicken litter are not spread on hot, still afternoons or are mixed into soil to reduce odour.
It is good practice to prepare a nutrient budget and management plan to provide a total farm system for managing nutrients. This will beneﬁt your bottom-line proﬁtability as well as the environment.