Large fine for Waikato farm
A Waikato dairy farming company has been fined almost
$60,000 for discharging effluent into a waterway.
H&S Chisholm Farms Limited has been convicted and fined
$57,375 for two discharges of dairy effluent from its South Waikato farm in mid-2017.
The sentence was handed down by Judge Melanie Harland in the Hamilton District Court last week.
The prosecution was taken by Waikato Regional Council, under the Resource Management Act, following a complaint by a member of the public that a tributary of the Waipa¯ Stream looked ‘‘contaminated’’.
The council’s farming services team located an effluent holding pond overflowing in large volumes to the tributary.
Immediate steps were taken to stop the overflow and the council issued an abatement notice, returning to the farm two weeks later for a follow-up inspection.
On that visit they found the pond was no longer overflowing, however, effluent was still entering the stream from an irrigator in use on the farm.
Judge Harland noted that the company’s response to the incidents was ‘‘exemplary’’, with significant investment in effluent infrastructure on the farm following the pollution events.
However, she also noted that ‘‘dairy farmers in the Waikato region have had ample time to understand what is required to lawfully manage dairy effluent and to become educated about best practice, both in terms of the design, operation and management of effluent systems’’.
The fine is among the highest for effluent offences in recent years, with two other fines of more than $50,000 and a further six of more than $35,000 in 2017/18.