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Pungent-smelling spill, probably diesel, fouls river

Kathryn — Thu, 03 May 2012 03:50:45 +0000

Waikato Regional Council is defending its response to a diesel spill on Waikato River yesterday – after staff spent six hours deploying booms on the river.

Members of the public noticed an oily slick spilling from a stormwater drain near the St Andrews Golf Course in Hamilton about 8.15am.

The stormwater system which discharges into the river near St Andrews collects water from much of Te Rapa and Avalon Dr catchment.

Authorities said the slick had been identified as a hydrocarbon, most likely diesel.

It is the fourth time in seven months a diesel-like liquid has been discharged into the river from the stormwater outlet.

Regional Council senior complaint response officer Blair Campbell said staff assessed the spill within 30 minutes of being alerted, but initially decided against deploying absorbent booms.

Staff reassessed the spill after midday and found the spill volume had increased.

“In the morning the flow wasn’t heavy but we’ve continued to monitor it and it appeared to get worse. We decided the prudent thing would be to set up the booms,” Mr Campbell said.

Absorbent booms were deployed about 2pm.

The spill created a 10-metre wide rainbow sheen across the river and gave off a pungent smell. The slick also forced a large flock of ducks from the river.

Staff monitored the slick downstream and found it broke up quite quickly less than one kilometre from the drain outlet.

Arcus St resident Wendy Southall, whose property overlooks the river, said yesterday’s spill was the third in recent memory and questioned the regional council’s response to the slick.

“It’s just not a good look when you see diesel pouring into the river and no staff in sight,” she told the Times at midday yesterday.

“We have tourists walk along the riverbank as well as mums with babies and I wonder what they think. When diesel is spilt on the road you see crews out using sand to soak it up straight away but, when it’s the river, people probably think it’s filthy enough so why care.

“Isn’t it nice when you can’t even sit outside your own house?”

Mrs Southall said she had contacted the regional council in the past about pollutants in the river but was frustrated no-one had been held accountable.

Regional council communications adviser Stephen Ward said the council was working with the Hamilton City Council to locate the source of the spill.

He said city council staff were visiting “high-risk sites” to check for diesel spills.

Under the Resource Management Act, individuals face fines of up to $300,000 and two years jail.

Companies risk fines of up to $600,000.

Mr Ward said absorbent booms were most effective when the diesel reached a certain thickness.

He said the council shared residents’ frustrations with the diesel spills and urged anyone with information to contact the council on 0800800401.

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/6833593/Pungent-smelling-spill-probably-diesel-fouls-river

Owner fined $50,000-plus for farm pollution offences

Kathryn — Thu, 03 May 2012 01:57:18 +0000

llegal discharges of farm effluent from two feedpads at a Ruawai farm in 2009 have cost a Northland man just under $60,000 in fines and court-ordered costs and expenses.

Peter Thomas Flood, was sentenced in the Auckland District Court recently after earlier admitting three charges laid by the Northland Regional Council relating to a dairy farm at Ruawai, about 30 kilometres from Dargaville.

In sentencing notes released recently, Judge Gordon Whiting said the charges arose from the operation of two feedpads near farm drains and water on one of a number of farms owned by corporate identities in which Flood had a controlling interest.

Effluent from the two “badly constructed” feedpads had flown into drains, then into tributaries and into the Kaumangatia River. That river flows about 3km into the Awaroa River, which then flows another 5.5km into the Kaipara Harbour, the nursery grounds for almost 90 percent of West Coast snapper.

The judge said while there was no proof of permanent environmental damage, “it has been said many times in this court that it is the cumulative effects of unlawful discharges that can create adverse environmental impacts”.

Judge Whiting emphasised he was sentencing Flood as the farm’s owner, rather than holding him responsible for “blame, if any, apportioned to the farm manager”.

“You see Mr Flood, as owner, you are responsible for, and make the decisions for, the type and standard of farm infrastructure.”

“I first got the impression that you were in self-denial as to any wrongdoing, but I now detect an acknowledgement of your responsibilities as owner and a sense of remorse for failing to live up to those responsibilities.”

The judge said deterrence was an important factor in sentencing on environmental matters.

As far as deterring Flood personally was concerned, he had no doubt that Flood’s court appearances “over what I have described as a lengthy and tortuous process should no doubt have an indelible imprint on your memory”.

However, it was also important to send a deterrence signal to the dairy industry that it was time “owners scrubbed up and accepted their responsibilities as owners”.

“That such a signal is necessary is reflected in the poor non-compliance statistics of dairy farms in the Northland region…”

The judge said although the offending for which Flood was being sentenced had occurred in mid-2009, the regional council had noted a number of breaches of resource consent conditions over at least five visits between 2003 and March 2009.

