Agenda of Environment and Services Committee

HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL

Environment and Services Committee

Wednesday 08 October 2014

SUBJECT: Biodiversity Strategy Report

Reason for Report

1. This report updates the Environment and Services Committee on progress on the Hawke’s Bay Biodiversity Strategy.

2. The Strategy (provided to Councillors and available upon request) is currently in draft form, nearing final draft. The Committee is asked to recommend Council endorse the draft strategy as well as the proposed approach for public consultation (Symposium).

3. The draft Strategy can also be found at http://www.hbrc.govt.nz/HBRC-Documents/HBRC%20Document%20Library/Draft%20HB%20Biodiversity%20Strategy%2020141001.pdf

Background

Regional Context

4. The Hawke’s Bay Land and Water Management Strategy (LWMS) 2011 indicated that Council would lead the development of a regional biodiversity strategy. LWMS noted the need for:

4.1. Improved understanding of the ecological services provided by indigenous vegetation and wetlands

4.2. Re-establishment of ecological processes and ecosystems

4.3. Greater variety and diversity of habitats that sustain our most valued species

5. The LWMS was launched at a public symposium in November 2011. During a symposium workshop, all participants agreed that improving biodiversity required better coordination of biodiversity management activities, particularly among the major agencies with key biodiversity roles. A recurring message was that “we need to work better together”.

6. In the 2012-2022 Long Term Plan, Council allocated funding of $103,000 to develop the Biodiversity Strategy.

National Context

7. Resource Management Act 1991. A range of statutory responsibilities in relation to biodiversity. E.g. s6(c): regional councils to recognise and provide for ‘The protection of areas of significant indigenous vegetation and significant habitats of indigenous fauna’.

8. New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy 2000: “halting decline in New Zealand’s indigenous biodiversity by 2020”.

9. The Statement of National Priorities for Protecting Rare and Threatened Indigenous Biodiversity on Private Land 2007 informs Council (and others) in managing biodiversity on private land. It contains four priorities:

9.1. Protect indigenous vegetation associated with land environments less than 20 per cent remaining in indigenous cover.

9.2. Protect indigenous vegetation associated with sand dunes and wetlands.

9.3. Protect indigenous vegetation associated with ‘originally rare’ terrestrial ecosystems.

9.4. Protect habitats of acutely and chronically threatened indigenous species.

10. The Proposed National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity. If the NPS comes in to effect in its current form, regional councils would be required to: identify areas of significant biodiversity within five years / ensure there is no net loss of significant indigenous biodiversity. The Government intends to consider the report from the Waitangi Tribunal on claim 262 before finalising the NPS.

Strategy Development Process

11. The Strategy is being developed by the major groups and agencies involved in biodiversity in Hawke’s Bay.

12. HBRC has initiated and facilitated the strategy development via a stakeholder group process. Two stakeholder groups have been used: a Core Working Group to work through technical matters; and a Steering Group to review progress, provide feedback and steer the strategy direction. The Steering Group ultimately makes the decisions as to the Strategy content.

13. The Core Working Group involves Council staff, Department of Conservation, Fish and Game, Federated Farmers, HB Forestry Group, QEII, and Te Roopu Kaitiaki Cultural Advisors.

14. The Steering Group involves the Core Working Group plus HDC, NCC, WDC, CHBDC, Forest and Bird, TBfreeNZ, DairyNZ, Ministry for Primary Industries, HB Fruitgrowers, Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Inc., Plant Hawke’s Bay. Councillors Belford and Pipe are on the Steering Group (previously Ewan McGregor, Liz Remmerswaal and Neil Kirton represented HBRC).

15. The two groups have held regular meetings since inception in late 2012.

16. At its most recent meeting on 04 September 2014, the Steering Group reviewed the draft strategy. The group largely endorsed the draft subject to a number of edits and additions. The draft attached to this paper includes most of these changes (some minor edits still to come).

The Hawke’s Bay Biodiversity Strategy (Draft)

17. The strategy is a non-statutory document aimed at improving the effectiveness of biodiversity management among the major parties involved in biodiversity in Hawke’s Bay through alignment of programmes and resources. It is not a Regional Council strategy but a Community strategy.

18. This is the first time in Hawke’s Bay’s history that all the agencies involved in biodiversity have agreed to work together to look for improvements in processes and programmes.

19. The Strategy contains an agreed Vision and short and long term Objectives for:

19.1. Improving native species and habitats (and the ecosystem services they provide)

19.2. Integrating Māori values

19.3. Improving partnerships and community involvement

20. The Structure of the Strategy is as follows:

20.1. “What?” - Executive Summary (pp 4-9).

20.2. “Why?” – International and national context (pp 10-15).

20.3. “Where are we now?” – The current situation in Hawke’s Bay (based on the Hawke’s Bay Biodiversity Inventory presented to this Committee 13 August 2014) and the ongoing threats to habitats and species (pp 16-27).

20.4. “How” – are we going to improve things? Objectives, Actions and Outputs. (pp 28-37):

20.4.1. Work together more effectively

20.4.2. IdentifyàPrioritiseàStabiliseàEnhanceà Native Habitats and Species are Healthy and Functioning

20.4.3. Integrate Mātauranga Māori into biodiversity programmes through a cultural framework; Identify and prioritise taonga species and significant biodiversity sites.

20.4.4. Formalise commitment to the strategy intent through a Biodiversity Accord (2015)

20.4.5. Develop an Implementation plan (2015)

· Prioritisation criteria

· Identify specific actions and resources required

20.4.6. Biodiversity Trust

· Seek to attract new funding opportunities, i.e. over and above that currently available (blue sky opportunities)

· Allocate funding to priority projects (as determined in implementation plan)

20.4.7. Biodiversity Forum

· Community-based

· Anyone can join

· Review progress towards objectives

· Intention to align agency programmes with community programmes where feasible

Next Steps

21. The draft will be finalised following Steering Group feedback (including from Environment and Services Committee via Councillors Belford and Pipe) for endorsement at the Council meeting on 29 October.

Community Engagement

22. It is proposed that the draft strategy should be available for informal comments, with those comments being considered by the Steering Group parties prior to finalisation of the document.

23. It is proposed that the draft be discussed at two symposia (breakfast and evening) as an opportunity for informal comments to be captured and to celebrate Hawke’s bay’s biodiversity. Written comments would be considered by the Steering Group in early 2015 and the Strategy finalised.

Financial and Resource Implications

24. Development of the Strategy is covered within existing budgets.

Decision Making Process

25. Council is required to make a decision in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government Act 2002 (the Act). Staff have assessed the requirements contained in Part 6 Sub Part 1 of the Act in relation to this item and have concluded the following:

25.1. The decision does not significantly alter the service provision or affect a strategic asset.

25.2. The use of the special consultative procedure is not prescribed by legislation.

25.3. The decision does not fall within the definition of Council’s policy on significance.

25.4. The persons affected by this decision are all those persons with an interest in the region’s biodiversity.

25.5. Options that have been considered around community engagement have included

25.5.1. no consultation process,

25.5.2. holding a symposium to launch the final strategy and

25.5.3. providing an opportunity for the wider public to comment on the draft strategy.

25.6. The decision is not inconsistent with an existing policy or plan.

25.7. Given the nature and significance of the issue to be considered and decided, and also the persons likely to be affected by, or have an interest in the decisions made, Council can exercise its discretion and make a decision without consulting directly with the community or others having an interest in the decision.

Recommendations

The Environment and Services Committee recommends that Council:

1. Agrees that the decisions to be made are not significant under the criteria contained in Council’s adopted policy on significance and that Council can exercise its discretion under Sections 79(1)(a) and 82(3) of the Local Government Act 2002 and make decisions on this issue without conferring directly with the community and persons likely to be affected by or to have an interest in the decision due to the nature and significance of the issue to be considered and decided.

2. Endorses the Draft Hawke’s Bay Biodiversity Strategy.

3. Endorses the proposed community engagement on the Strategy via a public symposium with written comments due by 16 December.

4. Instructs staff to present a summary of the comments to the Environment and Services Committee for its consideration and further feedback.

5. Endorses the Steering Group’s consideration of any written comments and the subsequent finalisation of the Strategy.

Tim Sharp

Strategic Policy Advisor

Iain Maxwell

Group Manager

Resource Management

Attachment/s

There are no attachments for this report.

HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL

Environment and Services Committee

Wednesday 08 October 2014

SUBJECT: Update on PM10 Monitoring

Reason for Report

1. Air quality in Hawke’s Bay is very good most of the time but on occasions in winter the levels of fine particulates (PM₁₀) in the region’s main airsheds exceed health standards. The Council has implemented regulatory and non-regulatory measures to reduce emissions of PM₁₀ to safeguard the health of residents. This report will inform Councillors about the PM₁₀ monitoring that has taken place in 2014 and the state of ambient air quality in the region’s airsheds.

Background

2. Fine particulates less than 10 micro-metres in size are collectively called PM10. There are both anthropogenic and natural sources of PM10. Exposure to PM10 poses health risks because of its link to respiratory and cardiovascular ailments as well as being potentially carcinogenic. The estimated impacts on the population of Hawke’s Bay annually are more than 100,000 restricted activity days, 54 hospital admissions, 113 premature adult deaths and social costs of $411 million, based on data from 2006 (Kuschel et al., 2012).

3. In 2004 the Ministry for the Environment set a National Environmental Standard (NES) for PM10 of 50 µgm^-3 averaged over 24 hours, with only one exceedance of that concentration allowed in an airshed in a twelve month period. While there is no known “safe level” of PM10, the standard sets a level which is considered to be an “acceptable risk”.

4. Airsheds that do not currently meet the NES have been given time to comply. Those that exceed the standard more than ten times per year on average must have no more than 3 exceedances from 1^st September 2016 and then fully comply from 1 September 2020. Airsheds with less than ten exceedances per year must comply by 1 September 2016.

5. The Council is responsible for ensuring the NES for PM₁₀ is met in the region, as well as having broader duties under the Resource Management Act (RMA) 1991 to manage air quality in Hawke’s Bay for the benefit of current and future generations. The Hawke’s Bay Regional Council Regional Resource Management Plan 2006 (RRMP) sets out the issues and environmental goals relating to air quality in Hawke’s Bay. One of the main objectives stated in the RRMP is to achieve a standard of ambient air that meets the NES and that is “maintained at, or enhanced to, a level that is not detrimental to human health, amenity values or the life supporting capacity of air”.

6. The Council uses regional rules, resource consents, enforcement, the NES and non-regulatory methods to achieve the objective in the RRMP. The non-regulatory methods are a major component of this approach, and the Heat Smart scheme was set up for that purpose in 2009. The Council’s activities under that banner include raising awareness of air quality, assisting residents to source dry wood and supporting conversions to low-emission home heating.

7. The Council has also put in place a programme to monitor PM₁₀ concentrations on a continuous basis at one site each in the Napier, Hastings and Awatoto airsheds. The sites are at Marewa Park, St John’s College and Waitangi Road respectively. The remainder of this report presents the results of continuous PM₁₀ monitoring and other targeted campaigns undertaken in 2014.

Continuous PM₁₀ monitoring – Hastings and Napier

8. Continuous monitoring of PM₁₀ concentrations in Napier and Hastings has to date achieved the target of 95% data capture and 95% valid data. The NES for PM₁₀ was exceeded five times in the Hastings airshed and once in the Napier airshed during 2014.

9. Both the Hastings and Napier airsheds are mainly residential in nature and days of poor air quality are limited to the months of May to August inclusive (referred to as ‘winter’ for the purpose of this report). The result in Hastings this winter was the lowest number of NES exceedances over the past nine years (Figure 1). The result in Napier is an improvement on 2013 and complies with the one allowed exceedance of the standard per year.

Figure 1: The number of times each year the NES for PM₁₀ has been exceeded in the Hastings and Napier airsheds.

10. The distribution of PM₁₀ concentrations in winter in the Hastings airshed is shown in Figure 2. The mean, median and quartile values are all lower than preceding years however maximum values were lower in 2011 and 2012. The results are similar in Napier, where most of the statistical measures are below previous years but the maximum value recorded was lower only in 2012 (Figure 3).

11. The emission of contaminants and the presence of airborne material from natural sources is the primary reason why poor air quality exists, but weather conditions play a role in its formation. Cold, calm conditions can increase the need for home heating and the use of fires for warmth. The cold conditions also can be associated with a temperature inversion developing during the night, where a layer of cold air becomes trapped at the Earth’s surface and the dispersion of contaminants is greatly limited. Weather conditions vary from winter to winter and this influences the number of exceedances that occur. The winter of 2014 was, on average, one of the windiest and warmest over the last nine years of monitoring.

12. One way of removing the weather component, so that years can be more readily compared, is to focus on the concentrations recorded during days when the NES for PM₁₀ might be exceeded, based on weather conditions alone. These are referred to as characteristic days and they vary in number from year to year (Figures 4 and 5). This is a process called normalising. Normalised PM₁₀ concentrations for the Hastings and Napier airsheds are shown in Figures 6 and 7 respectively, alongside the proportion of characteristic days exceeding the standard. The normalised concentrations are at their lowest level of the past nine years in both airsheds, and the probability of exceedances occurring on characteristic days appears to be decreasing, particularly in Hastings.

Figure 2: The distribution of daily mean PM₁₀ at St John’s College, Hastings, in winter each year. The thick black line in each box marks the median and the x is the mean. Upper and lower box borders are the upper and lower quartiles respectively. Whiskers are 1.5 times the inter-quartile range and circles are outliers. The dashed lines are the NES for PM₁₀ (50 µgm^-³) and the guideline value for annual averages (20 µgm^-3). The white cross is the annual average of daily mean PM₁₀ concentrations however for 2014 it is the average for the year up to the end of August.

