Key Issues Report of the Porirua City Council - Environmental ...

Permitted Baseline
6.5 Provision is made for network utilities that existed at the time of notification of
the Porirua City are provided for as a Permitted Activity (Rule D4.1.1(ii)) in the
Rural Zone and prior to 22 September 2007 in the Public Open Space Zone
(Rule DC.1.1(xii)). Irrespective to when the existing transmission lines that are
the subject of the Transpower application were established, the rules in the
Resource Management (National Environmental Standards for Electricity
Activities) Regulations 2009 (NESETA) supersede these two rules. For this
reason it is considered that it is the NESETA that sets the 'permitted baseline'
rather than the District Plan in relation to existing transmission lines.
6.6 Regulation 14 of the NESETA provides for the relocation of Transmission Line
towers subject to compliance with identified sub-clauses. These provisions are
summarised in Section 4.2.2 of the assessment of environmental effects
accompanying the Transpower application. It is considered that the parameters
set out in the NESETA for permitted activities establish the permitted baseline
of environmental effects that may occur in relation to the relocation of
transmission towers. It is acknowledged that the NESETA only applies to
existing transmission lines.
6.7 No provision is made for new network utilities outside of a road as a Permitted
Activities in either Zone in the District Plan. Those network utilities located
within a Rural zoned road that include lines conveying electricity up to and
including 110kV are permitted where the support structure does not exceed 10
metres in height or 2 metres in diameter. New aboveground lines for conveying
electricity at a voltage above 110kV, or with a design capacity above 100MVA
per circuit in the Rural Zone are not provided for as a Permitted Activity by the
District Plan. Likewise, new above-ground lines for conveying electricity at a
voltage above 110kV are not provided as a Permitted Activity in the Public
Open Space Zone.
6.8 It is not considered that there are any activities permitted in the Rural or Open
Space Zones by the District Plan that are of a comparative nature to the
proposed transmission line relocation. Furthermore, it is considered that any
activities involving establishment of new transmission lines provided for as a
Permitted Activity by the District Plan are of a relatively modest nature due to
the limitation of the scale of the associated support structures compared to the
scale of the effects associated with the proposed relocation of the transmission
line.
6.9 It is therefore considered that it is only the effects permitted by the NESETA
which are relevant in determining the 'permitted baseline'. No comparison has
been sought by the EPA for a comparison of the effects of the proposed
transmission line relocation with the 'permitted baseline' of effects.
Existing Resource Consents on Subject Land
6.10 The properties that are the subject of the application for resource consent are
identified in the From 9 attaching to the Transpower application 34 . A search of
34 Contained in Volume 6: Transmission Line Relocation Project
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