Company fined $28k for dumping paint additive in stream

About 200m of the Whau River and a tributary turned milky white after a company poured paint acrylic latex down a drain on its property. Photo / Supplied

A west Auckland company which dumped 1000 litres of a paint ingredient down a drain into the stormwater network has been convicted and fined after a keen-eyed member of the public alerted the council.

The chemical made its way into the Whau River, which flows to the Waitematā Harbour, turning 200m of the river and a tributary milky white.

On September 17, 2018, a former manager at Vac-U-Digga NZ told two staff to dump 1000 litres of an acrylic emulsion into a wash bay at the company's Culperry Rd branch in Glendene, instead of taking it to a disposal facility.

Auckland Council prosecuted Vac-U-Digga under the Resource Management Act 1991, with Environment Judge Jeff Smith convicting the company at the Auckland District Court on November 21.

The company received a $28,125 fine, down from an initial $50,000 proposed by the prosecutor.

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said the conviction sent a strong message that anyone found pumping chemicals into the city's waterways would be held to account.

In handing down the sentence, Judge Smith acknowledged the company's early guilty plea and cooperation with the council.

Steve Pearce, the council's regulatory compliance manager, said while the defendants acted with "reckless disregard for the environment", they at least took accountability early on.

They also worked with the council to clean up the spill and took steps to make sure it would not happen again.

"This was recognised by the court and resulted in a reduction in the sentence handed down."

Vac-U-Digga was fined more than $28,000 for the action, which the council says showed "reckless disregard" for the environment. Photo / Supplied

The prosecutor had proposed an initial starting point of $50,000 but Judge Smith gave a discount for substantial personal mitigating features including remorse, participating in restorative justice, and remediation, which cost the company around $50,000, the council said in a statement.

The judge also acknowledged the "exemplary response" of Vac-U-Digga after the incident.

The company was open to working with the Whau River Catchment Trust to support local environmental projects.

The court also accepted the product - DOW Primal AC- 6501 R Acrylic Emulsion - caused effects on lower organisms, but it was a "relatively low and temporary effect when compared with comparable cases involving dead fish and eels", the council said.

Illegal dumping can be reported to the council on (09) 301 0101, or the 24/7 phone line 0800 NO DUMP.