Figure 3: The distribution of daily mean PM₁₀ at Marewa Park, Napier, in winter each year. An explanation of the graph’s elements is given above.

Figure 4: The number of exceedances of the NES for PM₁₀ at Marewa Park, Napier, from 2006 to 2014 and the number of characteristic days (CD) when an exceedance might be expected based on weather conditions alone.

Figure 5: The number of exceedances of the NES for PM₁₀ at St John’s Collge, Hastings, from 2006 to 2014 and the number of characteristic days (CD) when an exceedance might be expected based on weather conditions alone.

Figure 6: Normalised winter PM₁₀ concentrations from 2006 to 2014 at St John’s College and the percentage of characteristic days that exceeded the NES for PM₁₀ (%Ex/Cd).

Figure 7: Normalised winter PM₁₀ concentrations from 2006 to 2014 at Marewa Park and the percentage of characteristic days that exceeded the NES for PM₁₀ (%Ex/Cd).

13. There are signs that air quality in the Hastings airshed is improving, based on the monitoring at St John’s College. There are statistically significant downward trends in mean winter and normalised PM₁₀ concentrations of 3-5% per year over the past nine years. This is consistent with an estimated average reduction per year of 3-5% in anthropogenic emissions of PM₁₀over the same period, based on emission inventory and census data.

14. At Marewa Park the greatest downward trend is in maximum concentrations, which show a statistically significant decrease of approximately 3% per year over the past nine years. If these trends continue, the NES could be achieved more consistently at Marewa Park within the next three to five years and start being achieved at St John’s College within a similar timeframe.

Continuous PM₁₀ monitoring – Awatoto

15. The Awatoto airshed is a mix of industrial and rural land, this means that PM₁₀ concentrations become elevated for reasons that are different to the residential airsheds. Higher concentrations are often associated with windblown particulates rather than occurring under calm conditions and exceedances of the PM₁₀ standard can occur outside winter months.

16. The monitoring of PM₁₀ concentrations in Waitangi Road started in 2012. The record of monitoring at Awatoto is too short to consider trends over time so the focus is on the number and nature of NES exceedances to date. The standard for PM₁₀ was exceeded once in 2012, once in 2013 and twice so far this year. However a successful application was made to the Minister for the Environment to have one of this year’s exceedances deemed an exceptional event, caused by wind-blown sea salt from the ocean nearby. This means the airshed is largely compliant with the NES for PM₁₀ year on year.

17. The exceedance in 2012 was thought to be related to earthworks during construction of the sewage-treatment plant in Awatoto. The exceedance in 2013 occurred under similar circumstances to the exceptional event this year however the timeframe has expired for applying for exceptional event status. The other exceedance this year occurred in March under northerly wind conditions, which suggests it was not caused by wind-blown sea spray.

18. PM₁₀ samples collected during the month of March were examined using Scanning Electron Microscopy to characterise the insoluble component of the particulates. The results are shown in Table 1. Most of the particulates on the day of the exceedance, (7^th March) and all other days examined, were mineral dust. This is likely to be from natural sources but human activity, such as ploughing or road works, can elevate concentrations. The presence of quartz, which is an abundant mineral found in a lot of rock formations throughout New Zealand, in many of the samples is likely to be for similar reasons.

19. Calcium carbonate (limestone) and calcium phosphate (which occurs as the minerals whitlockiite, oxydapatit and voelicherite) are found in the natural environment but are also components of fertilisers, and may be artificially higher due to the proximity of the Ravensdown fertiliser factory and the supply rail line from the factory to the port. Material such as cement dust, coal, metal swarf, paint, rust and soot are likely to be associated with the surrounding industry (URS NZ Ltd, 2014)

Table 1: Laboratory analysis of the insoluble fraction of Awatoto PM10 using Scanning Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis

Targeted PM₁₀ monitoring – spatial variation in the urban airsheds

20. A temporary network of PM₁₀ monitors was installed across Napier and Hastings in June and July 2014 to supplement measurements from the three permanent sites. The network provided information about the relative differences in PM₁₀ concentrations between suburbs. Mobile monitoring was also undertaken to help fill the gaps.

21. Air Quality Ltd provided the network of PM₁₀ monitors, which consisted of six monitors in the Hastings airshed and six in Napier. They were hosted on private properties of staff members as well as friends or relatives of staff and the contractor. They were located in the suburbs of Taradale, Greenmeadows, Tamatea, Pirimai, Maraenui and Napier South in Napier. In Hastings they were located in Mahora, Raureka, Akina, Flaxmere, Havelock North and Longlands.

22. The average and maximum concentrations recorded at each site and the number of exceedances are provided in Table 2. All of the exceedances recorded were on days when an exceedance might be expected, based on weather condtions alone. The highest number of exceedances occurred in Raureka in Hastings and Tamatea in Napier and these sites also recorded the highest daily concentration in their respective cities. The suburb in Napier with the highest average daily concentration over the campaign was Maraenui (it also had a relatively high number of exceedances), while the highest average in Hastings was shared between Raureka and Flaxmere. The monitors used for the temporary network are different to those at the Council’s permanent sites but during a short period of co-location the results were well correlated and comparable.

23. The results from the network have been compared with modelling of maximum winter PM₁₀ concentrations in the Napier and Hastings airsheds by Golder Associates in 2012, which was based on 2010 emissions data (Figure 8) and local meteorological data from both 2006 and 2010. This suggests that the modelling is relatively good for Hastings but has mixed success over Napier.

24. A campaign of mobile monitoring was undertaken in cold, calm conditions on the evening of 23 June 2014 to measure relative differences in PM₁₀ concentrations over a wider area. The results are shown in Figure 9. The instantaneous measurements taken on that night are not comparable to daily mean concentrations taken over the course of the winter and the instrument used is known to read very high values when PM₁₀ concentrations are high.

25. The usefulness of the mobile monitoring is in showing relative differences across the airsheds. To a reasonable extent, they show the same pattern revealed by the network of monitors. The area around the St John’s College site recorded some of the highest concentrations in Hastings on the evening of the campaign while parts of Tamatea, Maraenui and Pirimai had the poorest air quality in Napier. The results provide some support to the modelling of Napier PM₁₀ concentrations by showing that parts of Pirimai experiences relatively high concentrations, which is where modelling also produces a peak in concentrations.

Table 2: Results from the network of PM10 monitors in Hastings and Napier during June and July 2014.

Site	Suburb	No.Exceedances	Max daily PM₁₀ (µgm^-3)	Average daily PM₁₀ (µgm^-3)
NAPIER
Marewa Park	Marewa	1	56.8	17.8
Churchill Dr	Taradale	0	22.8	8.2
Grant Pl	Greenmeadows	0	26.7	6.4
Merton Cres	Pirimai	3	61.4	17.7
Lanark Cres	Tamatea	5	92	18.7
Savage Cres	Maraenui	4	74.6	20.1
Vigor Brown St	Napier South	2	70.7	17.9
HASTINGS
St John’s College	Mayfair	5	73	21.1
Fitzroy Ave	Mahora	3	76.8	19.1
Seddon St	Raureka	6	79.7	24.2
France Rd	Longlands	0	43.6	10.3
Lumsden Rd	Akina	3	69.6	20.1
Liverpool Cres	Flaxmere	2	73.3	24.2
Christie Cres	Havelock North	0	41.2	18.5

Figure 8: Maximum daily PM₁₀ concentrations measured at the temporary and permanent monitoring sites during June and July 2014. Also shown are modelled maximum winter PM₁₀ concentrations based on 2010 emissions data (Golder Associates, 2012).

Figure 9: Mobile PM₁₀ monitoring during the evening of 23^rd June 2014. The concentrations shown are instantaneous measurements taken at 1 minute intervals.

Targeted PM₁₀ monitoring – Waipawa and Tuai

26. A year-long campaign of PM₁₀ monitoring in Waipawa was completed at the start of 2014. The NES for PM₁₀was not exceeded during the period of monitoring and the highest concentration recorded was 28 µgm^-3.

27. A short period of PM₁₀ monitoring by an unsealed section of State Highway 38 at Tuai took place from May to June 2014. This investigation was conducted upon the request of a local resident and the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board. Five valid samples were collected and the NES for PM₁₀ was exceeded on one occasion.

Summary

28. There are signs that air quality has improved in Napier and Hastings over the past nine years, based on measurements at the Council’s continuous PM₁₀ monitoring sites. If trends measured over that time continue, then those sites may achieve the NES or achieve it on a more consistent basis within the next three to five years. However there are locations in the two cities where air quality may need greater levels of improvement.

29. The Awatoto airshed complies with the NES for PM₁₀ most of the time, but occasionally experiences high levels of particulates from natural sources due to its seaside location.

30. Air quality in our rural centres is typically good. Waipawa is the latest rural centre to be monitored for PM₁₀ and results were well within the standard. A brief period of monitoring in Tuai shows that localised problems can arise adjacent to unsealed roads in rural areas.

References

Golder Associates (2012). Airshed Modelling of Exposure to Particulates in the Hawke’s Bay Region. A report prepared for the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council. EMT 12/08, Plan No. 4359.

Kuscher, G., Metcalf, J., Wilton, E., Guria, J., Hales, S., Rolfe, K., Woodward, A. (2012). Updated Health and Air Pollution in New Zealand Study. Volume 1: Summary Report. Prepared for Health Research Council of New Zealand, Ministry of Transport, Ministry for the Environment and New Zealand Transport Agency.

URS NZ Ltd (2014). Awatoto BAM PM₁₀ Sample Analysis – Particulate Characteristation. A report prepared for the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council. RM14-16 Plan No. 4707.

Decision Making Process

31. Council is required to make a decision in accordance with Part 6 Sub-Part 1, of the Local Government Act 2002 (the Act). Staff have assessed the requirements contained within this section of the Act in relation to this item and have concluded that, as this report is for information only and no decision is to be made, the decision making provisions of the Local Government Act 2002 do not apply.

Recommendation

1. That the Environment and Services Committee receives the ‘Update on PM₁₀ Monitoring’ report.

Kathleen Kozyniak

Senior Scientist Climate & Air

Iain Maxwell

Group Manager

Resource Management

Attachment/s

There are no attachments for this report.

HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL

Environment and Services Committee

Wednesday 08 October 2014

SUBJECT: 2014-15 Operational Report - Science

Reason for Report

1. This report is to advise Councillors of the projected work and projects the Science sections will undertake in the coming year.

Air and Climate

2. Air quality in Hawke’s Bay is very good most of the time, but there are occasions when contaminants, especially fine particulates (PM₁₀), exceed health guidelines. This is typically in winter, when emissions increase markedly due to the use of domestic fires for home heating in urban areas. Weather conditions influence air quality, and in winter atmospheric temperature inversions form on frosty nights, trapping pollutants near ground level.

3. Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (HBRC) is responsible for monitoring, managing and reporting air quality under the Resource Management Act (RMA) and the National Environmental Standards for AQ (NESAQ). HBRC aims to achieve a standard of air quality that is not detrimental to human health and has a programme of monitoring to track trends in the region’s air quality and compare it with health guidelines.

4. The main air quality problems arise in the region’s urban centres, so HBRC monitors PM₁₀ continuously in the Napier, Hastings and Awatoto airsheds to determine compliance with the NESAQ and for State of the Environment reporting.

5. Additional PM₁₀ screening monitoring in Ahuriri will take place for one year, commencing late 2014, to examine issues around dust and fire particles raised by residents in the area.

6. At least one campaign of mobile PM₁₀ monitoring will be undertaken across the Napier and Hastings airsheds during the 2015 winter (starting May 2015) to provide information about spatial variation in PM₁₀ concentrations.

7. The contributions of various source emissions to airsheds will be tracked by updating the Air Emissions Inventory for the Napier and Hastings airsheds. This was last undertaken in 2010.

8. Both air quality and climate trends will be reported through completion of Air Quality and Climate 5 yearly State of the Environment Technical Reports. The Air Quality Strategy will be reviewed in light of the results.

Coastal

9. Sustainable management of Hawke’s Bay’s coastal environment is essential for the continued prosperity (including all four wellbeing’s) of the regional community. The Resource Management Act (1991) requires Hawke’s Bay Regional Council to develop plans to achieve the objective of promoting the sustainable management of natural and physical resources. A key national planning instrument is the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement (NZCPS).

10. Objective 1 of the NZCPS is to safeguard the integrity, form, functioning and resilience of the coastal environment and to sustain its ecosystems, including marine and intertidal areas, estuaries, dunes and land. To give effect to this structure, the Hawke’s Bay Regional Coastal Environment Plan (RCEP) sets policies relating to:

10.1. The maintenance or enhancement of water quality of the coastal marine area in order that it is suitable for sustaining or improving aquatic ecosystems, and for contact recreational purposes where appropriate (Obj 16-1)

10.2. And adverse effects arising from activities in the coastal marine area on habitats, ecosystems, processes, amenity values, historic heritage and natural character.

11. Additionally, the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (2014) recognises the interconnectedness of land, freshwater and coastal systems, and requires the integration of whole catchments, including interactions between freshwater, land and associated ecosystems in the coastal environment (Obj C1), including the integrated management of the effects of the use and development of land and fresh water on coastal water (Pol C2).

12. The Hawke’s Bay coastline stretches for 353 km from 10 km north of the Mahia Peninsula to Whangaehu in the south. The area of the coastal marine environment administered by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council extends to 770,000 ha to the edge of the Territorial limit at 12 nautical miles offshore.

