Letter to Minister Simmonds regarding chemical assessments

The Commissioner has written to the Minister for the Environment, Penny Simmonds, to comment on criticisms of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) over the time taken to assess chemicals under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996.

He points out that New Zealand is an outlier internationally as we expect our EPA to operate far faster and with fewer resources than comparable jurisdictions. In his review of the chemical regulatory system, Knowing what’s out there: Regulating the environmental fate of chemicals, the Commissioner found that the EPA was carrying out its responsibilities professionally and as effectively as it could within the resources available. This report also identified deficiencies in the tools and resources available to the authority to perform its functions. His recommendations on how to improve this system remain unactioned.

The Commissioner comments: “A properly resourced Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) could give the chemical industry greater certainty around the timing of chemical assessment processes. The public at large would benefit from a regulatory system that is robust and manages environmental and health risks at an acceptable cost to both commercial applicants and taxpayers.”