Effluent dumping sparks plea from council
Moving Day focus on trucking companies
Reports of effluent being illegally dumped from trucks in three locations in the Matamata-piako district have prompted calls for trucking companies and farmers to improve their practices.
With no information on the trucks involved in the roadside dumping incidents last Thursday and Friday, Waikato Regional Council says it is unable to take further action.
However, the incidents have sparked a call from the council for stock transport companies and farmers to do better to prevent effluent from entering waterways and help keep the region’s roads clear of discharge and safe for users.
It’s a message that’s especially important with Moving Day fast approaching. Moving Day occurs in the week leading up to and immediately following June 1 each year. It involves the mass transporting of cows and machinery around the country’s roads as farm contractors relocate themselves and their stock in time for the new season.
In response to the incidents, the chairman of the council’s environmental performance committee, councillor Clyde Graf, said: “This is very disappointing behaviour, given the effort and resources that have gone into installing dump stations around the region.”
“It’s a shame a couple of cowboys are willing to smear the good reputation the industry has. Let’s hope it’s the last time we hear of it,” said Graf.
Where the council has details of the trucks involved in stock effluent dumping, its compliance team will follow up, potentially with enforcement action.
There are six effluent disposal sites around the region that truck drivers are encouraged to incorporate into their travel plans. Farmers are also urged to stand stock off green feed before they’re transported.
The High Court at Hamilton has dismissed an appeal by a north Waikato farming company that argued a fine imposed upon it for damaging a stream was “manifestly excessive”.
Gregan Farms Limited and earthworks contractor Steve Barker Limited were both convicted in the Hamilton District Court in October for damaging almost 1.5km of the stream bed in February 2021.
Gregan Farms Limited was subsequently fined $31,500, and the contractor fined $45,000. Only Gregan appealed the amount of its fine to the High Court. Justice Mark Woolford dismissed that appeal.
The maximum fine available under the Resource Management Act for a company convicted of unlawfully excavating a stream bed is $600,000.
The prosecution arose from a complaint by a member of the public to the Waikato Regional Council about works being undertaken in a tributary of the Waitakaruru River.
The follow-up council inspection discovered extensive damage to the stream for about 1390m, with large sediment deposits in the watercourse and significant fish kill. Forty-eight dead eels were found within 50m of the illegal works.
Council regional compliance manager Patrick Lynch said, “This simply should not happen. The earthworks contractor in this case has over 40 years of experience and should be well aware of the protections in place for our streams and the ecosystems they support. Likewise, the farmer should not have engaged the contractor to do the works in the first place.”