13. Council coastal monitoring programme takes place in accordance with the Coastal Monitoring Strategy (Madarasz, 2006), which gives effect to monitoring requirements under the Regional Coastal Environmental Plan.

14. The coastal water quality and ecology work programmed for the 2014-15 financial year plans to:

14.1. Continue weekly monitoring and reporting on thirty six contact recreation and five shellfish gathering sites in accordance with Council’s Coastal Monitoring Strategy (recreational water quality activity) and quality assurance programme. Summary report completed by May 2015.

14.2. Continue marine ecological monitoring in accordance with Council’s Coastal Monitoring Strategy and quality assurance programme to determine the health of Hawke’s Bays coastal marine environments, including:

14.2.1. Quarterly monitoring of three reef systems

14.2.2. Annual monitoring of four regional estuaries

14.2.3. Annual monitoring of three sandy beach systems.

14.3. Continue chemical and physical monitoring of coastal water quality in Hawke Bay in accordance with Council’s Coastal Monitoring Strategy (coastal water quality activity) and quality assurance programme. Monitoring to be undertaken at 11 near-shore and three estuarine sites on a six weekly basis.

14.4. Continue to facilitate telemetered data from HAWQi coastal water quality monitoring buoy to the HBRC website. Upgraded sensors in 2014 will include dissolved oxygen and current profiling.

14.5. Continue to delineate saline transition zones in Hawke’s Bay estuarine areas to assist with policy development and environmental reporting.

14.6. Investigate and report on sediment quality in accordance to Council’s Coastal Monitoring Strategy. This financial year, sediment quality in the Napier area will be monitored for the fourth time. Certain parts of the harbour have problems with ongoing contamination, in breach of the RCEP and this monitoring assists in monitoring the extent and severity of the contamination.

14.7. Finalise the coastal water quality and ecology 5-yearly State of the Environment technical report.

15. In addition to planned tasks, work has been programmed to support policy development for the Tutaekuri, Ahuriri, Ngaruroro and Karamu (TANK) catchments. This includes monthly estuarine water quality monitoring, assessment of trophic state and limitations using nutrient agars, and benthic ecological monitoring in the Waitangi Estuary.

16. Monitoring of estuarine fish species presence and abundance has been combined with the SOE fish monitoring programme (freshwater) to describe fish populations in regional estuaries.

Land Science

17. Land Science is divided into two projects, 339 – Land Science Research and Investigations and 340 - Land Monitoring. 339 deals with case studies, one- off projects and pilot studies, while 340 deals with longer term regional monitoring programmes such as the State of the Environment soil quality monitoring programme. In the coming financial year (2014-2015) project 339 will include the following work:

17.1. Soil Mapping of the Hawke’s Bay region. Mapping has been completed across the Heretaunga plans, Papanui catchment and the south eastern coastal area of the region. It is expected that the rest of central and southern Hawke’s Bay will be completed by the end of the financial year.

17.2. Riparian mapping. The mapping of the riparian zones of the Tukituki catchment was completed during 2013-14. This year it is expected that the TANK area will be mapped using the same methodology. Riparian mapping indicates the level of accessibility of stock to rivers and streams, and the vegetative condition of the riparian zone.

17.3. Catchment issues investigations. Land Management have indicated that the Whangawehi catchment and the Whakaki catchment are priority ‘small’ catchments for assisting existing community groups with environmental issues. Land Science will be providing advice and assistance where required, including land mapping and wetland surveying.

17.4. Mohaka catchment plan. A detailed environmental characterisation assessment report of the Mohaka catchment will be completed this year. This will provide base data for future environmental modelling and an information source for stakeholders. It is envisaged that Mohaka catchment stakeholder meetings will be attended and presented at this year by Land Science.

17.5. The TANK Plan Change. The scope of proposed work for the TANK Plan Change including sediment modelling and nutrient transport modelling, is currently being assessed and will be decided upon this year.

18. Project 340 will cover:

18.1. Regional soil quality monitoring. This year approximately thirty sites across native bush, commercial forestry and orchards will be established. These sites will be added to the fifty-seven existing soil quality monitoring sites spread across other land uses in the region.

18.2. Land use and land use change monitoring. This year will see the continuation of a project that uses satellite imagery to map land use and land use change. The pilot programme will cover an area of 60 km x 60 km including the Heretaunga plains and beyond. This type of mapping will give a better understanding of how land use may change not just over years but during a season, as some of the more dynamic paddocks can have two or three crops in one year. This information is significant for nutrient loss modelling, as well as for policy and plan change work.

18.3. Erosion monitoring. Sediment modelling has just been completed for the Tukituki catchment and this year it is expected that this modelling will be continued into the TANK area. This type of modelling provides information on where sediment is generated in the environment, how much sediment is generated from these areas and how much this can reduced by implementing farm plans in the most affected areas.

18.4. Wetland monitoring. This year we will continue to map the location of wetlands across the region. Wetland locations have already been identified in the Tukituki catchment, the Karamu catchment and the Ngaruroro catchment. This year the Mohaka catchment will be surveyed. The next stage will be to assess these wetlands and rank them, in order to prioritise a State of the Environment monitoring programme.

18.5. Tukituki Catchment Plan Change 6 implementation. Six priority catchments have been identified within the Tukituki catchment that will require targeted programmes of Land Science work. This work will cover a variety of topics, including land use mapping, riparian investigations and sediment/erosion investigations. The scope of this work is still being discussed.

Groundwater Quantity and Quality

19. Under the Resource Management Act (RMA), the Regional Council has a responsibility to manage the natural and physical resources in Hawke’s Bay, including groundwater quantity. The Regional Resource Management Plan (RRMP) identifies groundwater quantity as a regionally significant issue and states as an objective the avoidance of any significant effects of water takes on the long term quantity of groundwater in aquifers and on surface water resources. The RRMP specifies guidelines and anticipated environmental results on how to achieve the Plan’s objectives which include water level trend monitoring.

20. The following summarises key activities that proposed for 2014-15 to provide groundwater quantity data to assist with groundwater management and informed decision-making processes such as policy writing and resource consent decisions to evaluate changes in the resource over time, to develop groundwater models, forecast trends and to monitor the effectiveness of management and protection programs.

20.1. Long-term, systematic measurements of water levels provide essential data to evaluate changes in the resource over time. To assist with monitoring changes and inform policy development, the Groundwater Team will continue to measure groundwater levels at ninety-two existing monitoring sites. Expansion of the monitoring well network over the 2014-15 financial year is focused mainly in the Ruataniwha basin, to monitor the effectiveness of Plan Change 6.

20.2. To assist with characterising surface water and groundwater interactions for the purpose of improving model predictions, continuous groundwater level monitoring equipment will be deployed at up to twenty five sites. This equipment, which was purchased in the previous financial year, will monitor groundwater levels at 15 minute intervals, enabling the Groundwater Team to observe fluctuations in water levels related to surface water interactions. Characterising these settings is important at both a regional and local scale.

20.3. A significant component of the Groundwater Team’s time is allocated to data management, reporting and assisting with assessing resource consent applications. There are no planned changes to these processes. However, it is anticipated that staff time will be reallocated to collect and process data from the new sites.

20.4. Specifications required for the development of a groundwater flow model for the Heretaunga Plains (TANK) have been completed. The calibration of the steady state and transient model will continue through 2014-15.

20.5. Specific goals, objectives, and stakeholder involvement will be developed for the groundwater flow model and catchment management plan for the Poukawa Basin.

20.6. The groundwater elements of the the 5-yearly SOE report will be completed, with emphasis on the Ruataniwha, Mohaka/Taharua and Heretaunga Plains.

20.7. A geological model for the Ruataniwha Basin will be completed. The proposed geological model will subsequently be used for proposed upgrades/updating of the Ruataniwha groundwater flow model.

21. Section 35 of the RMA requires that local authorities have a duty to gather information, monitor and keep records and to take appropriate action when monitoring indicates that this is necessary. To enable HBRC to meet its duties under section 35 of the RMA, Council needs to collect groundwater quality information.

22. The following highlights key activities that will be conducted in 2014-15 to provide groundwater quality data to assist with groundwater management, particularly forecasting trends and monitoring the effectiveness of management and protection programmes.

22.1. Long-term, systematic measurements of water quality provide essential data needed to evaluate changes in the resource over time. To assist with monitoring changes and inform policy development the Groundwater Team will continue to measure groundwater quality at forty-five existing monitoring sites for a range of microbiological, chemical and physical parameters at a quarterly frequency. Expansion of the monitor well network, over the 2014-15 financial year, is mainly focused in the Ruataniwha basin to monitor the effectiveness of Plan Change 6.

22.2. Maintain water quality data for forty-five sites on HBRC’s website and provide groundwater quality data as requested by internal and external customers.

22.3. Contribute to the publication of the 5-yearly SOE report, with emphasis on the Ruataniwha, Mohaka/Taharua and Heretaunga Plains.

22.4. Complete an isotope study of the Heretaunga Plains, provide analysis for further understanding of conceptual hydrogeologic model of the Heretaunga Plains, and incorporate this understanding into the groundwater-surface water flow model.

Surface Water Quantity

23. HBRC and its forebears such as catchment boards established an extensive network of flow and water level records for Hawke’s Bay streams for the purpose of:

23.1. Flood warning and flood control

23.2. State of Environment monitoring to define state and detect trends over space and time

23.3. Minimum flow monitoring to identify when restrictions on water use should be imposed as flows drop below minimum flows scheduled to maintain instream values

23.4. Targeted investigations for project-specific outcomes, such as informing the Tukituki Plan Change, Greater Heretaunga Plan Change (TANK) and Mohaka Plan Change.

24. Maintaining this monitoring network involves site maintenance, calibration, data processing and archiving. External audits of the data record are also contracted for key sites. Quality controls are being revised to achieve the 2013 national monitoring standards. Live data is available on the internet to inform flood monitoring and minimum flows. Other river users also find this live data helpful (such as kayakers, jet boaters, fishers). Sites are added and removed from the monitoring network in response to changing demand, (such as new minimum flow sites or groundwater-surface water interactions.

25. The following highlights key activities that will be conducted in 2014-15 to provide surface water quantity data to assist with surface water management and informed decision-making processes and to monitor the effectiveness of management and protection programs.

25.1. River flow projects for 2014/2015 include contributing to the development of a surface water-groundwater flow model for the Heretaunga Plains (The TANK catchments), such as groundwater/surfacewater interaction gauging.

25.2. Minimum flows will also be revisited for the Greater Heretaunga (TANK) Plan Change, and flow-ecology investigations are underway this financial year to inform decisions for the Karamu catchment.

25.3. The Mohaka Plan Change requires information to characterise surface flows (such as. mainstem and tributary flows) with ongoing work to inform policy.

26. Long-term, systematic measurements of surface water levels provide essential data needed to evaluate changes in the resource over time. To assist with monitoring changes and inform policy development the Hydrology Team will continue to measure surface water levels at existing sites. Expansion of the surface water network, over the 2014/2015 financial year, is mainly focused in the Ruataniwha basin to monitor the effectiveness of Plan Change 6.

Surface Water Quality and Ecology and Research

27. Management of Hawke’s Bay waters is critical to the region’s social, economic, and cultural wellbeing as well as to the health and safety of its residents.

28. The Regional Resource Management Plan states objectives and policies relevant to the management of our surface water quality as follows:

28.1. Objective 27: The maintenance or enhancement of the water quality of rivers, lakes and wetlands in order that it is suitable for sustaining or improving aquatic ecosystems in catchments as a whole, and for contact recreation purposes where appropriate.

28.2. Policy 71: To manage the effects of activities affecting the quality of water in specific rivers, lakes and wetlands in accordance with the environmental guidelines.

29. The Hawke’s Bay Land and Water Strategy highlights the importance of the region’s land and water resources to safeguarding the regions socio-economic prosperity. It is estimated that land and water supports about 40% of the Hawke’s Bay economy. The future well-being of the region therefore depends on the ongoing sustainable management of this resource to meet the economic and environmental goals of the community.

30. Robust regional planning relies on sound information on the state of the region’s resources. Without this, it is difficult to implement management strategies to best protect and enhance the state of our waterways whilst providing for the ongoing economic growth of the region.

31. A key outcome of the implementation of the Hawke’s Bay Land and Water Strategy (2011) is the setting of water quality limits, standards and targets which meet the agreed strategy management objectives for the region. This aligns with one of the key requirements of the National Policy Statement (NPS) for Freshwater Management (2011. A key objective of the NPS is the setting of enforceable quality and quantity limits that reflect local and national values whilst providing certainty for investment. The NPS identifies the importance of obtaining the best available information on socio-economic and scientific knowledge to achieve this.

32. To meet the objectives of the NPS it is necessary for regional councils to have sound, defensible scientific information and understanding of the regions freshwater resources to define their current state and determine accurately their changing trend over time.

33. There are approximately 23,630 km of streams and rivers within the Hawke’s Bay region, along with numerous lakes, including lakes Waikaremoana and Waikareiti, the Kaweka and Tutira lakes, Lake Poukawa and Whakaki Lake.

34. The freshwater State of Environment monitoring program measures river water quality on a monthly basis at over seventy sites across Hawke’s Bay as well as measuring water quality of a number of the regions lakes on a regular basis. The objectives of the programme are to help support Council’s obligations under the RMA, the RRMP and the NPS to manage the natural and physical resources of the region.

35. The surface water quality and ecology work program for the 2014-15 financial year plans to:

35.1. Continue periphyton growth and nutrient limitation studies on river catchments in the Hawke’s Bay Region to fill knowledge gaps around nutrient limitation potential as well as targeting priority catchments to support ongoing regional plan development.

