Allowing animal effluent to enter waterways has cost three South Otago farmers and a contractor working on one of the farms fines totalling more than $90,000.
Appearing for sentencing in the Environment Court at Dunedin yesterday, Milburn farmer Barry John Thom was fined more than $46,000 on three charges relating to his pig farm.
The charges were brought by the Otago Regional Council.
In a separate ORC prosecution, Milburn farmers James Gordon (62) and Daniel Clark Gordon (33) and their company, Burnbrae Holdings Ltd, and contractor Harold Charles Summerell (72), and his company, Dairy Pond Spreaders Ltd, were collectively fined more than $46,000 on a joint charge of discharging dairy effluent to land within 50m of a waterway.
Judge Brian Dwyer, who described both breaches as "moderately serious", ordered that 90% of the fines be paid to the ORC.
Each individual and company was also ordered to pay solicitor's costs, court costs and administrative fees.
Thom had earlier pleaded guilty to two charges of allowing effluent from weaner pig crates and sow sheds to flow into two creeks which fed into the east branch of the Tokomairiro River, about 9km upstream of the Milton town supply intake, and a charge of failing to fence the waterways.
Appearing for the ORC, Alastair Logan said Thom had "a total absence" of any effluent disposal system for his "modest" pig farming operation and no fences for the waterways on his property.
He was told to remedy both by an ORC staff member during an inspection in July last year but the issues were not fixed until the end of the year.
Tests of the Tokomairiro River showed the discharge had no effect on water quality, Thom's counsel Brian Kilkelly said.
Judge Dwyer said he had come to the conclusion Thom's offending was deliberate, as the crates and sheds were so close to the creeks that effluent discharge into the creeks was inevitable.
"From the evidence, it is difficult to conclude anything other than that your attitude was one of no care ... "
Thom was fined $18,000 and $15,000, plus costs, on the effluent discharge charges, and $13,500, plus costs, for failing to fence the creeks when instructed.
Judge Dwyer said he had decided the fairest way to fine the Gordons and Summerell and their companies was to decide the total fine and split it between them.
In the end, the fines paid by the companies and the individuals "would be coming out of the same pockets", Judge Dwyer said.
The charge arose after an ORC staff member saw effluent from the Gordons' 320-cow dairy farm being spread on to a paddock via an irrigator in June last year.
The officer was concerned about the large volume of effluent being spread and visited the farm.
The officer was told the Gordons had hired Dairy Pond Spreaders, the Havelock North company owned and operated by Summerell and his wife, to drain and spread effluent from a wintering-shed pond.
Neither the Gordons nor Summerell knew it was a breach of the ORC's regional water plan to spread effluentor allow it to pond within 50mof a surface water body.
The Gordons, their company, Summerell and his company were all charged with breaching the water plan rule. Summerell pleaded guilty.
The Gordons denied the charge but were found guilty after a hearing in Dunedin last month.
The breach was a "one-off incident" and there was no evidence that any of the effluent contaminated the waterway, Judge Dwyer said.
"This was carelessness on the part of the contractor and lack of supervision of the part of the farmer which resulted in moderately serious offending," he said.
He found Summerell was most culpable as he was responsible for carrying out the work, with Eric Gordon almost as culpable because he had given Summerell his instructions. Daniel Gordon was least culpable.
Summerell and Dairy Pond Spreaders were each fined $11,800, plus costs, while Burnbrae Holdings was fined $11,250, plus costs. Eric Gordon was fined $6750, plus costs, and Daniel Gordon $4500, plus costs.
Shafraz Khan, of Auckland, appeared for Summerell and Bridget Irving for the Gordons.
