Pay in installments, judge orders

A Taranaki farming couple fined $45,000 for dirty dairying lost an appeal to reduce their penalty.

In July, Midhirst farmers John and Alison Vernon pleaded guilty in the Environment Court at New Plymouth to one charge each of discharging contaminants into water and breaching the Resource Management Act.

The charges came after an annual inspection by Taranaki Regional Council staff of the couple’s 144 hectare farm found untreated effluent flowing into a tributary of the Rum Keg Creek.

The discharge came from a hose that had been disconnected from a mobile irrigator after wood chips caused blockages in the effluent pump.

The Vernons were milking 100 cows a day, and it was estimated 1800 litres of effluent and dairy shed wash was being produced daily.

The offence carried a maximum two years jail, or $300,000 fine.

At the time, Judge Brian Dwyer said the offending was ‘‘forseeable and inevitable’’ and handed down a fine of $60k but gave discounts for prompt guilty pleas, resulting in a combined fine of $45k.

The couple, who have a history of non-compliance, appealed the sentence in the High Court on three grounds – their inability to pay, an error by the sentencing judge in assessing the seriousness of the offending, and judge’s failure to take into account their remorse and remediation.

In her High Court judgment, Justice Rebecca Ellis acknowledged it was not easy for the couple to pay the full amount of the fine immediately.

The Vernons ran a moderate sized dairy farm and had recently loaned $200,000 from the bank to modernise their effluent system, she said.

The bank had declined further borrowing but there was no direct evidence suggesting the couple could not borrow from second or third-tier lenders.

‘‘Reducing the fine imposed runs the real risk that it becomes no more than a licence fee.’’

The law allowed an instalment period to pay the fine up to five years, and a fine of $45,000 could be paid in monthly installments of $750 for five years.

‘‘In my view the fine imposed by the District Court was appropriate and should not be reduced on account of the Vernons’ financial circumstances.’’

The court had the power to order the fine be paid by installments but it was ‘‘prudent’’ to give the Vernons time to explore their preferred options to pay, she said.

The appeal was dismissed and the Vernons were directed to arrange with the District Court registrar an agreement to pay the fine either by installments, or be given more time to pay the total amount.