Operating a feedlot or feedpad was a permitted activity if the land used was managed to prevent contaminants seeping into groundwater, if it was located no less than 20m from any surface water body and if runoff from the surrounding catchment area was prevented from entering a feedlot.
In addition there were rules around a feedlot's proximity to buildings and public roads, and the rules for animal effluent being collected and discharged on to land, were the same as for a dairy shed effluent.
If an operator did not comply with these rules, a resource consent was needed and was likely to have conditions that required surface runoff to be avoided or controlled.
Unless the feedpad or feedlot was on an impervious pad, the consent may require three or more monitoring bores to be installed, which would allow groundwater to be monitored.
Monthly sampling of groundwater in those bores was likely at least for the first two to four years to enable the landowner and the council to gain an understanding of the impact on surrounding groundwater and any effects on nearby surface water.
Mr Maxwell said they had found farmers they were working with were keen to comply and meet their obligations.
"We will be ramping up our regional monitoring of feedlots to ensure they are complying with the requirements."
He said penalties for non-compliance ranged from infringement fines to court-based prosecutions, with the action determined on a case by case basis.
Farm Environment Management Plans
As well as consents for feedlots, in the Tukituki catchment, a Farm Environmental Management Plan (FEMP) is also required if a person owns 4ha or more of productive land. If the farm was low intensity, however, a farm plan was only needed if the property was more than 10ha.
A FEMP summarises the environmental risks identified on a property and explains how those risks will be managed in line with the legal requirements set out in Plan Change 6.
Part of the requirement of a FEMP was to conduct nutrient budgeting, which worked out nitrogen leaching rates and phosphorus losses, generated through a tool called Overseer.
This included information about the farm's location and size as well as annual stocking rates, winter management, food input and outputs, farm accounts and soil test results.
It will be compulsory for all applicable farmers to have a FEMP by June 1 next year.
A regional council spokesperson said Overseer did not create models for feedlots, which was why the council monitored groundwater and conducted surface water and source point testing.