Federated Farmers: Rules apply to areas under lines

POWER TO THE PEOPLE: Large power pylons are a common sight, with two transmission corridors crossing the Whanganui District, carrying electricity between Bunnythorpe and Taranaki. PHOTO/FILE

MANY rural landowners have energy infrastructure on or near their property.

In Whanganui, large power lines are a particularly common sight, with two transmission corridors crossing the district, carrying electricity between Bunnythorpe and Taranaki.

Certain activities will be restricted in buffer zones around these sites.

It helps to have some background. In 2008, central government created the National Policy Statement on Electricity Transmission (NPSET). This recognised electricity as a key national resource and promoted a more unified and consistent approach to regulation of electricity transmission across the country.

Under the Resource Management Act, any such statement has to be incorporated into district plans by local councils within a certain timeframe. The logical time to do this is when these plans are reviewed.

During the process, councils are obliged to consult with Transpower (the state-owned enterprise that owns and runs the national grid) to make sure that current and future electricity transmission is safeguarded, while not adversely affecting third parties (like farmers who happen to own land under power lines).

Of particular interest to farmers was the expectation under the National Policy Statement that "sensitive" activities would not be allowed within a certain distance of the transmission lines, but what constituted a "sensitive" activity was not clearly defined. Would any farming activities fall into this category? And how wide was the corridor surrounding power infrastructure, where the rules would apply?

The Bay of Plenty became a flashpoint in the ensuing discussions, with Transpower initially requesting a 30m corridor either side of their lines, within which farming activities would have been restricted. After much constructive conversation between Transpower, local authorities and Federated Farmers, a solution was developed where buildings within 12m of lines were regulated and most farming activities were deemed "non-sensitive" and therefore permitted.

These conversations are ongoing. For example, during the last review of the Whanganui District Plan, Transpower initially wanted a 150m buffer zone around their electricity substations, but this was ultimately reduced to 20m. Federated Farmers is typically involved in the process.