The Environment Court issued its second interim decision on the proposed Waikato Regional Plan Change 1 (PC1) at the end of February in the case of Oji Fibre Solutions (NZ) Limited v Waikato Regional Council [2026] NZEnvC 033.
The decision marks the first time the Environment Court has grappled with section 70 of the RMA since it was amended by the Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Act 2025.
What does section 70 require?
Despite being in the RMA since its inception, section 70 has only recently stepped into the judicial spotlight, particularly in the context of significant adverse effects on aquatic life (one of the listed effects in the section). Following those cases, section 70 was amended.
