Plan Change 2: Amendments to South Taranaki District Plan Maps
A Plan Change request was received from Todd Energy Limited in accordance with Clause 21 of the First Schedule of the Resource Management Act 1991 on 27 March 2023.
This request for plan change to the South Taranaki District Plan (District Plan) was endorsed and adopted for notification by Council at the Ordinary Council meeting on 26 June 2023.
The Plan Change request (known as Plan Change 2 “PC2”) seeks to accurately identify offsite risk for each of Todd Energy Kapuni sites. This ensures regulation of the use and development rights of neighbouring landowners, and that management of the risk is proportionate to the quantified risk.
This requires the inclusion of site-specific risk contours in the District Plan maps, being Petroleum Activity Risk Contours, enabling the management of that risk through the existing District Plan framework without any other amendments. This will remove unnecessary regulation on the use and development rights of neighbouring landowners, resulting from the existing application of the current generic fatality consequence distances within the District Plan.
PC 2 includes the:
- Amendment of three existing District Plan Maps (Rural Map 08, Rural Map 09 and Special Map 03)
- Addition of three new Special maps (Proposed Special Map 03A, 03B and 03C).
The proposed map amendments and new maps are designed to introduce nine new Petroleum Activity Risk Contours and one new Petroleum Flare Alert Area. Two Petroleum Activity Risk Contours will be deleted.
PC2 does not propose any new objectives, policies, or rules. No consequential amendments to objectives, policies or rules are required because of the proposed map changes.
Decision
On 14 April 2025, the South Taranaki District Council approved with modifications Plan Change 2: Amendments (PC2) to South Taranaki District Plan Maps to the Operative South Taranaki District Plan. In accordance with Clause 14, Schedule 1 of the Resource Management Act, any person who made a submission on the proposed plan change may appeal to the Environment Court. The decision has been publicly notified on 12 June 2025, and the plan change appeal period closes 5pm on 25 July 2025 (30 working days after the decision is notified).
The public notice and decision documents can be found below:
- PC2 - Public Notice of Decision
- PC2 - Decisions Version - District Plan Maps
- PC2 - Council Decision
- PC2 - District Plan Committee Recommendation
Hearing
A resolution of disputes process under Clause 8AA of RMA Schedule 1, which included various pre-hearing meetings, was undertaken with the affected parties. As a result of this process, all outstanding matters regarding PC2 were resolved, and no hearing was required.
Officers Report - Section 42A
The Section 42A Report considers the submission received through the notification phase in relation to the changes proposed with Plan Change 2. The Section 42A Report can be found below:
Notification
Plan Change 2 was publicly notified for submissions using the process prescribed by Schedule 1 of the Resource Management Act. The submission period closed on 27 October 2023. One original submission was received. No further submissions were received.
Original submission: Submitter 1 - Taranaki Energy Watch
Section 32 Report and Appendices
- PC2 - Section 32 Report
- PC2 - Plan Change Request
- PC2 - Appendix A - Kapuni Field Overview Plan
- PC2 - Appendix B - Proposed District Plan Maps
- PC2 - Appendix C - QRA Kapuni Wellsites
- PC2 - Appendix D - QRA Kapuni Wellsite Addendum
- PC2 - Appendix E - QRA Kapuni Gas Treatment Plant
- PC2 - Appendix F - QRA Suitability Review Kapuni Wellsites
- PC2 - Appendix G - QRA Suitability Review Kapuni Gas Treatment Plant
- PC2 - Appendix H - QRA Kapuni J Wellsite
- PC2 - Appendix I - QRA Peer Review Kapuni J Wellsite
- PC2 - Appendix J - Landowner Engagement Letters and Maps
- PC2 - Appendix K - Landowner and Stakeholder Letters-Emails of Support
- PC2 - Appendix L - QRA Kapuni J Wellsite Updated
District Plan Maps Affected
- PC2 - Rural Map 8
- PC2 - Rural Map 9
- PC2 - Special Map Index
- PC2 - Special Map 3
- PC2 - Special Map 3A
- PC2 - Special Map 3B
- PC2 - Special Map 3C
More Information
If you have any questions about the proposal or process, please contact the STDC Planning Team at planchange@stdc.govt.nz or on 0800 111 323.
