$51,000 in fines for dirty dairying

The Environment Court has fined two Northland dairy farmers $51,000 between them for discharging effluent into waterways despite repeated warnings and notices to upgrade their systems.

Anthony Joseph Schluter of Pekerau, about 14km northeast of Kaitaia, and James Dodunski, of JKD Farms, appeared for sentencing in an Environment Court in Whangarei yesterday.

JKD Farms was charged with two counts of discharging farm dairy effluent into separate tributaries and Schluter faced a single charge.

The convictions and penalties come after the latest survey by the Northland Regional Council, which laid the charges, showed only 43 per cent of dairy farms in the region fully complied with the effluent discharge conditions of their resource consent.

The figure is a rise from 39 per cent last year.

In court yesterday, council lawyer Karenza de Silva said Dodunski's Maungakaramea farm had had a history of non-compliance in the past eight years, and five infringement notices had been issued.

Effluent overflowed into a small tributary of the Tauraroa River that fed into Kaipara Harbour, 19km away.

When spoken to, Dodunski told council officers that he had had problems for 10 years, because of the difficulty of getting rid of a sharemilker.

Judge Laurie Newhook criticised JKD Farm financial statements filed in court.

An option, he said, was to adjourn sentencing so proper statements could be filed but Dodunski said he wished to be sentenced.

Judge Newhook fined him $26,000 and ordered that 90 per cent of the amount go to the regional council.

In Schluter's case, the court heard that council officers found significant non-compliance of resource consent during 15 inspections since December 2000.

Various breaches were highlighted, including discharge of untreated effluent into a tributary, weeds and excessive solids in treatment ponds and discharge from the ponds. Five abatement and five infringement notices were issued.

Schluter was fined $25,000, 90 per cent of it to to the council.

- APN