Stream ‘green with effluent’

A prosecution taken by Waikato Regional Council against a dairy farming operation in Ngaroma, near Ōtorohanga, has resulted in convictions, fines and an Enforcement Order for offences in 2021.

It is the third time since 2017 the council has brought a prosecution under the Resource Management Act against those involved in the ownership and management of the farm.

Each case has followed complaints from the public about the otherwise clear Matapara Stream flowing from the farm “turning green with effluent”.

In the Hamilton District Court this month Judge David Kirkpatrick convicted and fined contract milker G & V Farms Limited $52,000 for unlawfully discharging dairy effluent into the environment on two occasions between September and November 2021.

Farm owner Cazjal Farm Limited and its director, John Leonard Walling, were convicted and fined in June for similar offending on three occasions between June and November 2021, and for contravening an Abatement Notice. Cazjal Farming Limited and Mr Walling each received fines of $96,000.

An Enforcement Order against Cazjal Farm Limited and Walling requires them to comply with conditions to upgrade the effluent management practices and processes on the farm.