A council officer takes samples of ponded effluent on a farm at Oruanui, north of Taupō. Photo / Supplied
A council officer takes samples of ponded effluent on a farm at Oruanui, north of Taupō. Photo / Supplied
A Taupō-based farming company, a company director, and an effluent spreading company have been convicted and fined a total of $194,250 for unlawfully discharging animal effluent into the environment from three large dairy farming operations.
The sentence was imposed by Judge Jeff Smith in Tokoroa District Court and relates to the repeated unlawful discharge of animal effluent between November 7, 2019, and March 2, 2020.
Gardon Limited ran an 1150 cow dairy operation at Oruanui, north of Taupō, which employed a number of staff. However, the farm was managed by company director Gerard Logan Donald.
Waikato Regional Council staff carried out a monitoring inspection at the farm on November 26, 2019.
They found an effluent irrigation hydrant had been discharging dairy shed effluent over a prolonged period of time which was ponding near the hydrant.
A travelling irrigator operating earlier the same day had been over-irrigating effluent on to already wet soils, resulting in further ponding of effluent in breach of Waikato Regional Plan rules.
An abatement notice was issued to the company requiring it to cease any further unlawful discharges of effluent.
At a follow-up inspection by council staff on March 2 last year, a buried pipe carrying dairy shed effluent to a sump was found to have had an inspection hole cut in it.
This had not been resealed, resulting in the pipe discharging effluent over a prolonged period of time, causing effluent ponding in a paddock below the pipe, again in breach of Waikato Regional Plan rules and in contravention of the abatement notice.
A council officer notes the scale of overflow of effluent from a feed pad on a farm at Oruanui, north of Taupō. Photo / Supplied
The company was convicted of two charges of unlawfully discharging a contaminant into the environment and a further charge of contravening an abatement notice and was fined a total of $101,250.
Donald is also a director and shareholder of another company that owns two adjacent dairy farms.
He was employed through his company, Gardon Limited, as the general manager responsible for the overall management of these two farms.
Council staff inspected the first of these farms, which milks about 1750 cows, on November 7, 2019, and found the unlined effluent storage pond designed to take effluent from the feed pad was overflowing, with effluent flowing down through a stormwater retention pond into a sinkhole in the ground.
A follow-up inspection on November 21, 2019, found that effluent was still flowing into the sinkhole, despite directions from council staff to clean the effluent away and prevent further discharges.
Donald was convicted on a charge of unlawfully discharging a contaminant into the environment and fined $35,000.
On November 26, 2019, contracting company The Effluent Pumping Systems Limited (EPSL) was at this farm pumping out one of the effluent storage ponds using a large portable pump and tractor-mounted irrigator.
Council staff found that EPSL staff had over-applied effluent over a large area causing significant ponding and runoff of effluent.
EPSL was convicted of one charge of unlawfully discharging a contaminant into the environment and fined $30,000.
Council staff also inspected the second Gardon farm, which milked 1600 cows, on November 21, 2019.
They found the effluent sumps at two stock underpasses under State Highway 1 and Tram Rd were overflowing into unsealed catch pits, in breach of Waikato Regional Plan rules.
In addition, council staff found that dairy shed effluent irrigated from three stationary irrigators had caused the significant ponding of effluent over large areas in an undulating paddock.
Donald was further convicted on a charge representative of these unlawful discharges and was fined $28,000.
