Bay of Plenty Bay of Plenty Regional Council, which used the brand name Environment Bay of Plenty for a number of years, is the administrative body responsible for overseeing regional land use, environmental management and civil defence in the region. It also oversees local-tier governing councils for each of the territorial authorities. In 1989, Whakatane was selected as the seat for the regional council, as a compromise between the two dominant cities of Tauranga and Rotorua. Public health in New Zealand is broken into regions. The Bay of Plenty and Lakes district health boards have public health provided by Toi Te Ora -
Bay of Plenty Public Health. The Bay of Plenty region covers 12,200 km² of land and 9,500 km² of coastal marine area. It extends along the eastern coast of the North Island, from the base of the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. The region extends 12 nautical miles from the mainland coastline, and also extends from the coastlines of several islands in the bay, notably Mayor Island/Tuhua, Motiti Island, Whale Island and the active volcano of Whakaari/White Island. It extends inland to the sparsely populated forest lands around Rotorua and Murupara. The geographical bay is defined by