The National Environmental Standards for Freshwater (NES-F) regulate structures affecting the passage of fish within rivers or areas connected by water.
The placement, use, alteration, extension, or construction of a structure in, on, over or under the bed of any river or connected area may be a permitted activity if it complies with the NES-F.
A permitted activity notice is required for any of the following structures:
Fish passage refers to the ability of fish to move unobstructed through waterways.
Notice needs to be provided by the person(s) or company carrying out the work within 20 working days after the activity has been completed.
Email the completed notice and any supporting documents to monitoring@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
This document does not take the place of a resource consent application. Your permitted activity may still require resource consent. Find out more about preparing your resource consent application.
If you need resource consent due to the sensitivity of the local environment, matters of discretion may require an assessment of the effects on mana whenua. We recommend you engage with iwi as soon as possible to determine whether you will need to do a cultural value assessment.
We will email you a confirmation we have received your notification form within 10 working days.
We will also contact you about an initial site meeting or if we need more information from you.
To learn more about the connected areas of a river, visit NES-F – Identifying the connected area of a river when applying the fish passage regulations (PDF 884KB).
The Ministry for the Environment has prepared some policy and regulation fact sheets to help explain the new NES Freshwater legislation.
Access the pre-recorded Ministry for the Environment webinar Raising the bar on ecosystem health - wetlands, rivers and fish.
Read the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater legislation.
Read our Resource Consents Guidance Notes on how the NES-F affects the resource consent process (PDF 848 KB).
