Rule changes to hit farms near Taupo

Unprecedented new environmental rules will change the face of farming around Lake Taupo.

Under strict controls which are part of Environment Waikato's bid to address the deteriorating water quality in Lake Taupo, resource consents are now required simply to farm in the catchment.

Further, farms are to be allocated a "nitrogen discharge allowance" based on a computer assessment of past leaching of the nutrient from the property.

Should farmers intensify production or change their land use they will also need a new permit.

And they will have to engage in "nitrogen trading" - buying nitrogen credits off other properties - to ensure there has been no overall increase in leaching within the catchment.

These are among the most radical measures of the council's Protecting Lake Taupo strategy, which will cap the amount of nitrogen entering the lake through changes to its regional plan.

It amounts to massive social change in a super-sensitive environmental region, with rural landowners copping the heftiest impact. Nitrogen, which pollutes waterways, is used heavily in the dairy industry to speed grass growth.

- NZPA