Environmental Protection Authority

The Environmental Protection Authority (“EPA”) was established as a Crown Entity in 2011. It is governed by an independent board whose members are appointed by the Minister for the Environment. It is a Crown Agent ^{bdf97615-f592-48f8-ae79-73e81e7ecb7b}  and therefore the Minister for the Environment may direct the EPA to give effect to a government policy that relates to the entity’s functions and objectives. ^{6c153454-c56c-4653-b75d-3c91053b90c8}

The EPA is responsible for particular regulatory functions concerning New Zealand’s environmental management. 

Under the Resource Management Act these include processing matters of national significance, enabling the taking of enforcement actions and either assisting or taking over from a local authority that has taken an enforcement action, providing secretarial and support services to assist the Chief Freshwater Commissioner with the freshwater planning process, taking action in relation to unlawfully reclaimed land alongside or in place of regional councils or the Minister of Conservation.

The EPA is also responsible for the administration of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996, assessing marine consent applications lodged under the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Act, management of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme and assisting the Fast Track expert consenting panels under different legislation.

More recently, the EPA has established a Fast-track Approvals business unit to manage projects applied for under the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024.

Fast-track consenting statutes

There have been three fast-track consenting statutes since 2020, which have been designed to make consenting processes faster than the RMA: under the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast Track Consenting) Act 2020, under the Natural and Built Environment Act 2023 (NBA), and under the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024.

The COVID-19 Recovery (Fast Track Consenting) Act 2020 was a temporary piece of legislation designed to stimulate the economy in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, by fast-tracking ‘shovel ready’ projects. It was repealed on 8 July 2023, but continues to apply to applications received by the EPA before a certain date. A similar fast-track consenting process was included in the NBA, which replaced the RMA for a short time in 2023.

The NBA process broadly mirrors that in the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast Track Consenting) Act 2020 but there are several differences. For instance, under the NBA, the EPA (rather than the Ministry for the Environment), advises the Minister on whether to accept an application for referral to an expert consenting panel.

The NBA was repealed by the Resource Management (Natural and Built Environment and Spatial Planning Repeal and Interim Fast-track Consenting) Act 2023, but its provisions related to the fast-track consenting process were saved. They continue to apply to applications made before the commencement of the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024.

The fast-track consenting process under the NBA has two key stages:

1. Ministerial referral: the Minister for the Environment, supported by the EPA, determines whether an activity is eligible to be referred to an expert consenting panel.
2. Expert consenting panel: the panel, supported by the EPA, considers the full application within a shorter timeframe than the standard consent process and makes a final decision.

More specifically, the process involves the following steps:

• Applicant applies to the EPA for a referral to the expert consenting panel.
• EPA assesses the application for completeness and eligibility (eligible projects include communications, energy, housing, transport, water and other central, local or private assets).
• Minister decides whether to refer the application to an expert consenting panel, taking into account advice of the EPA.
• Applicant lodges the application with the EPA.
• EPA provides relevant information to Chief Environment Court Judge, who convenes an expert consenting panel.
• Expert consenting panel considers the application, invites submissions from a specified list and may invite submissions from other relevant persons. The panel may also seek further information, and may hold hearings.
• Panel makes a final decision to grant or decline and can impose conditions.

A list of the projects currently being processed under the COVID-19 Act and the NBA can be found here:https://www.epa.govt.nz/fast-track-consenting/fast-track-projects/

While the COVID-19 Act and NBA processes continue to apply to historical applications, the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024 is the statute under which new applications for fast-track projects can be made. This has a number of different features.

For more information about role of the EPA under the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024, see here.

Last updated at 4:29PM on January 24, 2025