The offending occurred between April 2021 and April 2022 and relates to a commercial pine harvesting operation at Samnic Forest (also known as Waingaromia Forest).
Samnic Forest is a 940-hectare pine forest located on Tuahu Rd, Tauwhareparae (about 45km north of Gisborne).
The agreed summary of facts said poor management led to discharges of slash, logging debris, waste logging material and/or sediment to watercourses after significant rain events.
Adam Hopkinson, who appeared in court representing the council, said the culpability of the defendants was high.
Forestry practices in Gisborne, unlike Bay of Plenty and Waikato, were poor.
The defendants were operating in an area known for its erosion and Gisborne was a region impacted by heavy rain events.
When it rained, the problems were borne by the community, he said.
Denunciation and deterrence were critical for such forestry operators in Gisborne and across the country.
Hopkinson asked for a fine of $130,000 (down from a starting point of $160,000) for Samnic and $50,000 (down from a starting point of $60,000) for Forests Management Solutions.
Counsel for Samnic, Neil Beadle, said the offending took place at a time of extreme rainfall and there were challenges during extreme circumstances, including Covid-related lockdowns and the state of emergency.
Samnic had spent $85,000 on grassing denuded hillsides and another $325,000, with Forest Management Solutions, on roading.
The district council had described the remedial road work as poor, but Samnic did not agree.
Beadle said the failure to obtain a resource consent was an oversight and Gisborne District Council accepted that was the case.
An application was made when the oversight was discovered, and the consent was approved.
Samnic was not highly culpable but had been careless.
Beadle said he agreed with Hopkinson’s starting point for sentencing of a $160,000 fine.
His client was entitled to a 25 per cent discount for entering guilty pleas.
Hopkinson said the guilty pleas had been entered 15 months later, but Beadle replied that the number of charges had been reduced from 26 to two representative charges, and the agreed summary of facts had changed.
Samnic was also entitled to a 10 per cent discount for doing things it was not required to do, such as the regrassing.
Ellie Harrison, counsel for Forestry Management Solutions, recommended a lower starting point for sentencing consisting of a $30,000 to $40,000 fine.
There were issues with Covid-19, a tight labour market, bad weather and a contractor which was difficult to manage.
Forestry Management Solution entered early guilty pleas, had no previous record of enforcement and was sincerely sorry.
It was not shrinking from its responsibilities.
Kirkpatrick said there was a third party, and the “rogue” operator was not a defendant.
Hopkinson said a third-party subcontractor had not been charged in a previous case.
Kirkpatrick said the subcontractor needed to check whether a consent to build the road had been granted.
Operators needed to be aware of their responsibilities and not feel they had escaped enforcement.
