A mountain of clay pushed into a stream by Johnson which effected nearby wetlands. Photo / NRC
An experienced civil construction worker caused serious damage to a “vulnerable” wetland, rivers and a thriving ecosystem when he cleared more than 1.5ha of land for a subdivision.
An Environment Court judge said the damage was so significant that he was concerned whether a full recovery was possible.
Stephen Johnson appeared before Judge Kelvin Reid last week for sentencing on seven charges relating to earthworks he conducted on a Northland property from October 2021 to September 2022.
The Environment Court at Whangārei heard the 72-year-old was a trustee of a 56ha bush block on Russell Whakapara Rd in Kororāreka, Russell, when he hired a digger to clear 1.6ha of vegetation for a future subdivision in the area.
But he conducted the work within 20m of a natural raupō wetland and did not obtain resource consent.
He dug out culverts and used rocks to create stream crossings which blocked the mainstem rivers and caused sediment to be disposed of downstream.
The damming of streams created a barrier for native fish to move in and out of the catchment, impacting the native macro community.
When a complaint was lodged with the Northland Regional Council (NRC) in early December 2021, Johnson was issued an abatement notice to cease work and a sediment implementation plan.
When he was later interviewed by the NRC, and advised he had not complied with earthwork guidelines, Johnson said he was unaware he had needed resource consent to carry out the work.
After ceasing the earthworks, he had to undertake remediation work, which took about a year to complete.
However, while the remediation work was taking place in 2022, site visits were conducted and continued to show compliance was not being met.
The court heard the NRC rejected a compliance officer’s comments that the work had been carried out to a high standard, stating there were ongoing issues with erosion and sediment control.
Throughout the remediation period, Johnson failed to take advice from professionals and relied on the NRC to instruct him on what to do.
The abatement notice was not fully complied with until September 2022.
NRC freshwater ecologist Tania Cook told the court there was evidence the freshwater wetland provided a habitat to species such as freshwater unanga which have a threat status of being at risk of declining.
Cook found substantial depositary and sediment in the river works and a year later it was still found 20cm deep downstream of the works.
She said the work needed for the fish passage was a high priority.
The main tributary discharged into a flats wetland downstream and both the main tributary and wetlands were affected by the earthworks.
“There has been significant damage to a vulnerable wetland and tributary ecosystem ... how long it will take the ecosystem to recover indeed, and whether a full recovery is possible is unknown,” Judge Reid said.
The judge said Johnson was an experienced building practitioner in civil works and quarries.
“There is no evidence that would lead me to the conclusion that Mr Johnson actually knew he needed a resource consent to carry out the work, however, his conduct in carrying out the works was highly careless.
“With his experience, he should have known a resource consent was required and the obvious thing to do if he was unsure was to check with the council.”
Judge Reid also did not accept Johnson was remorseful, noting that when charges were laid, he said he was going to fight them if he had the financial means to do so. He later pleaded guilty.
“There was slow progress with the erosion sediment control works and implementation of remedial works in relation to the crossing has not been completed,” Judge Reid said.
“The remedial works was to fix the damage Mr Johnson himself has created and he was tardy in addressing.”
Johnson was fined $4000 and ordered to complete 250 hours of community work.
Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.
"This is a court of law, it’s not a court of morals," the man's lawyer told the court.