Waikato Plan Change 1 (PC1) will set rules for agricultural land use in the Waikato and Waipā catchments. This page contains the latest information on PC1.
Note: the Environment Court proceedings for PC1 are ongoing. Because PC1 is ‘sub judice’ (before the Court) B+LNZ needs to be careful about what it says. This page will be updated as the Court process allows.
Overview
Waikato Regional Council (WRC) first notified PC1 in 2016, and following a Council Hearing, WRC’s decision on PC1 was released in April 2020.
The release of new national policies (national stock exclusion regulations, Freshwater Farm Plan regulations, National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management [NPSFM] and National Environmental Standards for Freshwater [NESF]) and the Government’s Overseer report have caused delays to the process and impacted some of the content of the Plan.
Unique to the Waikato region is Te Ture Whaimana (TTWM), the primary direction setting document for the Waikato River. PC1 is intended to contribute towards achieving this vision by making a 20 percent improvement towards the long-term water quality outcome s for the four contaminants of concern. TTWM is significant because it sits above the NPSFM in the regulatory framework. This means PC1 must give effect to both the NPSFM and TTWM.
Since 2020, B+LNZ has been involved in mediation and an Environment Court hearing process, most recently running a joint case with Federated Farmers (as the ‘joint farming parties’). We are advocating for provisions to be practical and workable for our farmers – see ‘Key issues’ below for more information on areas we’ve focused on.
Latest update
In late May 2025, the Environment Court released its interim decision on PC1. The decision document is very long (376 pages) and complicated. The decision covers a range of issues, from stock exclusion to farm plans to the use of Overseer.
Our preliminary analysis is that many of the provisions have improved (compared with the decisions version) but there are several things that the Court has queried which we will work through with Waikato Regional Council to ensure the provisions are workable.
We will continue to keep farmers updated.
Key issues include:
Permitted activity pathways:
- B+LNZ and Federated Farmers have worked to ensure that a permitted activity pathway is secured for extensive sheep and beef farms through minimum farm standards and farm plans.
- The Plan requires those farming activities of a certain intensity to obtain resource consent, with farm plans remaining the fundamental tool to manage contaminants.
Freshwater farm plans:
- B+LNZ and Federated Farmers are seeking as much alignment as possible between national level freshwater farm plans and the farm planning schedule in PC1 to avoid unnecessary duplication, uncertainty, and cost to farmers. The Council is supportive of this intent.
- The intention is that farmers will only be required to do one farm plan to meet the obligations of both the freshwater farm plan and PC1.
- B+LNZ continues to advocate at a national level for workable requirements around freshwater farm plans.
What farmers need to know
Farmers should be thinking about gathering their records and how they’ll meet the new requirements. While the PC1 process has been long and at times uncertain, it’s clear that the requirement for a farm environment plan or consent will become a reality soon. A final decision by the Environment Court may be released in December 2025.
We’ll provide further information as soon as possible.
Key links
General information about PC1 is on the WRC website.
Questions?
The best contact is the WRC. Their general enquiries phone number is 0800 800 401 or email healthyrivers@waikatoregion.govt.nz Farmers can also contact WRC if you want to register to receive updates on PC1.
You can also talk to your local B+LNZ Farmer Director, Phil Weir – his details are on this page.