Rob Phillips
Environment Southland has launched an independent legal
audit of its compliance processes after two allegations against
one of its officers.
The officer has been accused of altering a police statement
to say that effluent was leaking from a Riverton stock truck
and later of making false statements in a written case
against Twin Peaks Farming Ltd for discharging sediment.
Chief executive Rob Phillips announced yesterday that he had
instructed environmental lawyer Karenza de Silva to undertake
a comprehensive audit of Environment Southland's compliance
division.
"Prosecutions are an essential part of our compliance
activity, particularly where there has been a serious breach
of the law, a regulation or a rule," Mr Phillips said.
"Everyone needs to be confident that compliance action is
based on sound processes that have been carried out with
integrity," he said.
An Environment Southland spokeswoman told the Otago Daily
Times the document the officer had been accused of
altering was not a police statement as had been reported and
was instead an "Environment Southland work sheet".
"The allegation that a police document has been changed is
completely incorrect,"she said.
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