Marlborough Sounds Resource Management Plan 1 March 2012 Slips can damage the land surface, block waterways and deposit soil in flood channels and damage property. The life-supporting capacity of soil is dependent on soil quality that results from the physical, chemical and organic condition of the soil. Soil quality is often referred to in terms of structure, drainage and fertility. Hill soils are at risk from burning practices which can strip nutrients from the land, and mechanical damage which can reduce slope stability and increase soil compaction. The Marlborough Sounds are formed by drowned river valleys. The beds of Pelorus and Queen Charlotte Sounds are generally mud bottomed, which indicates extreme levels of sedimentation in the past. Some of this sedimentation will be attributable to land use practices in the past. The majority of the sediment relates to the Sounds origins and the effects of natural events, including storms and earthquakes. Soil erosion and land disturbance also puts archaeological, cultural and historical artifacts and sites at risk. For example, excavation may disturb waahi tapu or damage pa sites. 13.3 Objectives and Policies Objective 1 The avoidance or mitigation of the adverse effects of inappropriate land use practices, including those which reduce the life-supporting capacity of soil, increase sedimentation of surface and coastal waters, and increase the risk of erosion and damage to natural and iwi values. Policy 1.1 Avoid or mitigate contaminated run-off arising from land disturbance activities entering the marine ecosystem. Policy 1.2 Avoid or mitigate contaminated run-off arising from land disturbance activities entering wetlands, lakes and rivers. Policy 1.3 Avoid or mitigate the reduction of soil fertility resulting from land disturbance or vegetation removal. Policy 1.4 Require that any known land stability hazard be identified and addressed before beginning any land disturbance activity. Policy 1.5 Within areas of known natural hazard, require resource consent for activities likely to increase the risk, or be affected by that hazard so as to avoid or mitigate land stability, flood and navigational hazards. Policy 1.6 Ensure the availability of a public register of areas of known natural hazard. Policy 1.7 Encourage resource users to check the NZ Historic Places Trust Register for cultural, historical and archaeological sites on the land that they are proposing to disturb. Council will make information from the register available to resource users. 13 - 2