35.2. Continue a work programme to assist with the assessment of in-stream ecological values and standards with a focus on developing and trialing techniques on measuring ecological health in a robust fashion.

35.3. Undertake targeted investigations in priority catchments to support land management initiatives with a focus on the Whangawehi Stream and Whakaki Lake catchments.

35.4. Continue monitoring lake water quality in the Tutira lakes on behalf of Ministry of Primary Industries, Biosecurity to document water quality in the long-term in response to the Hydrilla eradication programme. The information collected from this study also informs a Lake Tutira catchment and lake water quality model being developed by the University of Waikato on behalf of HBRC.

35.5. Monitor surface water quality in rivers and streams and align monitoring with current best-practice as described by the ongoing Environmental Monitoring and Reporting (EMaR) program. In the north of the region, additional sites will be sampled for twelve months from January 2015 to help fill knowledge gaps.

35.6. Monitor surface water quality for a range of microbiological, physical and ecological parameters in the Tutira lakes and lakes Waikaremoana and Waikareiti.

35.7. Finalise integration of Council’s PUDDLE water quality database with Hilltop Software, allowing for quality assurance and coding of data to occur in a robust and timely fashion, and the support Science’s ISO 9001 accreditation.

35.8. Finalise the surface water quality 5-yearly State of Environment technical reports for the region’s major river catchments.

Financial and Resource Implications

36. There are no financial and resource implications, all programmes and activities will operate within current budgetary guidelines.

Decision Making Process

37. Council is required to make a decision in accordance with Part 6 Sub-Part 1, of the Local Government Act 2002 (the Act). Staff have assessed the requirements contained within this section of the Act in relation to this item and have concluded that, as this report is for information only and no decision is to be made, the decision making provisions of the Local Government Act 2002 do not apply.

Recommendations

1. That the Environment and Services Committee receives the ‘2014-15 Strategic Operational Plan – Science’ report.

Dr Stephen Swabey

Manager, Science

Iain Maxwell

Group Manager

Resource Management

Attachment/s

There are no attachments for this report.

2013-14 Biosecurity Annual Report - Pest Animals and Plants

Attachment 1

1.0 Introduction

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council is the management agency for the Hawke’s Bay Regional Pest Management Plan (RPMP). As the management agency, Council is required to prepare an Operational Plan that sets out how the RPMP is to be implemented. The Operational Plan is reviewed annually and at the end of each financial year, staff will report to Council on the implementation of the operational plan.

This is the combined Plant Pest and Animal Pest Annual Report for the 2013/2014 year relating to the Operational Plan for the Hawke’s Bay Regional Pest Management Plan (RPMP).

2.0 Plant Pests

The RPMP lists a total of 23 plant species as pests, which have been divided into three management categories as listed in Table 1.

For each of these plant pest categories, the Annual Report provides a brief description of what activities Council undertook in the 2013/2014 year. Information on the budgets for plant pest control is provided in Council’s annual report.

2.1 Total Control plant pests

The RPMP defines a Total Control plant pest as one that is of limited distribution in the region, and the long-term goal is its eventual eradication. Seventeen plants are listed as Total Control with nine of these Total Control plants being occupier responsibility plant pests. The RPMP places the onus of control of these plant pests on the land occupier with enforcement being the key management tool. The Operational Plan recognises differences in the way some of these plants are managed however. Table 2 provides a brief explanation of activities associated with Total Control plants where Biosecurity officers take a more active role in their management.

Table 1: Plant Pests

Total Control Plant Pests (Occupier Responsibility)

Total Control (Service Delivery)

Containment Control Plant Pests

Apple of sodom, Australian sedge, Chilean needle grass, Cotton thistle, Japanese honeysuckle, Old man’s beard, Pinus contorta,, Saffron thistle, Woolly nightshade.

Phragmites, African Feather Grass, Goats Rue, Nassella tussock, Privet, Spiny emex, White edged nightshade, Yellow water lily

Bathurst bur,

Blackberry, Gorse, Nodding thistle, Ragwort, and Variegated thistle

There are two types of Total control plants:

· low incidence, which are able to be dealt without without these being in the RPMP, (examples of these are Cathedral bells and Climbing spindleberry), and

· actively managed plants as set out in table 2 below.

Table 2: Actively Managed Total Control Plants

PLANT	STAFF DAYS	EXPLANATION
Apple of Sodom	11	Main problem areas are several farms in the Seafield Road area but improvements continue to be made each year. Time spent ranging and controlling is now at a minimum of approximately two weeks per year. Isolated plants are removed by staff.
African feathergrass	5	Majority of control work is done down the Ngaruroro River by the Operations Group. Clearance work on private land done by Plant pest staff.
Australian sedge	17	Only found in Wairoa district. Majority of work subsidised through the incentive scheme and done by contractors.
Chilean needle grass	75	Staff continuously visit known sites and inspect surrounding areas for possible spread. New subdivisions are being closely monitored and all machinery is required to be washed down and inspected prior to leaving contaminated sites. Soil movement, stock movement and contaminated vehicles continue to be a concern. Hay was also an issue with CNG seed found in one batch of hay which had to be recalled and on sold to two landowners who already have heavily infested CNG blocks. New infested properties are found each year. Taskforce has now been used for three years, results have been encouraging with reasonable landowner uptake, however there is still a lot to learn about this product. Taskforce efficacy and residue level trials are continuing to satisfy EPA requirements to maintain the registration. All roadside and river infestations controlled by Plant pest staff.
Cotton thistle	2	Numbers were still reasonably low, even after last year’s major drought, which was pleasing. Staff control most infestations in conjunction with private landowners.
Goats rue	1	Staff monitor all roadside areas and Eskdale area. Plants only found in Eskdale area and at one roadside area in Central Hawke’s Bay this year.
Japanese honeysuckle	3	Tutira area administered by Transit and DoC has all been sprayed. Private land surrounding this has been sprayed by landowners. Tutira Country Park infestations have been sprayed by contractors.
Nassella tussock	1	Work on this plant is now all done by contractors. Plant numbers are slowly reducing although there is still a large seed bank. The new site found three years ago in the Tukituki area still has high numbers but they have reduced significantly.
Yellow water lily	1	Spraying has taken place on a dam off Atua Road where there is very little of this Plant pest present. Horseshoe Lake is now clear of this Plant Pest.
Old man’s beard	57	Main control areas at present are north of the Napier-Taupo Highway and in areas of high biodiversity value. Work continues in rivers controlled by HBRC.
Phragmites	9	Infested areas were sprayed by contractors and Plant Pest staff and funded by the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI). One new site was found and sprayed for the first time in the Havelock North area.
Pinus contorta	13	Continue to work closely with DoC and Horizons, a joint operation completed in the Napier/Taihape Road area. Work continued on Maori owned land in the Rangitaiki area, which was carried out by contractors. Staff control isolated plants found on roadsides. Wilding pine strategy has been worked on with other Nature Central partners.
Privet	134	Large numbers were removed, some by field officers but mainly through contractors. A total of 261 properties had Privet removed. Of these 261 properties, 67 were in Wairoa. Management programmes continue to be popular with hedges.
Saffron thistle	57	Numbers were very high this year (due to a bad drought in the previous year) particularly in the Havelock North hills and Pakipaki. This put a lot of pressure on staff as well as landowners but provided an excellent opportunity to pick up new infestations.
Spiny emex	14	Numbers were also high this year due to last year’s drought. This meant more time was needed to control plants on the two infested properties.
White edged nightshade	1	Very few plants found.
Woolly nightshade	56	43 new sites were found this season after an extensive monitoring and publicity programme. The total number of active sites in the urban area is now at 114, which includes 26 in Wairoa.

Table 3 Biodiversity plants.

PLANT	DAYS	EXPLANATION
Climbing spindleberry	1		Annually sprayed by contractors. Difficult climber to control and is mainly found in the Tuki Tuki and Waipawa rivers.
Cathedral bells	2		All known rural sites are being controlled by contractors or staff. A few sites are clear now.
Darwin’s barberry	21		Two infestations, one at Gwavas and one at Puketitiri, checked. Control work continues on Gwavas and Puketitiri infestation. An extensive surveillance and control programme increased at Puketitiri using student labour. Some of the funding for the Puketitiri infestation has been sourced from the Biodiversity fund.
Other plants	14		This includes Moth plant, Blue passion flower, Banana passionfruit, Purple ragwort, Boneseed plus a whole range of plants that the public are concerned about.
High risk sites	56		This category includes QE11, old homestead sites, picnic areas, river access sites and dump areas.
Biological control	16		Staff continuously monitor release sites and re release where needed. One release of Tradescantia beetles was purchased and released in the Wairoa area. Ten releases of Broom gall mite was distributed in the Puketitiri and Napier/Taupo highway areas. A survey was started on Ragwort and Nodding thistle agents for Landcare Research.
National plant pest accord.	5		All known plant sales outlets were inspected in Hawke’s Bay. No issues found.

Staff have taken a pro-active stance on the low incidence plants, in order to gain control before they become high incidence plants. Control work is being done with the property owner’s permission.

2.2 Pinus contorta

Pinus contorta is mainly a problem in areas that are close to conservation land. This tree is extremely invasive and will displace all other plants if allowed to continue uncontrolled.

This is the tenth year of council funded control work on multiple ownership land at Rangitaiki. We have now cleared all of the 90 hectare core area. Fortunately the Maori Trustees of the East Taupo Lands Trust have now developed this area into farmland and leased it out. A significant benefit to developing the land as farmland will mean that HBRC’s ongoing costs for maintenance control on regrowth from the substantial Pinus contorta seedbed will be hugely reduced. However there are still large areas surrounding this newly developed farmland where new Pinus contorta seedlings need to be controlled.

A joint surveillance and control programme between HBRC and landowners was carried out over Ngamatea Station and the Sparrowhawk Range which bounds on the HBRC boundary with Horizons. This operation covered over two thousand hectares.

Also this year the areas of Pinus contorta that were controlled in the Rangitaiki area was:

· On Maori owned blocks, totalling 125ha, adjacent to SH5 near the Waipunga Falls. Outlier trees were controlled by a combination of felling by ground crews and spot spraying from a helicopter while several densely infested patches were drilled and poisoned.

· Properties in the Taharua Road area continued control programmes started in previous years.

2.3 CHILEAN NEEDLE GRASS/NASSELLA TUSSOCK

Chilean needle grass and Nassella tussock are two very difficult grasses to control. Chilean needle grass in particular was at the stage where, with the current control tools available, the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council was only able to contain it to the areas it was currently in.

After six years of significant investment in the registration process the Marlborough District Council, in partnership with the HBRC and Environment Canterbury, have gained registration of the herbicide Flupropanate (Taskforce) for the control of Chilean needle grass and Nassella tussock. However, further efficacy and residue trials are still required by the Environmental Risk Management Authority to provide more information to retain this registration. These trials have started and we are now halfway through them. Flupropanate gives long term residual control against Chilean needle grass and Nassella tussock.

Environment Canterbury has gained a three year SFF grant (they are one year into it) for $300,000 to raise landowner awareness of Chilean needle grass. HBRC is involved in this project which is helping find new sites in Hawke’s Bay as well as contributing to a greater level of awareness of CNG throughout the country.

3.0 Boundary Control Plants

Enforcement is the key management tool for Boundary Control plants. These plants are identified during the surveillance process but controls are only enforced if their location contravenes RPMP rules (e.g. gorse within 10 metres of a neighbour’s boundary providing that boundary is clear), and only if there is a complaint. There has been very little action on these plants.

PLANT	Response
Bathurst bur	Responded to queries and advised on control measures.
Blackberry	Complaints dealt with.
Gorse	No complaints received.
Nodding thistle	Biological controls are greatly assisting in the control of this plant. Complaints are now very limited.
Ragwort	Very little chemical applied. Biological control has this plant well controlled in most areas.
Variegated thistle.	Complaints dealt with.

4.0 Surveillance Plants

The plants listed in the RPMP as surveillance plants include a wide range of species. Some of these plants are extremely difficult to control (e.g. aquatic weeds) while others pose no significant risk to the environment, economic production or human health (e.g. wild oat). All Surveillance Plants are banned from sale, propagation or distribution.

5.0 Non-Statutory Plants

5.1 Blue passion flower

Work was again undertaken by field staff in the Taradale and Clive area. Information has been circulated to residents in this area to identify where other areas of infestation may be and to increase landowner awareness of this plant so they can control it. Over 100 urban/lifestyle properties have had this plant controlled on them.

In the Taradale area it appears that this was originally dumped in the drain, and has since spread to gardens and also into a small forest area. This plant while being quite pretty has no other redeeming qualities. It is inedible and is mainly spread by birds.

5.2 Climbing spindleberry

This plant is found in the Central Hawke’s Bay area along the banks of the Waipawa and Tukituki Rivers. This area has been previously all mapped by helicopter to provide an accurate measure of its extent.

This season all known sites were sprayed by contractors.

5.3 Cathedral bells

This has been found on seven rural sites and is being controlled by contractors or Plant pest staff annually. Another very pretty plant that was introduced into rural gardens, this plant has since got out of control and is now threatening native bush areas. While this grows in a number of urban gardens, it does not pose the same problem that it does in the rural area.

5.4 Asiatic knotweed

This was reported to HBRC in the Tuai area. The infestation has been sprayed by a contractor. It is a very invasive plant that will smother native plants especially lower growing ones. Tuai is the only site that is known of in Hawke’s Bay.

