A North Otago ditch-digger who inadvertently drained a Department of Conservation (DOC) wetland when he dug a 2km-long ditch on a farm converting to dairying has been fined and will now fill in his handiwork.
Mervyn James McCabe and his company North Otago Ditching and Baling Ltd drained water affecting Ben Omar Swamp and Ben Omar Station between September and November 2007.
McCabe pleaded guilty before Judge Jeff Smith in the Environment Court to having entered into a joint venture agreement to drain water from Buscott Farm, adversely affecting nearby wetland.
The judge fined the company $12,000, and ordered costs of $4244 to be paid to the Canterbury Regional Council, and he fined McCabe $3000, DOC and the regional council said in a statement.
Although the landowners had a general compliance certificate from the Waitaki District Council for the conversion and drainage of the land to dairying, they did not have a resource consent from Canterbury Regional Council.
The court accepted that back-filling the drain would repair the damage in the longterm, and that McCabe would undertake the work himself.
"Farming at this scale is akin to an industrial operation and needs to be approached by getting proper advice and early consultation with the local authorities," the judge said.
He struggled to understand why McCabe would have invested such effort without making those reasonable and basic enquiries.
DOC is now working with the landowner to ensure that the drain is filled in correct so that the Ben Omar Wetland can be returned to its original state, and that other measures to protect the reserve, such as fencing to exclude stock are implemented.
