RMA: The Engineer’s needs and experiences
Supported by case history examples, this course provides a general overview of the Resource Management Act and in-depth coverage of the areas Engineers are involved with. In addition it will demonstrate how these practical aspects can be applied throughout RMA processes and cover the Government’s current RMA reform process.
Description
Co presented by Jim Bradley and a local Resource Management Planner, this course will highlight the role of (and need for) engineers:
- to have a working knowledge of the RMA
- to work in multidisciplinary teams
- to be involved in consultation with a wide range of stakeholders
- to be well equipped to give expert evidence in RMA hearings.
Through interaction and practical exercises, the course will cover:
- The RMA – Setting the scene for engineers
- The Engineer’s understanding of the RMA Consultation /Tangata Whenua participation
- Conditions and monitoring
- Hearings and appeals
- Working in multidisciplinary teams
- The Engineers’ roles, functions and responsibilities
- The Engineers’ RMA Toolbox
An overview will also be included on Central Government’s RMA Reform currently taking place.
Key Learnings will include:
- How the RMA and other planning instruments and statutory documents fit together.
- Technical aspects of the RMA including definitions and interpretations, purpose and principles
- “effects-based” and “Best Practicable Option” (BPO) approaches, assessment of alternatives, requirements of an Assessment of Effects on the Environment (AEE)
- Consultation /Tangata Whenua participation, including consultation and the RMA, consultation approaches and stakeholders, and tangata whenua involvement
- Conditions and monitoring
- Hearings and appeals including; the role of the technical expert witness, decision making and appeals.
Intended audience
This course is designed for engineers and other technical professionals who wish to increase their understanding of working with the RMA on engineering/infrastructure projects.
Course format
This course will consist of interactive presentation and discussion along with some case history discussions and a short mock RMB Consent Hearing.
Presenter information
Jim Bradley is a Chartered and International Engineer, a Diplomat of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and a Distinguished Fellow of Engineering NZ. A majority of Jim’s 49 years of professional engineering has been involved in developing and consenting a range of infrastructure projects, particularly water/wastewater projects, under the RMA and other legislation.
Jim is an accredited RMA Decision Maker and was the inaugural winner of the William Pickering Engineering Leadership Award in 2005.
The experienced Resource Management Planner will ideally be a planner, local to the course location, who has knowledge of local planning documents and procedure and where they fit within the overall RMA legislative framework.