5.5 DIDYMO/AQUATIC PLANT PESTS

A student was hired by the HBRC, financed by a grant from the Ministry of Primary Industries, over the summer to raise awareness of Didymo and other aquatic plant pests. Contact with all waterway user groups was achieved over this period. Databases of waterway users (which will provide for rapid communication in an incursion event), and access points to waterways to give an overall geographical understanding of all waterway entry sites in an incursion event, was updated. The Didymo Response Plan was also updated.

Samples were taken from strategic sites on the main Hawke’s Bay rivers by HBRC, Fish and Game and DOC and sent away for DNA analysis to ascertain whether Didymo is present. All samples this year were negative for the presence of Didymo.

6.0 Surveillance Programme

More focus has been put into Total Control plants and plants of concern such as Phragmites, Woolly nightshade, Chilean needle grass and Saffron thistle.

During each property inspection, the HBRC Plant pest staff records plant pests found on individual farm maps. During monitoring staff use previously gathered information to assess whether or not infestations have spread or contracted. During visits staff take the opportunity to discuss any relevant concerns with the occupier.

Urban work continues to have a high profile, particularly Privet. This season plant pest staff received a large number of complaints, mainly due to the public being far more aware of Privet and the alleged effects it has on human health. A small trial, in partnership with Environment Waikato, was done to test whether Privet pollen had an effect as an allergen. Of 32 subjects tested only four people had an allergenic reaction to Privet pollen.

Boundary control plants have been actively managed only upon receiving a valid complaint, or upon receiving a specific request for advice on control. The amount of time now spent in this area is minimal with only 29 hours recorded to this. Complaints are normally about Blackberry.

The surveillance work involves farm visits and providing information on request from ratepayers in both the Urban and Rural sectors. A summary of contacts during the year is as follows:

Biosecurity Officer Visits	Number
Rural visits	1509
Urban and industrial visits	1312
Nurseries and pet shop visits	36

7.0 Annual Monitoring of Previously Identified Infestations

In each year’s monitoring new infestations have been identified, but of the known sites no plant pests have been completely eradicated. Follow-up monitoring of these sites is needed in each succeeding year. Each year all plants are controlled but in the next year new plants germinate requiring continued and intensive monitoring.

7.1 Surveillance of railway Land

Staff have an excellent working relationship with Treescape, the contractors who have responsibility for vegetation control along the rail corridor in Hawke’s Bay. Staff submit a plan to the Area Supervisor annually, identifying areas that need control. Treescape then does the work when required. This procedure enables our staff to control plant pests along the railway tracks throughout the region in a systematic manner.

7.2 STATE HIGHWAY AND District Road Monitoring

A good working relationship has been developed between staff and the NZ Transport Agency as well as both the Central Hawke’s Bay and the Hastings District Councils, for the clearance of roadside weeds. When weeds are cleared from roadsides, staff ensure that the adjacent property owner also clears their side. Both of these District Councils have been very cooperative in setting up no-mow zones when Chilean needle grass is seeding in November/ December.

The NZTA provides an additional budget to control plant pests, on their roadsides, such as Old mans beard, Japanese honeysuckle and Pampas. This budget is managed by HBRC staff which ensures that these plant pests are controlled at the optimum time.

8.0 Nurseries and Pet Shops

All known nurseries in the Hawke’s Bay area have been visited at least once to ensure that no plants banned for sale under the National Plant Pest Accord are being stocked.

9.0 REGULATORY

Two Notices of Direction were issued although some are still current that were issued to Contractors or landowners who are involved with earthmoving on infested properties. Subdivision activities are monitored by staff to ensure compliance, which has been good this year. The RPMP includes some additional measures to help manage the risks created when subdivisions are developed on Total Control plant sites.

10.0 Education and Publicity

The objective of these activities is to reach a wider community than can be achieved through farm visits. In this plant pest staff work with the Environment Education section of the Council. Activities this year have included:

10.1 (a) Plant Pest Display

Three displays were done in this financial year. These were done at:

· Hawke’s Bay A + P Show

· CHB A + P Show

· Wairoa A + P Show

10.2 (b) News Articles

The following topics have been printed in the media: newspaper local newspapers:

· Chilean needle grass

· Didymo

· Saffron thistle

· Woolly nightshade

· Blue passionflower

A pamphlet on Blue passionflower was distributed in the Taradale West and Clive areas.

10.3 Presentations

Didymo presentations were given to several clubs associated with freshwater activities. A talk on plant pests was given at the EIT and Havelock North Probus Club. A Stockyard sale day in Hastings was attended to raise awareness of CNG recognition.

11.0 Biological Control

A Biocontrol Strategy is currently being worked on by Regional Councils. This Strategy may lead to more funding for Biocontrol as well as cost savings in the delivery of Biocontrol Programmes.

Landcare Research has moved to annual contracts to provide biological control agents and to provide a specified set of services. Last year Council contracted Landcare Research to:

· Audit the effectiveness of Biological Control

· Develop new Biological Control Projects.

· Provide a plant identification service

· Provide two days of training on advanced biological control.

Landcare Research is continuing to evaluate/import possible biological controls for Aquatic weeds, Japanese honeysuckle, Woolly nightshade, Chinese privet, Field horsetail, Mothplant, Tradescantia, Pampas, Darwin’s barberry, Wild ginger, Old man’s beard, Tutsan and Banana passionfruit.

One release of Tradescantia Beetles was purchased and released in the Wairoa area. Ten releases of Broom gall mite were distributed in the Puketitiri and Napier/Taupo highway areas.

12.0 Plant Pest Subsidy Scheme

The scheme was set up to provide assistance to landowners in undertaking control programmes.

Type	Number	Amount ($)
Rural		$ 42,745.22
Urban		$ 748.12

The rural applications were mainly for work done on the plants Chilean needle grass, Saffron thistle, Pinus contorta and Old man’s beard.

13.0 Conclusion

All the objectives set out in the Operational Plan for the year have been achieved.

The monitoring system carried out this year has continued to target Total control plants (particularly Old man’s beard, Chilean needle grass, Woolly nightshade and Saffron thistle) and the areas surrounding them, areas of high risk, QE11’s, dump sites, creeks-drains and rivers and areas that are presently being controlled for low incidence plants.

14.0 Animal Pests

The RPMP contains two classes of animal pests;

· Regional Control Animal Pests and

· Site Specific Animal Pests.

RPMP Classification

Animal Species

Regional control

Animal pests

Possums;

Rabbits; and

Rooks.

Site specific control

Animal pests

Feral goats;

Feral deer (red deer, Sika deer, and fallow deer); Feral pigs;

Mustelids (weasels, ferrets, and stoats);

Feral cats; and

Rats (Norway and ship rats).

For each of these two animal pest classifications, the Annual Report provides a brief description of what activities the Council has undertaken in the 2013/2014 year.

15.0 Possum Control Areas (PCA’s)

The control of possums is the major focus of Council’s animal pest control programme. The strategy objective for possum control is:

Strategy Objective: That by 30 June 2016 possum control measures will be operating over 900,000 hectares of productive land, ensuring that possum density on that land is below 5% trap catch.

To achieve this objective HBRC forms Possum Control Areas (PCAs) with the support and assistance of land occupiers. Within PCAs, HBRC arranges for initial possum control to a 3% residual trap catch (rtc) using pest control contractors. Occupiers who have received such control are required to maintain possum numbers at or below a 5% rtc.

15.1 PCA Sign-up

There were no PCA signups or initial control for 2013/2014 as initial control has been completed

2013/2014 PCA Advisory program

Once a PCA has received initial control to a 3% rtc, occupiers in the PCA are required to maintain possum numbers at or below a 5% rtc. The Biosecurity Advisory Team assists occupiers in PCA’s in achieving this requirement and encourages them to engage a contractor to undertake maintenance.

Table 3 below shows the PCAs that have received their first round of maintenance facilitation by the Biosecurity Advisory Team during the 2013/2014 year.

Table 3: Initial Facilitation 2013/2014

PCA	Occupiers	Hectares	% Of Occupiers Utilizing Maintenance Contractors
Cross Hills	5	3,937	50%
Eripiti	7	3,735	50%
Mangaroa	3	3,620	50%
Pohora	10	4,790	50%
Totals	25	16,082

The Animal Pest Operational Plan refers to three types of PCA monitoring:

Trend Monitoring:	Trend monitoring will be carried out over PCA’s to provide an indication of the success of the programme and to provide an early warning of any possible problem areas.
Education Monitoring:	Monitoring will be undertaken over individual properties to determine the success of individuals control methods. This is used as a tool to determine how effective control is as opposed to compliance monitoring which is used to assess compliance with the strategy rule.
Compliance Monitoring:	Monitoring undertaken to determine compliance with a Notice of Direction.

(a) Trend Monitoring 13/14

Trend monitoring was carried out through the following PCA’s to provide an indication of the success of the programme. The RTC compliance target is 5%.

PCA	Monitoring Type	Hectares	Monitoring Lines	Residual Trap Catch (rtc%)	Monitoring Lines > 5%
Ngawaka	Trend	2,872	18	0.8%	2
Rotohiwi	Trend	2,134	12	0.6%	0
Wanstead	Trend	10,591	40	0.5%	3
Baker one	Trend	11,222	40	1.0%	4
Baker Two	Trend	8,082	25	1.9%	3
River Berm Map 1	Trend	1,000	6	1.1%	1
River Berm Map 2	Trend	1,000	6	0.0%	0
Totals		36,901	147	0.8%	13

(b) Education Monitoring 13/14

Education monitoring was undertaken on the following properties to assess the effectiveness of individual landowners’ possum maintenance program.

PCA	Occupier	Hectares	Monitoring Lines	Residual Trap Catch (rtc%)	Monitoring Lines > 5%
Totals		15,573	163	2%	11

* RPMP requires occupiers to maintain possum numbers below a 5% rtc once they have received initial control

The Advisory team also follows up with all landowners who’s properties have returned catch trap lines of 5% or greater.

Overall the results of the education monitoring conducted are extremely encouraging. All land occupiers involved have been commended for their efforts.

The Advisory Team have issued one Notice of Direction to non compliant landowners over the 13/14 period.

PCA	Occupier	Hectares	Monitoring Lines	Education Monitoring RTC Results	Compliance RTC Results
Ngahape		383	4	8%	3.3%

15.2 Incentive Scheme

The subsidy scheme continues to operate well with full support from Farm Lands Trading and PGG Wrightsons. All products subsidised through the subsidy scheme now carry a 50% subsidy weighting. The subsidy scheme is available to all Hawke’s Bay ratepayers and is heavily used and supported by occupiers in the PCA programme.

15.3 Hazardous Substances and New organisms (HSNO) LISCENCING

Council fully subsidises the costs incurred by land users in obtaining a controlled substances licence. This ensures that there are minimal barriers to land users being licensed to use cost effective possum control techniques.

16.0 QEII Covenants in PCA’s

All land occupiers in Possum Control Areas with QE11 covenants are employing maintenance contractors to carry out their possum maintenance over their entire properties. The Hawke’s Bay Regional Council is picking up all labour and materials cost associated with QE11’s greater than 20 hectares, and material cost only for QE11’s less than 20 hectares.

The following table outlines the QE11’s that are in the PCA program that are currently receiving assistance by the Regional Council.

16.1 QE11’s Receiving Assistance With In The PCA Program

PCA	Occupier	Hectares	QE11 Hectares
Baker One	P Allport	644	4.3
Baker One	J Hunter	729	42.9
Baker One	H Mclean	535	23
Baker One	J Pharazyn	1,985	?
Baker One	B Ritchie	818	20
Baker Two	C McHardy	1,205	6.7
Baker Two	B Ritchie	471	6.7
Elsthorpe Kairakau	J Greer	1,300	26.1
Elsthorpe Kairakau	E Potter	570	110
Flemington	D Von-Dadelszen	733	14.6
Flemington	Purimu Lake		20
Hautope	G Hart	418	20
Mahia	P Haynes	464	50
Mahia	Onenui Stn	3,200	200
Makarora	C Preston	669	56
Mangamahaki	K Baldwin	464	7.7
Mangamahaki	A Ormond	846	?
Motere	C Dooney	285	16.2
Motere	D Humphries	695	20
Motere	C Wiggins	1,400	33.4
Ongaonga	H Swinburn	551	15.1
Ongaonga	S Talbot	279	279
Ongaonga	N Turnbull	335	70
Porangahau	A Mcklow	371	10
Porangahau	B Ritchie	314	21.6
Pourerere Kairakau	D Harty	867	9.1
Tikokino	T Atken	402	6
Tikokino	T Butler		20
Tikokino	D Holden	1,599	26.5
Tikokino	S McDonald	324	12.4
Tikokino	T Walters	3,927	120
Tikokino	G Williams	924	27.1
Waimarama “B”	L MacGillivary	314	22.5
Waimarama “B”	S Stewart	512	15.5
Wallingford	J Ormond	972	20
Wanstead	P Dearden	931	60.7
Marumaru	Campbell/Snelling	102	102

17.0 River Berm

Council has undertaken a number of possum control operations on HBRC managed river berm land. This has been done as a good neighbour, to meet HBRC’s obligations under the Strategy, and to complement the control being carried out by adjacent land users on the PCA programme.

18.0 Rooks

The 2013/2014 financial year saw the implementation of another highly successful large scale aerial and ground rook control programme. Excellent contractors, combining aerial and ground experience and innovation, have provided the basis for this success.

All known rookeries in both the Control and Eradication Zones during 13/14 rook, season where aerially treated utilizing a under slung strop man applying DRC 1339 gel bait directly into nests. A total of 543 nests were treated in this manner. Post control inspections on some of these rookeries indicate that previous control has been successful with greatly reduced activity in treated rookeries.

