Section 355B — Resource Management Act 1991: Enforcement powers against unlawful reclamations

355B Enforcement powers against unlawful reclamations (1) Where, since the date of commencement of this Act, any land has been unlawfully reclaimed from the coastal marine area, the powers of the Minister of Conservation and a regional council under Part 12 apply to that reclaimed land as if the land were still situated within the coastal marine area. (2) Where any land has been unlawfully reclaimed from the coastal marine area before the commencement of this Act, the Minister of Conservation or a regional council may seek an enforcement order against the person who reclaimed the land, or the occupier of the reclaimed land, requiring that person to take such action as, in the opinion of the Environment Court, is necessary in order to avoid, remedy, or mitigate any actual or likely adverse effect on the environment caused by the carrying out of the reclamation or by the reclaimed land;

and in any such case Part 12 applies with all necessary modifications. (3) Whether or not an enforcement order has been sought or granted under subsection (2) , the Minister of Conservation or a regional council, either jointly or severally, may take any necessary action to remove the unlawfully reclaimed land from the coastal marine area. (4) For the avoidance of doubt, any action taken under subsection (3) to remove any reclaimed land requires a resource consent unless expressly allowed by a rule in a regional coastal plan and any relevant proposed regional coastal plan. Sections 355A and 355B were inserted, as from 17 December 1997, by section 58 Resource Management Amendment Act 1997 (1997 No 104). See section 78 of that Act as to the transitional provisions.