Chemical spill devastated stream wildlife
Fines totalling $242,350 have been imposed on a storage business and its employee who killed more than 1700 fish after spilling ammonia into a Christchurch creek.
Nga¯i Tahu told the Environment Court that the April 2018 spill, which covered five kilometres of Belfast’s Kaputone Creek, had a significant cultural impact.
It virtually wiped out the fish life along the creek – an important kaimoana site for the tribe – and badly affected long-finned native eels, which are regarded as taonga as well as being an at-risk species in decline.
Judge Brian Dwyer fined Emergent Cold Ltd, which was trading as Polarcold Stores Ltd at the time, $145,350, and its employee Russell William Trent $97,000. Most of the fine will be paid to Environment Canterbury (ECan), which brought the prosecution.
Emergent Cold has taken over Polarcold since the incident. Polarcold had been operating a temperature-controlled warehouse and storage business at Belfast.
The company and Trent pleaded guilty to a charge of discharging water contaminated with ammonia on to land in circumstances where it would enter water. Another charge of discharging the ammonia into air was withdrawn for each of them.
ECan prosecutor Joshua Shaw said the ammonia-laden water was known to be overflowing but was not stopped. It was being discharged on to land in circumstances
where Trent knew it was going to enter a stormwater drain and then water.
There were 1779 dead fish found, mostly eels, including longfinned eels.
‘‘Thankfully, there has not been an enduring toxicity to the natural environment. The fish and eel population is unlikely to fully recover for many years,’’ Shaw said.
Defence counsel for Emergent Cold, Pru Steven, said the spill was the result of carelessness and was not deliberate.
Trent’s counsel, Tim Mackenzie, said the offending was born out of his naivety or ignorance, because he would not have let it happen if he had known.
Judge Dwyer said the company accepted full responsibility. It admitted it had not provided Trent with adequate equipment or instructions to undertake the job he had been given.
‘‘There were significant shortcomings and a high degree of culpability on behalf of the company and to a lesser extent on the part of Mr Trent,’’ the judge said.