All 10 rook enquires were responded to during the year with approximately 305 rooks poisoned on bait lines utilizing bread and maze baits.

Map 1: Aerial Rook Control 2013-2014

Graph 1: Rook Nests Trends

19.0 Rabbits

Regional surveillance carried out during 2013/2014 will ensure that HBRC's current reliance on rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) to continue to control rabbits in the region is appropriate, and to provide an early warning system if RHD becomes less effective as a rabbit control tool across the region.

A total of 50 rabbit enquiries for advice and assistance were received over the last 12 months of which all have been dealt with on an individual basis. Assistance was provided in the form of Environment Topic handouts, verbal advice, and in some cases demonstrations on the use of Pindone pellets for rabbit control.

Map 2 RHD Sample Sites .

19.1 Night Counts

Night counting data available from 21 regional night count lines indicate a decrease in rabbit densities across the region (Graph 2) from 4.1 rabbits per kilometre to 2.8 rabbits per kilometre.

Graph 2: Rabbit Night Count Trends

Map 3 Rabbit Night Count Line Locations

19.2 RHD

RHD sampling is now carried out bi-annually and is scheduled to be carried out in 2014/2015.

Blood samples were obtained from rabbits by a contractor who is trained in a MAF approved method. Blood samples were taken from 0 rabbits from 0 sites across the Region.

Immunity to RHD on a regional basis was detected to a slightly lesser extent in a larger number of areas compared to the previous surveys. This indicates that RHD immunity has decreased in some rabbit populations in the region.

Council has also supported the re importation of RHD Calcivirus suspension from the Manufacturing laboratories in Australia, through the RCV user group.

The virus is also likely to be in some of the other areas not sampled, as feedback from land users suggested they had seen evidence of it.

Graph 3: RHD Yearly Trends

20.0 Biodiversity Projects

The following table outlines the Biodiversity Projects that have received assistance from the Biosecurity section of HBRC. These projects form a wide range of initiatives from working with individual land users through to projects with significant local community involvement. Most projects have a strong focus on predator control to restore native birdlife.

Project	Hectares	Location
Whakaki Wet land Trust	577	Wairoa
Guthrie Smith Arboretum	84	Tutira
Campbell / Snelling	102	Wairoa
MacIntosh	20	Tutira
Waipatiki Valley	68	Waipatiki
Blowhard Bush	63	Kaweka
Te Mata	30	Havelock North
Ouepoto dotterel protection	12	Aramoana
Karituwhenua Stream Landcare Trust	6	Havelock North
Maungataniwha Forest Trust	6,637	Willowflat
Lake Waikaremoana Hapu Restoration Trust	400	Tuai
Waitangi Wetland	11	Napier
Robinson QE11	40	Takapau
Gallen/Latty QE11	42	Te Pohue
Pekapeka	98	STH 2
Tukituki Ponds	3	Haumoana
ECOED	3200	Kaweka
Westshore Wildlife Reserve (NDC)	20	Westshore
Tutira Country Park	460	Tutira
Muddy Creek	63	Clive
Opoutama Wet Land	68	Mahia
Hartree’s Reserve QE2	213	Puketitiri
Taramoa Stn	1139	Puketitiri
Ahimanuwa	270	Ahimanuwa
Little bush Reserve	12	Puketitiri
Lindsay Bush Reserve	10	Waipukurau
TMVG group	40	Tutira
Esk Hills residents society	80	Bay view
A’ Deanes Bush Bufer	40	Ashley Clinton
Lake Hatuma shooters society	200	Waipukurau
Whangahou Beach	216	Whangahou
Lake Rununga	56	Napier
Ahuriri Bittern Protection group	120	Ahuriri
James Hunter QE2	32	Poranbn
Gwavas Reserve	126	Gwavas
Duncan Kirk QE2	30	Raukawa
McNeil QE2	11	Rissington

21.0 Education and Advice

The Biosecurity team continue to post regular articles in The Big Picture, concentrating on rabbits, RHD, rooks, PCA updates and the use of maintenance contractors.

Environment Topics have been updated or rewritten. There are now currently 21 assorted topics covering all aspects of animal pest control, and in some cases invertebrate pest control such as wasps, as well as PDF file formats now available on HBRC’s web site.

22.0 Research initiatives

A range of research initiatives have been completed as part of the stage one due diligence for widescale predator control (WSPC). These include:

Predator camera monitoring trial

Science provider: Landcare Research

Funding source: Biosecurity budget/LCR leveraged capability fund

Objective

The ability to effectively monitor the impact of control operations on predators such as feral cats, stoats and ferrets is limited in New Zealand. However understanding the link between control operation success and the reduction in predator numbers is critical to linking control programmes to the desired outcomes of control. For example international research suggests that reducing feral cat populations by 90% across large areas may well be sufficient to break the cycle of the human and animal health disease toxoplasmosis. For Hawke’s Bay (and New Zealand) achieving this would bring significant economic and environmental benefits. However if control only achieved a 70% feral cat reduction then the desired outcomes may not be achieved. This research used motion sensing cameras on a grid pre and post a feral cat control operation to establish if cameras are an effective monitoring tool. The preliminary results of the research which are first of their kind at this scale in New Zealand have shown that cameras are likely to be an effective predator monitoring tool.

Biodiversity outcomes monitoring – invertebrate recovery

Science provider: Landcare Research

Funding source: Biosecurity budget/ LCR leveraged capability fund

Objective

This research analysed the level of recovery from invertebrates within the Poutiri Ao Tane WSPC area to assess the environmental benefits to WSPC. Statistically significant increases have been seen in both invertebrate and skink populations with the control area.

Spatial analysis of minimum areas for predator control outcomes success

Science provider: Landcare Research

Funding source: Biosecurity budget/ LCR leveraged capability fund

Objective

This research used preliminary modelling based on predator biological data ie breeding, home range, and ability to be trapped to estimate the approximate minimum area within a control operation that would need to receive control to achieve the economic and environmental outcomes of WSPC. This initial work suggests that a minimum of 70% of land area would need to be under control to deliver the desired outcomes. This preliminary modelling will be further refined should stage two of Cape to City WSPC proceed to better understand the importance of factors such as the spatial distribution of the land being controlled across a WSPC operation.

Green Credentials

Science provider: Landcare Research/Lincoln AERU

Funding source: Biosecurity budget/ LCR leveraged capability fund

Objective

This research aligned with other national research on the value of green credentials to drive a price premium for NZ land users primary products. It included a survey of international markets and an analysis of the potential areas that international consumers value that align with existing large scale ie land and water / biosecurity or biodiversity programmes which may already deliver components of these green credentials.

The transmission and impacts of Toxoplasmosis

Science provider: Landcare Research/CHB Vets (Ian Walker et al)

Funding source: Biosecurity budget/ LCR leveraged capability fund

Objective

Toxoplasmosis is a disease with significant economic and environmental impacts. It causes abortions in sheep and is commonly vaccinated against for this reason. It also causes abortions in women, can cause kiwi to die and has been linked to the death of endangered Hectors and Maui dolphins. These three reports looked at:

1) the transmission pathway of toxoplasmosis in the landscape and the vectors that may influence its ability to reproduce. What level of control may be needed in the feral cat vector to break the disease cycle in the landscape was also reviewed and the broad cost benefit implications of this. Initial research indicates a sustained 90% reduction in feral cat numbers on a large scale may be sufficient to break the incidence of toxoplasmosis within the land scape.

2) the regional economic benefits of breaking the prevalence of toxoplasmosis within the landscape particularly from increased sheep farming productivity

3) the increased farming resilience from not undergoing “Toxo storms” on sheep farming properties. In some cases despite vaccination the incidence of topxoplasmosis triggered in a given year is sufficient that it overwhelms vaccinations. These toxo storms are very costly for farmers (ie up to $20 per hectare) and impact on a number of aspects of farm productivity.

The impact of predator population reductions on rabbit numbers

Science provider: Landcare Research

Funding source: Biosecurity budget/ LCR leveraged capability fund

Objective

There is a perception (and potentially a risk in some isolated cases) that the reduction of predator populations will trigger a large scale increase in other pests such as rabbits. This research consolidated the know literature and research related to this issue as the proposal to apply WSPC needs to manage both the land user perception and any actual risk. The results of the research show that “predators are passengers not drivers” of rabbit population increases in most areas within New Zealand. The main drivers of rabbit populations are factors such as climate, poorly applied rabbit control and favourable habitat. Predators are not in sufficient numbers in most parts of New Zealand to act as major suppressors of rabbit populations.

The impact of rabbit browse on pasture productivity

Science provider: Landcare Research

Funding source: Biosecurity budget/ LCR leveraged capability fund

Objective

Despite the significant investment across NZ in rabbit control there is little quantitative research on the impact of rabbit browse on pasture production. This research used enclosure plots in a Hawkes bay context to test the impact of rabbits on pasture dry matter production. The trial suggests that at certain times of the year rabbit browse has a significant impact on pasture and may be greater than sheep pasture consumption.

OUTCOMES MONITORING

Folia Browse Index Monitoring (FBI)

Work is ongoing to assess the positive benefits for native trees from the Possum Control Area programme. The results to date show excellent levels of vegetation recovery.

Bird count monitoring

Pre possum control bird counts were conducted by Brent Stephenson of Eco-Vista LTD between 12-13th May 2014 over the Otatara and Pukekura urban possum control areas as part of the HBRC’s HUB programme. A total of 36 count sites were established and counts will be conducted over consecutive years. This is a joint funded project with Napier City Council as most of the bird count sites are in NCC parks and reserves.

Good numbers of native birds such as Tui and bell bird were observed.

The Napier Hill HUB zone will have bird counts taking place next year along with the post control counts for Otatara and Pukekura.

23.0 Wide Scale predator (Cat and Mustelid) Control (poutiri Ao O Tane and cape to city)

HBRC is currently involved in a multi agency initiative. The ‘Poutiri Ao o Tane ‘ project is a community based initiative with strong backing from several Agencies including HBRC, DOC, HDC, Landcare Research and local community and Iwi groups.

The project is ambitious and hopes to achieve positive both biodiversity and social outcomes over an 8,000 hectare area, encompassing both DOC reserves and private farmland. The flagship of this project is the release of bush birds such as Kaka and Kakareiki in Boundary stream Mainland Island and the reestablishment of sea birds on the Maungahaururu range, including Black, Cooks and mottled petrel.

Poutiri Ao o Tane has led to the development of a proposal for Wide Scale predator control in Cape to City which will develop the ability of WSPC to be rolled out across Hawke’s Bay similarly to how the PCA programme has operated. Cape to City will achieve positive both biodiversity, economic and social outcomes over a 26,000 hectares encompassing both DOC reserves and private farmland. The vision of this project is to have “native species co-exist with human habitation, food production and recreation.”

Longer term, the HBRC’s main objectives in regard to Wide Scale predator control are to:

- Identify a pest control regime that substantially reduces the current cost of top predator (cats and mustelid) control within a rural landscape containing significant bush fragments

- Provide additional protection to important habitat or sites of regional significance and native species that will benefit from top predator control.

- Support and empower the local community to set and attain achievable biodiversity protection goals.

- Deliver economic benefits to sheep farming operations through the landscape scale reduction of the disease toxoplasmosis.

Heretaunga Plains Flood Control & Drainage Scheme. Drainage & Pumping

Attachment 3

HERETAUNGA PLAINS FLOOD CONTROL AND DRAINAGE SCHEME

PART B - DRAINAGE & PUMPING

ANNUAL REPORT – 1 JULY 2013 TO 30 JUNE 2014

Background

This report encompasses the following flood control or drainage schemes within the Heretaunga Plains Flood Control Scheme Part 2 - Drainage & Pumping. These schemes are broken into nine separate catchment areas with a general overhead project for activities which are area wide. These schemes are notated as:

290 – General

291 – Napier/Meeanee

292 – Brookfields

293 – Pakowhai

294 – Muddy Creek

295 – Haumoana

296 – Karamu

297 – Raupere/Twyford

298 – Tutaekuri-Waimate

299 – Puninga

Asset maintenance contracts were developed for each of the above schemes for the 2013-14 year in accordance with their respective Asset Management Plans. The HBRC Works Group submitted a price of $1,447,842. No other prices were sought.

In addition a number of capital and renewal projects were undertaken within some of the Scheme areas.

Other Costs

The separate agreement with the Napier City Council, for the daily operation of the three large stormwater Pumping Stations (Purimu, Plantation and County) in the Napier urban area and the routine inspection of the Westshore Tide Gates continued as in previous years.

Other costs incurred within these schemes include but are not limited to:

Rate Collection Costs

Asset Depreciation

Insurance

Electricity

Performance

Following is a summary of performance for the various schemes;

Project 290

The principal work carried out in this project consisted of:

ACTIVITY	COMMENT
Management	All aspects of contract management and ratepayer liaison are included under this heading.
Consents & Legal	No significant legal issues were dealt with.
Flood Events	A significant rainfall event in July 2013 resulted in staff working shifts to ensure pumping stations continued to operate effectively.
Mobile Pumps	The eight Mobile Floodpumps were checked and serviced regularly during the year. One is on stand-by in Wairoa.
“Pumptel” Pump Station Telemetry System	The system was again used during the year monitoring the daily operation of the 10 Pumping Stations and 2 Control Gates that are linked into the system.
Alternative Power Supply	The two Standby Generators were serviced in accordance with their requirements. They were not deployed by the HBRC during the year.

