An Otago sheep and beef farmer with more than a dozen small dams on farm says the common sense on display should be applauded.
Mr Penk said dam safety regulations set by the previous government, due to come into force on May 13, would require dams over a certain height to have a potential impact classification.
However, the coalition government was amending the incoming rules to raise the height of dam walls that required classification.
Rather than dams over 1m, now only dams over 4m would require the classification, he said last week.
"The coalition government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track.
"Feedback from farmers and growers is that these new regulations will add an unreasonable amount of compliance costs for the low risk posed by small dams that are used in farms across New Zealand for water storage."
The new height threshold for dams meant about 1900 fewer dams would be caught up in the new regulations, reducing compliance costs by more than $13.3 million, he said.
The new rules would also align dam safety regulations with the requirement for dams over 4m to have a building consent.
"This higher threshold strikes the right balance of managing risk while easing the regulatory burden faced by owners of smaller dams like farmers and growers."
Matakanui Station owner Andrew Paterson said dams with wall heights under 4m were common, and they did not hold substantial amounts of water.
He estimated there were about 16 dams on his 8700ha high-country sheep and beef station near Omakau that could have been caught up in the new rules.
"And I would consider none of them to be a danger to humans or any property.
"In earth dams as well, you don’t have a catastrophic failure, you don’t have a sudden explosion; it happens with a small leak and then it slowly gets bigger and bigger and then you have a rush at the end.
"But by that time a lot of the water has already drained out of the dam. So, it’s not like you have a tidal wave of water flowing down the gully at you — it’s just an increased flow of water from that dam."
He understood why dams over 4m would require classification — adding another metre to a 4m dam would significantly increase a dam’s holding capacity.
"I understand over 4m, but 1m is ridiculous, that’s like a water race. It’s just common sense — and that’s why they should be applauded for it."
Otago Regional Council acting regulatory manager Joanna Gilroy said the council was working to understand how many dams the change to the legislation affected.
It would work to implement the legislation as amended.
