Jane Nees BOP Regional Councillor www.janenees.co.nz

Air is essential for life and poor air quality affects people's health.

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council is responsible for managing the region's air quality.

The challenge is to balance the protection of our air quality with the impacts of development.

National Environmental Standards for Air Quality were introduced by the Government in 2004 and it is the regional council's responsibility to ensure these are met.

It does this through the development and implementation of a Regional Air Plan.

A review of the current Bay of Plenty Regional Air Plan is programmed for this year.

To kick off the process, council will shortly be releasing a recent review of the Regional Air Plan, which contains recommendations on changes which could be made to make it more efficient and effective.

At the same time, staff will begin drafting a new Regional Air Plan, based on results of the review and feedback from stakeholders.

Indications are that substantial change will be required, particularly in the methods for implementation.

There will also need to be adjustments to some rules around permitted activities, like use of agricultural sprays.

More than 50 per cent of complaints received by the regional council are related to air quality – especially relating to smoke, sprays and dust – so monitoring and enforcement is very important also.

Once the draft plan has been developed, it'll be signed off by council and publicly notified for consultation and submissions. If you have interest in this process, please contact the regional council.

If you have views on this or any other issue, you can email me at neesj@xtra.co.nz or ring me on 07 579 5150.