Costs accumulated in Project 290 were distributed across the nine rating areas according to the historical formula developed for the purpose, which recognises the proportions of the above factors relating to each area.

End of year 290 Scheme financial figures were:

· Cost	$412,448
· Budget	$454,680

Rating Area 1 - Napier/Meeanee/Puketapu - Project 291

The principal maintenance work carried out in this area under the maintenance contract consisted of:

ACTIVITY	MAINTENANCE OPERATION	AMOUNT	FREQUENCY
Channel Works	Drain-bank Mowing	78.8km	3 Times*
	Drain-invert Spraying	78.8km	Twice
	Weedboat Cutting	3.1km	3 Times
Hydraulic Structures	Inspection & Repair	15 Structures	As Scheduled
Pumping Stations	Inspection & Screen Clearing	3 Stations	As Scheduled
	Pump Assessment/Overhaul	1 Pump	As Scheduled
* In some of the major urban Napier City drains the mowing is done four times per year in an effort to provide a higher standard of presentation, consistent with that of NCC reserves within the city environs.

There were no Capital or Renewal projects done during the year.

End of year 291 Scheme financial figures were:

· Cost	$638,297
· Budget	$837,809
· Rebate from Works Group surpluses.	$12,054
· Scheme balance at 30^th June 2014	($258,133)

Rating Area 2 - Brookfields/Awatoto - Project 292

The principal work carried out in this area under the maintenance contract consisted of:

ACTIVITY	MAINTENANCE OPERATION	AMOUNT	FREQUENCY
Channel Works	Drain-bank Mowing	21.6km	3 Times
	Drain-invert Spraying	21.6km	Twice
Hydraulic Structures	Inspection & Repair	3	As Scheduled
Pumping Stations	Inspection & Screen Clearing	2	As Scheduled
	Pump Assessment/Overhaul	0	None Scheduled

No Capital/Renewal Works were scheduled during the year.

End of year 292 Scheme financial figures were:

· Cost	$122,365
· Budget	$128,574
· Rebate from Works Group surpluses.	$7,622
· Scheme balance at 30^th June 2014	$83,345

Rating Area 3 – Pakowhai - Project 293

The principal work carried out in this area under the maintenance contract consisted of:

ACTIVITY	MAINTENANCE OPERATION	AMOUNT	FREQUENCY
Channel Works	Drain-bank Mowing	25.3km	3 Times
	Drain-invert Spraying	24.2km	Twice
	Weedboat Cutting	1.1km	Twice
	Static Weed-bar Cutting	1.2km	3 Times
Hydraulic Structures	Inspection & Repair	4 Structures	As Scheduled
Pumping Stations	Inspection & Screen Clearing	1 Station	As Scheduled
	Pump Assessment/Overhaul	3 Pumps	As Scheduled

No Capital/Renewal Works were scheduled or done during the year.

End of year 293 Scheme financial figures were:

· Cost	$100,021
· Budget	$126,136
· Rebate from Works Group surpluses	$5,046
· Scheme balance at 30^th June 2014	$109,957

Rating Area 4 - Muddy Creek - Project 294

The principal work carried out in this area under the maintenance contract consisted of:

ACTIVITY	MAINTENANCE OPERATION	AMOUNT	FREQUENCY
Channel Works	Drain-bank Mowing	29.4km	3 Times
	Drain-invert Spraying	24.2km	Twice
	Weedboat Cutting	4.6km	Twice
	Static Weed-bar Cutting	1.5km	3 Times
Hydraulic Structures	Inspection & Repair	5 Structures	As Scheduled
Pumping Stations	Inspection & Screen Clearing	3 Stations	As Scheduled
	Pump Assessment/Overhaul	4 Pumps	As Scheduled

In addition to these maintenance works the following Capital/Renewal Works were done:

Capital
No capital works were scheduled during the year.

Renewal
The Upper Muddy Creek PS Electrical system renewal was completed

End of year 294 Scheme financial figures were:

· Cost	$223,196
· Budget	$287,114
· Rebate from Works Group surpluses	$10,551
· Scheme balance at 30^th June 2014	$281,579

Rating Area 5 – Haumoana - Project 295

The principal work carried out in this area under the maintenance contract consisted of:

ACTIVITY	MAINTENANCE OPERATION	AMOUNT	FREQUENCY
Channel Works	Drain-bank Mowing	18.0km	3 Times
	Drain-invert Spraying	18.0km	Twice
	Static Weed-bar Cutting	1.2km	Twice
Hydraulic Structures	Inspection & Repair	13 Structures	As Scheduled
Pumping Stations	Inspection & Screen Clearing	1 Station	As Scheduled
	Pump Assessment/Overhaul	2 Pumps	As scheduled

Capital
No capital works were scheduled during the year.

Renewal
The electrical system renewal at Haumoana Pump Station was completed.

End of year 295 Scheme financial figures were:

· Cost	$105,066
· Budget	$131,978
· Rebate from Works Group surpluses	$5,113
· Scheme balance at 30^th June 2014	$14,255

Rating Area 6 - Karamu - Project 296

The principal work carried out in this area under the maintenance contract consisted of:

ACTIVITY	MAINTENANCE OPERATION	AMOUNT	FREQUENCY
Channel Works	Drain-bank Mowing	115.8km	3 Times
	Drain-invert Spraying	115.8km	Twice
	Weedboat Cutting	28.0km	Up to 5 Times
	Static Weed-bar Cutting		2 – 4 Times
Hydraulic Structures	Inspection & Repair	74 Structures	As Scheduled
Pumping Stations	Inspection & Screen Clearing	4 Stations	As Scheduled
	Pump Assessment/Overhaul	None Scheduled	N/A

In addition to these maintenance works, the following Capital/Renewal Works were done:

Capital
· Securing land along the Awanui Stream continued
· “Te Karamu” - Enhancement works continued at various locations

Renewals
· No Capital/Renewal Works were scheduled during the year.

End of year 296 Scheme financial figures were:

· Cost	$1,054,629
· Budget	$1,109,541
· Rebate from Works Group surpluses	$50,443
· Scheme balance at 30^th June 2014	($217,742)

Rating Area 7 - Raupare/Twyford - Project 297

The principal work carried out in this area under the maintenance contract consisted of:

ACTIVITY	MAINTENANCE OPERATION	AMOUNT	FREQUENCY
Channel Works	Drain-bank Mowing	44.6km	3 Times
	Drain-invert Spraying	40.4km	Twice
	Weedboat Cutting	4.2km	3 Times
	Static Weed-bar Cutting	8.3km	2 – 4 Times
Hydraulic Structures	Inspection & Repair	12 Structures	As Scheduled
No Pumping Stations	-	-	-

In addition to these maintenance works, the following Capital/Renewal Works were done:

Capital

· Approximately 200m of bank stabilisation work along the Raupare Stream was completed.

Renewals
· No Renewal Works were scheduled during the year.

End of year 297 Scheme financial figures were:

· Cost	$158,091
· Budget	$196,390
· Rebate from Works Group surpluses.	$12,542
· Scheme balance at 30^th June 2014	$325,901

Rating Area 8 - Tutaekuri-Waimate/Moteo - Project 298

The principal work carried out in this area under the maintenance contract consisted of:

ACTIVITY	MAINTENANCE OPERATION	AMOUNT	FREQUENCY
Channel Works	Drain-bank Mowing	54.4km	3 Times
	Drain-invert Spraying	37.4km	Twice
	Weedboat Cutting	27.0km	2 – 6 times
	Static Weed-bar Cutting	8.5km	2 – 4 Times
Hydraulic Structures	Inspection & Repair	20 Structures	As Scheduled
No Pumping Stations	-	-	-

No Capital/Renewal Works were scheduled during the year.

End of year 298 Scheme financial figures were:

· Cost	$200,940
· Budget	$166,928
· Rebate from Works Group surpluses	$18,695
· Scheme balance at 30^th June 2014	($81,207)

Rating Area 9 – Puninga - Project 299

The principal work carried out in this area under the maintenance contract consisted of:

ACTIVITY	MAINTENANCE OPERATION	AMOUNT	FREQUENCY
Channel Works	Drain-bank Mowing	16.2km	3 Times
	Drain-invert Spraying	11.2km	Twice
	Weedboat Cutting	1.5km	Twice
Hydraulic Structures	Inspection & Repair	1 Structure	As Scheduled
Pumping Stations	Inspection & Screen Clearing	3 Stations	As Scheduled
	Pump Assessment/Overhaul	2 Pumps	As Scheduled

No Capital Work was undertaken. The telemetered pump monitoring system was replaced.

End of year 299 Scheme financial figures were:

· Cost	$106,675
· Budget	$162,323
· Rebate from Works Group surpluses	$18,695
· Scheme balance at 30^th June 2014	$86,654

Total Costs

End of year HP Drainage Scheme financial figures were:

· Cost	$2,701,090
· Budget	$3,047,594
· Rebate from Works Group surpluses	$135,670
· Total Schemes balance at 30^th June 2014	($344,609)

General

All maintenance activities and capital works were carried out in accordance with the specified design principles, service levels and standards defined in each of the Asset Management Plans.

Conclusion

The maintenance of these schemes operating under contract conditions continues to be very successful, both in the amount of work completed and the high standards achieved.

Regular inspections and the monitoring of work ensured the contractor achieved the standards and performance measures specified in both the contracts and the Asset Management Plans.

Dan Heaps

DRAINAGE MANAGER – OPERATIONS

Mike Adye

GROUP MANAGER – ASSET MANAGEMENT

Minor Flood Control Schemes

Attachment 6

MINOR FLOOD CONTROL SCHEMES

ANNUAL REPORT – 1 JULY 2013 TO 30 JUNE 2014

Background

This report encompasses the following flood control or drainage schemes;

- Esk River Flood Control and Whirinaki Drainage Scheme

- Porangahau Flood Control Scheme

- Te Ngarue Flood Control Scheme

- Poukawa Drainage Scheme

- Makara Catchment Control Scheme

- Paeroa Drainage Scheme

- Ohuia Drainage Scheme

- Kopuawhara Flood Control Scheme

- Wairoa Rivers and Streams Scheme

- Central & Southern Areas Rivers & Stream Scheme

- Te Awanga Scheme

- Kairakau Community Scheme

- Opoho Scheme

Asset maintenance contracts were developed for each of the above schemes (except Kairakau and Opoho schemes) for the 2013-14 year in accordance with their respective Asset Management Plans. The price was negotiated according to a detailed schedule of works with the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council Works Group.

Performance

Following is a summary of performance for the various schemes;

Esk River Flood Control Scheme.

Maintenance work carried out in this scheme consisted of;

SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITY	AMOUNT	FREQUENCY
Channel regrowth spraying	8.65 km	Once
Drainage outlets maintained	5	Once
Structure inspections		As scheduled

Scheme costs for 2013/14 were $3,114 (budget $17,276). This included a rebate of $110 from Works Group surpluses. The Scheme balance at 30^th June 2014 is $107,002.

Whirinaki Drainage Scheme

Maintenance work carried out in this scheme consisted of;

SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITY	AMOUNT	FREQUENCY
Drain mowing	9.4 km	Twice
Drain spraying	9.4 km	Twice
Drainage structure inspections	10	Once

Scheme costs for 2013/14 were $9,487 (budget $14,899). This included a rebate of $223 from Works Group surpluses. The Scheme balance at 30^th June 2014 is $20,496.

Porangahau Flood Control Scheme

Maintenance work carried out in this scheme consisted of;

SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITY	AMOUNT	FREQUENCY
Channel regrowth spraying	25.4 km	Once
Tree removal & stockpile burning
Windfall removal

Scheme costs for 2013/14 were $26,524 (budget $28,366). This included a rebate of $1,137 from Works Group surpluses. The Scheme balance at 30^th June 2014 is $59,894.

Te Ngarue Flood Control Scheme

Maintenance work carried out in this scheme consisted of;

SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITY	AMOUNT	FREQUENCY
Tree removal		Various
Willow regrowth spraying	3.0 km	Once
Drain mowing	6.2 km	Twice
Drain spraying	6.2 km	Twice

End of year maintenance costs were $6,311 (budget $7,000). This included a rebate of $317 from Works Group surpluses. The Scheme balance at 30^th June 2014 is $15,754.

Poukawa Drainage Scheme

Maintenance work carried out in this scheme consisted of;

SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITY	AMOUNT	FREQUENCY
Drain mowing	7.8 km	Twice
Drain spraying	28.2 km	Twice
Weedboating	25.1 km	Five times
Drainage structure inspections	6	As scheduled

Scheme costs for 2013/14 were $31,366 (budget $42,348). This includes a rebate of $1,009 from Works Group surpluses. The Scheme balance at 30^th June 2014 is $21,989.

Makara Catchment Control Scheme

Maintenance work carried out in this scheme consisted of;

SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITY	AMOUNT	FREQUENCY
Channel regrowth spraying	11.5 km	Once
Tree removal
Dam inlet channel cleaning

Scheme costs for 2013/14 were $931,027 (budget $1,209,563). This includes a rebate of $1,614 from Works Group surpluses. The Scheme balance at 30^th June 2014 is a deficit of -$160,717.

Construction work to repair the Makara No 1 dam was substantially completed during the year. The total cost of the project was $1,265,414 (final updated estimate $1.28m). This cost will be funded in accordance with Council resolution as follows

· Scheme disaster reserve $40,500

· Scheme depreciation reserve $220,000

· Scheme loan $220,000

· Regional disaster reserve $759,248

· Scheme operating account $25,666

The $220,000 loan will be received in the 2014/15 financial year. This will meet the cost of

· The scheme deficit of $160,717

· Work outstanding to complete the dam repair project. This is estimated to cost $23,000

· An annual provision for removal of silt from No 1 dam of $25,000

The difference between budget and actual costs results from timing of the Makara No 1 repair project.

