Chapter 9 - Coastal Marine Environmental effects in the coastal marine area are felt in essentially two ways. • Degradation of coastal water quality; and • Alteration to the foreshore or seabed. Environmental effects are brought about by a number of activities taking place in the coastal marine area and others occurring on land. Examples of activities which affect (and often depend upon) the quality of the coastal marine area include, but are not limited to marine farming, commercial fishing, recreation and tourism, port and marina activity, waste disposal, farming and forestry, reclamation and placement of moorings. Controls on the effects of activities and use of the coastal marine area are necessary to ensure that the sustainable management of the coastal resource is promoted. 9.3.1 Discussion: Coastal Marine Water Quality The Marlborough Regional Policy Statement identifies a number of activities that have the potential to adversely affect coastal marine water quality. Contaminated coastal water can in turn, adversely affect iwi values, public health, visual aesthetics, coastal ecosystems and industries dependent on uncontaminated water (including tourism and marine farming). The Marlborough Regional Policy Statement identifies three groups of activities which may affect water quality based on the origin of the contaminant. They are: • Run-off from land; • Discharges from boats and water-based activities; and • Point source discharges from land. A number of land use activities in the Marlborough Sounds have the potential to contaminate coastal water. The contaminants may include pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers that are applied to the land or directly into streams, micro- biological contamination from animal waste, sediment from soil erosion and contaminants contained in leachate from rubbish tips and developed areas adjacent to the coastal waters. A number of water quality issues arising from water-based activities are of concern to the residents of Marlborough. These include the discharges from vessels including ballast water, sewage and litter as well as spills resulting from shipping incidents. Other sources of contamination include the leaching of anti-fouling paints from ships’ hulls, nutrient enrichment and waste from marine farms and the discharge of fish waste during fish processing operations at sea. The Council is responsible for controlling discharges (excluding ballast water discharges) and dumping of waste from ships and offshore installations through the Resource Management (Marine Pollution) Regulations 1998 developed under sections_15A, 15B and 15C of the Act. The regulations do not apply to discharges or dumping into the coastal marine area from land. Point source discharges refer to discharges from a pipe or recognisable and definitive point. These may include sewage outfalls, discharges of industrial waste, stormwater discharges, overflows from septic tanks and run-off of contaminants from particular sites such as boat building or maintenance areas, or from specific storage areas adjacent to coastal waters. Potential 9 - 9