In the Cook Islands, development approvals are issued by three government agencies, the National Environment Service, the Public Health Department of the Ministry of Health and the Building Control department of the Ministry of Works. A development involving foreign investment requires the approval of a fourth agency, the Development Investment Board. Approval must be sought from these government agencies in consecutive order. The National Environment Service will assess your development with respect to its impact on the environment. The Public Health Department of the Ministry of Health will assess your development with respect to its impact on health. The Ministry of Works will assess your development with respect to the engineering aspects. The most important thing to remember when seeking development approvals is to consult professionals and each agency early whilst forming the concept of your development. Consulting professionals and agencies early will help to save you money, disappointment and will help to avoid delays.
If you are applying for development approval and your development involves a wastewater system, information on how to apply may be found on this website. You can obtain application forms and guidelines on this site. For more information on how to apply for development approvals click here. You may also visit www.environment.org.ck for information on obtaining environment approvals.