Paeroa Drainage Scheme

Maintenance work carried out in this scheme consisted of;

SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITY	AMOUNT	FREQUENCY
Drain spraying	39.6 km	Twice
Tree clearing		As required
Drainage structure inspections	5	Once

Scheme costs for 2013/14 were $16,423 (budget $29,406). This includes a rebate of $833 from Works Group surpluses. Provisional sum allowances for windfall tree clearing and mechanical drain cleaning were not required during the year. The Scheme balance at 30^th June 2014 is $94,422.

Ohuia Drainage Scheme

Maintenance work carried out in this scheme consisted of;

SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITY	AMOUNT	FREQUENCY
Drain spraying	25.2 km	Twice
Drainage structure inspections	8	Once
Pump station inspections	26	Fortnightly
Service floodgates		As required
Pump repairs		As required
Electrical inspection of all pump stations		As scheduled

Scheme costs for 2013/14 were $53,888 (budget $71,863). The Scheme balance at 30^th June 2014 is a deficit of -$58,021.

Kopuawhara Flood Control Scheme

Maintenance work carried out in this scheme consisted of;

SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITY	AMOUNT	FREQUENCY
Channel & plant pest spraying	4.7 km	Once
Drainage structure inspections	3	Once
Tree clearing / flood repairs		As required

Scheme costs for 2013/14 were $4,221 (budget $12,863). The Scheme balance at 30^th June 2014 is $27,017.

Wairoa Rivers and Streams Scheme

Work carried out in this scheme consisted of;

LOCATION	ACTIVITY	AMOUNT
Nuhaka River	Tree clearing
Huramua Stream	Vegetation clearance	6.8 km
Whakaki Drainage	Drain spraying	18.0 km
Opoho Scheme	Drain spraying	6.0 km
“	Drain excavation & culvert repairs
“	Pumpstation inspections	fortnightly
Nuhaka railway drain	Drain spraying	2.0 km
Ramarama drain	Drain spraying	3.4 km
Tuhara drain	Drain spraying	10 km
Tawhara Scheme	Drain spraying	8.3 km

Scheme costs for 2013/14 were $205,201 (budget $163,640). This includes a rebate of $4,146 from Works Group surpluses. All scheduled maintenance works were completed. The Scheme balance at 30^th June 2014 is $66,730.

Central & Southern Areas Rivers and Streams Scheme

Work carried out in this scheme consisted of the following;

LOCATION	ACTIVITY	AMOUNT
Maraetotara Stream	Tree clearing	700m
Makara Stream	Tree clearing	1400m
Sandy Creek	Tree clearing	650m
Puketitiri Creek	Tree clearing	300m
Pouhokio Stream	Flood damage repairs	Various
Mangakopikopiko Stream	Flood damage repairs	Minor

Scheme costs for 2013/14 were $219,233 (budget $179,365). This includes a rebate of $2,002 from Works Group surpluses. The Scheme balance at 30^th June 2014 is $223,108.

Te Awanga Scheme

Maintenance work carried out in this scheme consisted of channel regrowth spraying, edge protection work and windfall tree removal. Scheme costs for 2013/14 were $9,462 (budget $10,032). This includes a rebate of $49 from Works Group surpluses. The scheme balance at 30^th June 2014 is a deficit of -$3,543.

Kairakau Community Scheme

A debris barrier was constructed under the Kairakau Community Scheme. Work is only done at the request of the community. The Scheme balance at 30^th June 2014 is $16,059.

General

All maintenance activities and capital works were carried out in accordance with the specified design principles, service levels and standards defined in each of the Asset Management Plans.

Conclusion

The maintenance of these schemes operating under contract conditions continues to be very successful, both in the amount of work completed and the high standards achieved.

Regular inspections and monitoring of work ensured the contractor achieved the standards and performance measures specified in both the contracts and the Asset Management Plans.

Dan Heaps

DRAINAGE MANAGER - OPERATIONS

Graham Edmondson

RIVERS MANAGER – OPERATIONS

Mike Adye

GROUP MANAGER – ASSET MANAGEMENT

HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL

Environment and Services Committee

Wednesday 08 October 2014

SUBJECT: 2013-14 Operations Group Report

Reason for Report

1. To provide a summary of regional park and pathway operations for the year ending 30 June 2014.

Background

1. The HBRC manages and maintains 822 hectares of regional park assets and approx. 100 kilometers of pathways, and contributes $30,000 annually to the cost of a caretaker for Te Mata Park.

2. The following parks are included within the HBRC regional park network:

2.1. Pakowhai Regional Park (21ha)

2.2. Pekapeka Regional Park (98ha)

2.3. Waitangi Regional Park (240ha)

2.4. Tutira Regional Park (463ha)

3. The objective of regional park management and maintenance is to protect, promote and enhance park values through:

3.1. maintaining park infrastructure (pathways, tables, seats, signs, fencing, carparks etc)

3.2. undertaking plant and animal pest control as obligated and/or required

3.3. engaging with community on parks

3.4. maintaining plantings (restorative, conservation, investment, enhancement, amenity)

3.5. providing for recreational opportunity where appropriate

3.6. monitoring

3.7. planning for future community demand.

Discussion

4. The 2013-14 regional park projects were completed to budget with no significant issues recorded.

5. There was no capital expenditure in the 2013-14 year.

6. The table summary following highlights key areas of expenditure as well as income sources.

Table Summary

Table 1: Operating Expenditure

Regional Park	Pekapeka	Waitangi	Pakowhai	Tutira	Pathways
Project	362-001	362-002	362-003	382	363
Item	Expenditure ($)
Management	30,000	-	-	35,000	7,000
Consultants	3,000	1,000	1,000	12,000
Community Eng	3,000	2,000	3,000	3,000
Plants	8,000	5,000	3,000	7,000
Contractors	20,000	25,000	17,000	66,000	43,000
Works Group	17,000	5,000	20,000	25,000	84,000
Plant Pest Ctrl	10,000	-	-	10,000
Animal Pest Ctrl	3,000	10,000	-	2,000
Depreciation	8500	-	-	-
TOTAL	102,500	48,000	44,000	160,000	134,000

Table 2: Capital Expenditure

Regional Park	Pekapeka	Waitangi	Pakowhai	Tutira	Pathways
Project	362-001	362-002	362-003	382	363
Item	Expenditure ($)
-	-	-	-	-
TOTAL	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00

Table 3: Income

Regional Park	Pekapeka	Waitangi	Pakowhai	Tutira	Pathways
Project	362-001	362-002	362-003	382	363
Item	Income ($)
Honda Treefund	3,993	-	3,993	-
Heseltine fund	870	-	-	-
Grazing lease	-	-	-	6,500
Manuka lease	-	-	-	7,770
TOTAL	4,863	0.00	3,993	14,270

Table 4: Description and explanation of the expenditure and income items.

Item	Detail
Management	Includes HBRC staff time, managers and other internal staff that contribute to the administration, monitoring, compliance and operation of a project (or neighbouring related projects such as Lake Poukawa and Lake Tutira). Also includes overheads such as rates and insurances.
Consultants	Engaged where specialist skills are required for planning, review, community engagement, monitoring and investigations.
CE (Community Engagement)	Includes expenditure on plant and materials directly associated with facilitating community engagement such as community meetings, marketing, signage, advertising, facility hire, food and portaloo’s.
Plants	Expenditure on plants for biodiversity, amenity, stability and community engagement initiatives.
Contractors	Includes labour, machinery and material costs for a range of outsourced park maintenance activities including fencing (existing and new), planting, releasing, caretaking / ranging (specialist maintenance of high amenity areas), tracking, road metalling, rubbish collection, water supply maintenance, drain and channel maintenance, plant pest management, pathways, signage and culvert maintenance.
Works Group	Expenditure primarily relating to the Works Group asset maintenance contract.
Plant Pest Control	Expenditure on controlling significant plant pests such as Japanese Honeysuckle on Tutira Regional Park and Grey Willow at Pekapeka.
Animal Pest Control	Expenditure on animal pest and predator control within parks.
Honda Treefund	Donation received from the Honda Treefund. Used to fund community plantings in Pekapeka and Pakowhai.
Heseltine fund	Donation received from the Heseltine Trust. Used to fund plantings in Pekapeka.
Grazing lease	Received for grazing of Tutira Regional Park.
Manuka lease	Lease rental for the Manuka project

Looking Forward into 2014 - 2015

7. Draft planning for the Pekapeka, Waitangi and Pakowhai regional parks is completed. Staff have been and will continue to seek feedback from public on the plans.

8. The above draft plans will be presented to Environment and Services Committee of Council for adoption at their December meeting.

9. The Tutira Regional Park Plan is on hold. Staff expect to recommence park planning late 2014.

Decision Making Process

10. Council is required to make a decision in accordance with Part 6 Sub-Part 1, of the Local Government Act 2002 (the Act). Staff have assessed the requirements contained within this section of the Act in relation to this item and have concluded that, as this report is for information only and no decision is to be made, the decision making provisions of the Local Government Act 2002 do not apply.

Recommendation

1. That the Environment and Services Committee receives the ‘2013-14 Operations Group’ report.

Steve Cave

Manager,

Open Space Development

Mike Adye

Group Manager

Asset Management

Attachment/s

There are no attachments for this report.

	Follow-up/Request	Person Responsible	Status/Comment
1	Invite Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment to Hawke’s Bay	CE	Due to scheduled commitments, will likely now take place early 2015
2	Royalties from the Oil and Gas industry – Chairman attending LGNZ meeting and will report back to Council about discussions	Chairman	Email sent to Councillors 6/9/14 (on following page)

1	Map - Flood Control Schemes - Tukituki & Small Schemes
2	Map - Heretaunga Plains Flood Control Schemes: Drainage Catchments
3	Heretaunga Plains Flood Control & Drainage Scheme. Drainage & Pumping
4	Heretaunga Plains Flood Control Scheme. Rivers
5	Upper Tukituki Flood Control Scheme
6	Minor Flood Control Schemes

SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITY	AMOUNT	FREQUENCY
Stopbank mowing	85.3 km	Twice
Stopbank fertilizing	25.8 km	Once
Beach raking	588 ha	Once
Willow lopping	3.6 km	Once
Weedboating	15.4 km	3 times
Plant pest spraying	156.6 km	Once
Berm mowing	45.2 ha	Twice
Electric fence spraying	67 km	Once
Drainage structure inspections	44	As scheduled
Drainage outlets maintained	7	Once
Native & exotic trees planted	13,800
Willow poles planted	1,100

SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITY	AMOUNT	FREQUENCY
Stopbank mowing	142 km	Twice
Beach raking	782 ha	Once
Plant pest spraying	125 km	Once
Berm mowing	37 ha	Twice
Drainage structure inspections	41.8	As scheduled
Drainage outlets maintained	78	Once
Native & exotic trees planted	2225
Willow poles planted	3630

1	Statutory Advocacy Update (as at 30 September 2014)
2	Map - Statutory Advocacy

Received	TLA	Map Ref	Activity	Applicant/ Agency	Status	Current Situation
18 July 2014	HDC	1	Notice of Requirement A Notice of Requirement for the Whakatu Arterial Link project to provide a road between Havelock North, State Highway 2 North, Pakowhai Road, the Expressway and the Port of Napier.	HDC	Notified, HDC hearing pending	30 September 2014 · Submissions closed Wednesday 20^th August 2014. · A submission was lodged supporting the Notice of Requirement and in support of the supporting submission lodged by the Regional Transport Committee. Both submissions can be found at HBRC Submissions · Hearings are expected to commence in late 2014. · Details of the application can be found here Notice of Requirement
5 December 2013	NCC	2	Plan Change 10 to the Operative City of Napier District Plan. A community driven Plan Change to harmonise district wide provisions between the Napier District Plan with the Hastings District Plan, incorporate the Ahuriri Subdistrict Plan and update provisions as a result of recent Napier City Council policy changes and decisions into the Napier District Plan.	NCC	Notified, NCC hearing pending	30 September 2014 · Submissions closed on Friday 14 February 2014. The HBRC submission can be found at HBRC Submissions · Details of Hearings timetables are yet to be publicised by Napier City Council.
8 November 2013	HDC	3	Proposed Hastings District Plan Review of the Hastings District Plan in its entirety. Includes the harmonisation of district wide provisions between the Napier District Plan with the Hastings District Plan where relevant.	HDC	Notified, HDC hearings in progress	30 September 2014 · HDC have commenced hearings on topic by topic basis. HDC’s hearings programme scheduled to run through remainder of 2014 into early 2015. · The HBRC Submission and Further Submission on the HDC Plan Review can be found here HBRC Submissions http://www.hbrc.govt.nz/HBRC-Documents/HBRC Document Library/20140214 Submission HDC District Plan.pdf
1 August 2013	NA	4	Application under Coastal and Marine (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 Rongomaiwahine has made an application for a Protected Customary Rights Order and a Customary Marine Title Order in the general Mahia Peninsular area under section 100 of the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011.	Rongomaiwahine (Pauline Tangiora)	Notified, High Court hearing pending	30 September 2014 · Council has opposed the grant of the orders unless the nature and geographical extent of the orders is specified with sufficient detail to enable the Council to appropriately understand the effect of the orders sought. · On 26 Sept 2014, the High Court released a timetable for the provision of evidence by the applicant and other interested parties. The filing of evidence is expected to be complete by early 2015. No High Court hearing date has been set yet.