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 ¹³¹³  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. ¹³¹⁴

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, assisting the Fast Track expert consenting panels with any remaining fast-track resource consenting process under the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast Track Consenting) Act 2020 (now repealed), assessing marine consent applications lodged under the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Act, and management of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme.

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

For more information: www.epa.govt.nz

Last updated at 5:01PM on January 21, 2025