Volume One 11. Natural Hazards [R, D] 11.M.7 Council activities Maintain flood defences and other flood mitigation works to provide protection from flood events as set out in a Council Asset Management Plan. Policies 11.1.3 and 11.1.4 provide guidance as to when the Council will actively manage flood hazards through such intervention and the standards to which protection will be provided. The Council will continue to maintain soil conservation works within the Wither Hills Soil Conservation Reserve in accordance with Rivers and Land Drainage Asset Management Plan. [R] 11.M.8 Gravel permits In addition to regional rules, the Council will utilise a system of gravel permits to authorise the extraction of gravel from river beds. These permits will be issued by a Council Rivers and Drainage Engineer and will specify the location of extraction and the amount of material to be extracted. Conditions can be imposed on the gravel permits to manage any site-specific adverse effects not addressed through regional rules. The permits provide the flexibility to respond to the accumulation of gravel in river beds in the short term. The duration of the permits will be limited to enable effective monitoring of the effect of the extraction on river bed levels and the surrounding environment. [D] 11.M.9 Geotechnical reporting standards The Council has established minimum requirements for the reporting of geotechnical investigations. These identify the expectations for geotechnical investigations and the reporting of those investigations. They also set out the reliance that the Council places on the information provided in geotechnical reports so that this is understood and appreciated. [R, D] 11.M.10 Incentives Where the Council owns or controls access to floodway land, differential pricing on gravel extracted under a gravel permit may be used to encourage gravel to be extracted from priority areas in terms of maintaining floodway capacity or other river control objectives. [R, D] 11.M.11 Civil Defence Emergency Management Plan The CDEMP provides strategic direction to assist the community to prepare for and respond to natural hazards in Marlborough. The CDEMP also details the responsibilities for readiness, response and recovery in the event of a hazard at an operational level. Communities are supported to improve their readiness under the CDEMP, especially communities in remote locations. [R, D] 11.M.12 Emergency response Where information is available, the Council will help Civil Defence to provide an emergency warning of and response to natural hazards. 11 – 15