Neighbours of a Cable Bay man who persisted in lighting nuisance fires, complained to local authorities about smoke and potential pollution of their water supplies . Photo / supplied
Neighbours of a Cable Bay man who persisted in lighting nuisance fires, complained to local authorities about smoke and potential pollution of their water supplies . Photo / supplied
A Cable Bay resident has been ordered by the Environment Court to stop lighting fires containing contaminants after his neighbours complained about smoke and he threatened a council officer.
In addition to granting Northland Regional Council’s (NRC) application for an enforcement order against him, the court also ordered the resident to pay $4000 towards the council’s legal costs.
The man, whose name is withheld, was not prosecuted by NRC. The council’s aim in going to the Environment Court was to ensure the man complied with an abatement notice he’d previously ignored.
Several residents had complained to NRC and Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) about a series of fires the man lit earlier this year at his property in which he had burned vegetation, treated and painted timber, plastic, particle board, car parts, metal, and aluminium cans.
Residents were concerned about chokingly thick smoke the fires caused and that ash from them would settle on their roofs and wash into their water tanks. They were also concerned about the fire risk to their nearby properties and surrounding bush if the man also set alight large piles of mānuka he had accumulated around his property.
The residents appeared to be concerned about their personal safety in dealing with the man and had at times been directed by NRC to contact police if it became an issue.
When an NRC officer went to investigate one of the fires one late afternoon in April, the man threatened to stab him and to cut his “f***ing legs off”. Told by the officer to stop threatening him, the man said he had been drinking, was “only joking”, and that the officer had “no sense of humour”.
After issuing abatement notices to him, the council phoned the man to ask if he understood them. He said he couldn’t read and was waiting for someone to come and read them for him. He asked the council officer to explain them over the phone.
According to council records of the conversation, the man was told to stop burning unpermitted materials and causing a smoke nuisance beyond his boundary.
He then asked if he would have to get neighbours’ permission every time he wanted to burn something. He was told it wouldn’t be necessary as long as the smoke wasn’t a nuisance beyond his boundary.
He was also told he could reduce the amount of smoke by doing things like waiting for vegetation to dry out before burning it, burning smaller piles, or mulching vegetation waste instead of burning it.
In the Environment Court’s recently released decision, Judge Jeff Smith said, “it is unfortunate that things seem to have got to a point where the council was, in my view quite properly, compelled to seek an enforcement order”.
It was fortunate that lawyer Samuel Bradford, who “acted for (the man) in a property capacity had been available to assist with this matter, the judge said.
“The end result is that the parties had a discussion and came to the court with a proposal.
“Mr Bradford also agreed to accept service of the application and this enforcement order on (the man’s) behalf.”
The judge noted there appeared to be “at least a plausible explanation” as to why the man had acted the way he did.
The court was told he was illiterate and didn’t know the purpose or the effect of the abatement orders. He misunderstood what council and Fenz officers had told him, instead forming the view that as long as any smoke went “straight up” the fires were permitted.
However, Bradford had assured the court the man now clearly understood the gravity of the situation and offences involved.
“Even though a fire permit might not be required there are still rules regarding burning and creating a nuisance beyond your property boundary.”
The recent court action in this case appeared to support the council’s 2022 pledge to take a tougher stance on nuisance and polluting backyard burns.
In a Facebook post from August, 2022, the NRC said: “Historically, the council had preferred to educate in most cases, rather than take enforcement action, but its approach had toughened in recent years as backyard burning continued to generate large numbers of complaints. The harder line also applies to those caught breaching the rules at industrial and trade premises.”
Former Northern Regional Council chairman Stan Semenoff was fined about $15,500 for this illegal rubbish fire at his industrial property on June 3, 2020. Photo / Michael Cunningham
That year, NRC prosecuted one of its former deputy chairs Stan Semenoff for an illegal fire at his industrial property in Raumanga during 2020.
Semenoff was found guilty by an Environment Court judge of two breaches under the RMA in relation to air pollution, for which he was fined about $15,000.
Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in journalism, much of which she spent court reporting. She is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.
