What is AEE?

It is a report that the applicant must give the council with their resource consent application. It outlines the effects that the proposed activity might have on the environmenPreparation and submission of “Assessment of Environmental Effect” or AEE is a part of resource consent application process. The Resource Management (usually called the RMA) is the main piece of legislation that sets out how we manage our environment. It’s based on the idea of the sustainable management of our resources.

What is RMA?

The RMA sets rules and requirements by the council to manage activities ranging from building houses, clearing vegetation, moving earth, or taking water from a stream. The purpose is to ensure activities won’t harm our neighbours or communities, or damage the air, water, soil and ecosystems that we and future generations need to survive. To see the detailed list of the information requirements by RMA, check this out: https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1991/0069/latest/DLM242008.html

How the RMA works?

New Zealand has 11 regional councils, 61 city or district councils, and six unitary council. The Resource Management Act requires councils to manage natural and physical resources in their area. To do this, they must prepare district or regional plans to:
• set the objectives, policies, and rules that encourage or deter activities, depending on whether they might harm the environment
• specify what types of activities can take place as of right, and those
that need a resource consent. Hence, a resource consent is permission from the local council for an activity that
might affect the environment, and that isn’t allowed ‘as of right’ in the district or regional plan.

What are the 5 types of consent? 

Note that when deciding whether to grant a consent, the council considers several factors, including the effects of your proposal on the environment, and the council’s RMA plan. The rules on resource management differ between districts and regions.

How PathWay2050 can help you?

We can perform a pre-assessment and let you know if your project requires a resource consent. If you start before you have consent, you risk prosecution. This is a free service and we won’t charge for the pre-assessment. If you need one, we will help you prepare the AEE section. We will help you prepare:
− an assessment of environmental effects – this identifies all the
environmental effects, positive and negative, of a proposed
activity, and ways to avoid, remedy, and mitigate adverse effects
− an assessment against the relevant policies and plans.

Why working with PathWay2050?

Lodging an appeal can be expensive and time consuming. We have a planning consultant in our team who can advise you on the merits of your activity and, if needed, prepare and lodge your application for you. If you may also need a report from a technical specialist. For example, if your project is in a flood zone, you may need an engineer with experience in flooding assessment and design. We can connect you to the right specialist. Please note that councils will normally charge an administration fee for considering an application, and they may also charge for ongoing monitoring.

If you have inquiries about the fees and our services and you like us to work with you on these matters please reach out: info@pathway2050.com