Dairy farmer fined $40,000 after effluent runs into Pomahaka River

The Pomahaka River. Photo / Helena de Reus.

A Balclutha dairy farmer has been fined nearly $40,000 after effluent from his farm ran into the Pomahaka River.

Last month, Greg Cowley Ltd was charged with one count of discharging dairy farm effluent on to land in circumstances where it might enter water.

The charge was brought by the Otago Regional Council and the enforcement action followed a council inspection on April 20 last year.

During the inspection, an irrigator on the farm, which was intended to irrigate dairy effluent on to land, was found to have failed and gone unchecked for six hours, leading to ponded effluent covering the majority of a 2200sq m paddock.

The effluent flowed into a tributary of the Pomahaka River, where green discharge could be seen entering the water, affecting the clarity of the river and its tributary.

Greg Cowley Ltd, owned by Greg and Jessica Cowley, pleaded guilty to the charge, which was found to have fallen within the moderately serious band of offending, meaning it was an unintentional but careless discharge with little to moderate adverse effect on the environment.

Council regulatory general manager Peter Winder said the prosecution was a good result for the environment.

"The Pomahaka is an important and sensitive Otago ecosystem, and there is real risk to its health from the cumulative effect of unlawful effluent discharges.

"As the judge noted during sentencing, prosecution and fining is intended to have a deterrent aspect. It's important that people recognise the risks to the environment of effluent discharge, and that ORC are prepared to take serious enforcement actions when our water plan rules are breached."

The company was fined $39,000 for the offence. The Dunedin District Court judge cited immediate co-operation and a prompt guilty plea in setting the penalty.