Figure 5: Enforcement Policy (Tasman District Council) To develop an effective enforcement process in council, staff should evaluate all enforcement action undertaken by officers for effectiveness in achieving the desired outcome. In both successful and unsuccessful actions where further enforcement action was required it is useful to examine what was effective or not, and what could have been improved or changed to make the process more effective. This information should be fed back to the Regulatory Manager and Environmental Information Manager to implement change if necessary. The following diagram presents an overview of the enforcement selection process that should occur in deciding an appropriate response to detected offending. Part 8 Enforcement tools – Overview of enforcement tools under the RMA Part 7 Enforcement decisions gives councils guidance on making a decision in response – to non-compliance, this section describes how each tool works and what they achieve. A of formal enforcement tools is available to councils to respond to non-compliance. The Resource Management Act provides enforcement tools that are both punitive (infringement notice, prosecution) and directive (abatement notice, enforcement order). Formal written warnings and letters of direction are non-statutory options available to councils to admonish offenders and direct restorative action. The of enforcement options allows councils to tailor their response to the nature and severity of offending. A full description of the enforcement tools in the RMA is provided in table 3. 3: Summary of non-statutory and statutory enforcement tools for responding to RMA noncompliance Relevant Enforcement Directive or section(s) of the Maximum penalty actions Description punitive? RMA available Verbal or Advice (either verbal or written) Punitive Non-statutory None written that a breach of the RMA has and/or tool direction occurred (or may and that the directive offending party needs to take or cease a particular action. Formal A formal warning letter informs a Punitive Non-statutory None warning letter person/company that they have and/or tool breached the RMA. The letter forms directive part of the formal history of which can be used to inform future enforcement decisions, and can also be used as evidence in Court, if a prosecution is later taken. A formal warning can have a range of uses, and councils can tailor the
Figure 5: Enforcement Policy (Tasman District Council) To develop an effective enforcement process in council, staff should evaluate all enforcement action undertaken by officers for effectiveness in achieving the desired outcome. In both successful and unsuccessful actions where further enforcement action was required it is useful to examine what was effective or not, and what could have been improved or changed to make the process more effective. This information should be fed back to the Regulatory Manager and Environmental Information Manager to implement change if necessary. The following diagram presents an overview of the enforcement selection process that should occur in deciding an appropriate response to detected offending. Part 8 – Enforcement tools Overview of enforcement tools under the RMA Part 7 – Enforcement decisions gives councils guidance on making a decision in response to non-compliance, this section describes how each tool works and what they achieve. A of formal enforcement tools is available to councils to respond to non-compliance. The Resource Management Act provides enforcement tools that are both punitive (infringement notice, prosecution) and directive (abatement notice, enforcement order). Formal written warnings and letters of direction are non-statutory options available to councils to admonish offenders and direct restorative action. The of enforcement options allows councils to tailor their response to the nature and severity of offending. A full description of the enforcement tools in the RMA is provided in table 3. 3: Summary of non-statutory and statutory enforcement tools for responding to RMA noncompliance Enforcement actions Description Directive or punitive? Relevant section(s) of the RMA Maximum penalty available Verbal or written direction Advice (either verbal or written) that a breach of the RMA has occurred (or may and that the offending party needs to take or cease a particular action. Punitive and/or directive Non-statutory tool None Formal warning letter A formal warning letter informs a person/company that they have breached the RMA. The letter forms part of the formal history of which can be used to inform future enforcement decisions, and can also be used as evidence in Court, if a prosecution is later taken. A formal warning can have a range of uses, and councils can tailor the Punitive and/or directive Non-statutory tool None
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