A delegation from the Ashburton District to Parliament House in the nation's capital has yielded promising conversations with the Government over the new National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management and National Environmental Standards as part of the Governments Essential Freshwater Package, Ashburton Mayor Neil Brown says.

The MP for Rangitata Jo Luxton, organised the meeting with Minister for the Environment, David Parker and Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor following a community meeting held across sectors and community leaders in Mid Canterbury in December last year to discuss the progress made by local farmers and the corresponding concerns about aspects of the Essential Freshwater Package.

"We were heartened by the response we received from both Ministers and are pleased to have forged what we hope will be a productive and ongoing conversation with the Government on this issue.

"Our district is very concerned that the national bottom line attribute state target for Nitrate Nitrogen toxicity in Rivers is being applied to the drains in the Hekeao Hinds Plains and that the attribute state would be impossible to achieve with the known mitigations we currently have in our toolbox.

"Minster Parker acknowledged our existing target of achieving 6.9mg per litre by 2035 in the Hekeao Hinds catchment area was progress and is open to being involved in conversations with Environment Canterbury to consider what ambitious and reasonable interim goals for our region might be," he added.

Jo Luxton says the region has shown a willingness and commitment over recent years to invest in actions that reduce environmental harm.

"Our primary producers in particular have been actively working to implement better solutions for our environment, but they are worried the timeframes outlined in the policy statement are too short to be achievable.

"Our next steps moving forward will be to work with the Ministry for Environment and Environment Canterbury to develop targets that will enhance these efforts."

New technologies, including biological processes involving plants and organisms, are likely to be a part of those solutions, MHV Water CEO Melanie Brooks says.

"We all want to see improved environmental outcomes and we are starting to see those improvement in Nitrate-Nitrogen levels in both groundwater and lowland drains, but we know we have more mahi to do. We will be pushing for workable targets that may be difficult, but are not impossible. This is a complex issue, and one we must work carefully through as a community to make real and lasting change for the better."

In addition to The Mayor, Jo Luxton and Mel Brooks, the delegation to Wellington included Chair of Hekeao/Hinds Water Enhancement Trust (HHWET) Peter Lowe and Trustee Sir Graeme Harrison, Ashburton businessman Alister Lilly, and Local Farmers Alisha Cornwell and Cole Groves.

The group will meet with Environment Canterbury officials to further conversations this month.