Former Hokitika man Barry Foster has been fined $34,000 in the Christchurch District Court after unlawfully discharging sediment from a gold mining operation at Kawhaka, near Arahura, and breaching a West Coast Regional Council abatement notice.
The prosecution followed the successful conviction last year of goldminer David Marsh, who was fined $28,000.
Foster, who lives in Christchurch, holds the consent.
The charges arose from a visit to the mining site on March 30, 2010, when regional council staff found the miner was unlawfully discharging sediment into Stoney Creek, a subsidiary of Fox Creek.
Consents and compliance officer Colin Dall said the court decision was significant because it held the consent holder liable for the unlawful works because he had a responsibility to ensure that his miner complied with the conditions of the consent.
