With the change in legislation under the Resource Management Act 1991
(RMA), the responsibility for administering the effects of blasting on the
environment, has transferred from an essentially central government system to
local bodies. This naturally will allow for a variety of compliance levels and
control procedures which will depend on the particular local body and rather ad
hoc arrangements. It is anticipated that the existing NZ Standard on blast
vibration levels will soon be replaced by the Australian Standard. These changes
raise the question as to what should be used as suitable compliance levels to
prevent damage to structures. The paper will address the measurement, control
levels and the appropriateness of current standards in relation to the overall
legal framework of the RMA.