Those breaches should have put Flood on notice, alerted him to potential problems and pointed to a “systemic failure and/or a failure of want of care”.

The judge said overall he considered Flood’s offending to be at the lower to middle end of the moderately serious band of offending for such matters.

“I assess your culpability as a failure to exercise the necessary care, as opposed to an overt action.”

He said Flood’s good character, guilty pleas and other mitigating factors entitled him to a 20% reduction in the amount he would otherwise been fined, ordering him to pay a total of $53,000 in fines with another $6744 in court costs, expenses and fees.

Judge Whiting ordered the money be paid in nine equal monthly instalments.

Speaking after the sentencing, the council’s Operations Director Tony Phipps said the court had once again sent a very clear message to Northland’s dairy farmers that effluent needed to be treated and managed properly.

Source: http://www.nrc.govt.nz/News/Owner-fined-50000-plus-for-farm-pollution-offences/

Fine for ‘dirty’ mining on West Coast

Kathryn — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 04:14:10 +0000

Former Hokitika man Barry Foster has been fined $34,000 in the Christchurch District Court after unlawfully discharging sediment from a gold mining operation at Kawhaka, near Arahura, and breaching a West Coast Regional Council abatement notice.

The prosecution followed the successful conviction last year of goldminer David Marsh, who was fined $28,000.

Foster, who lives in Christchurch, holds the consent.

The charges arose from a visit to the mining site on March 30, 2010, when regional council staff found the miner was unlawfully discharging sediment into Stoney Creek, a subsidiary of Fox Creek.

Consents and compliance officer Colin Dall said the court decision was significant because it held the consent holder liable for the unlawful works because he had a responsibility to ensure that his miner complied with the conditions of the consent.

The sentencing judge ordered that 90 per cent of the fine go to the regional council, and said the hefty sum was in order to deter other miners from failing to adhere to their consent conditions.

Source: http://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/204803/fine-dirty-mining-west-coast

Company fined for illegal extraction of ground water

Kathryn — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 05:00:44 +0000

A farming partnership in Canterbury has been fined $9500 for taking water illegally for irrigation.

Brent and Barry Austin, who own Cambria Farms Ltd, in Ashburton, pleaded guilty to two charges of breaching conditions of their resource consent to take ground water.

This occurred on October 30 and between October 31 and November 8 last year, when irrigation consent restrictions were in place.

Judge Jon Jackson said although there was a level of negligence or carelessness it was not tantamount to gross negligence or wilfulness.

Mitigating factors included the company’s immediate co-operation with the regional council once the offending came to light and the remorse of its directors.

Environment Canterbury spokesman Brett Aldridge said it was important all consent holders knew the details of the conditions on their resource consents.

Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10796451

Restaurant Brands fined for KFC spill

Kathryn — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 04:59:36 +0000

Restaurant Brands has been fined $15,000 for a spill of oil and fats from one of its Dunedin’s fast food outlets, KFC, into Kaikorai Stream, which caused the death of two ducks.

It was the first conviction under the Resource Management Act for the company, which has 88 KFC, Starbucks and Pizza Hut outlets throughout the country.

On October 8 last year, the grease trap at KFC’s Kaikorai Valley outlet discharged fats and oils into the car park. These drained to a sump, then flowed into a gutter and into the Kaikorai Stream, the Dunedin District Court heard yesterday (WED).

A customer alerted staff to the spill on the Saturday night but no action was taken. On the Monday, the grease trap was pumped out.

The SPCA rang the Otago Regional Council on the Tuesday to advise staff ducks in the stream had been covered with oil.

The next day, a regional council staff member saw a film of oil on the water for about 110m. Close to KFC, mats of fat and oil were found.

A KFC regional manager was advised, who ordered the outlet cleaned and engaged contractors to remove the worst of the fat and oil from the stream.

Fish and Game destroyed two ducks affected by oil from the discharge and the SPCA cleaned and cared for four ducks for eight days.

Oil in water also caused oxygen stress with the potential for asphyxiation of fish and macroinvertebrates.

As a result, the Otago Regional Council charged Restaurant Brands with discharging contaminants in circumstances in which they might enter water. The charge has a maximum penalty of $600,000.

Council counsel Alastair Logan said it took two and a-half days for the company to clean up the site, an aggravating factor and which led to further run-off of oil and fat to the stream.

The problem was not addressed until the incident was taken to a higher management level, Mr Logan said.

He suggested the fine should start at $40,000 but did not believe it should be uplifted due to the size of the company, as it had taken all appropriate steps to prevent further offending.

Restaurant Brands counsel Mark Davies said the exact cause and location of the blockage remained unknown.

However, Restaurant Brands did not walk away from incidents and admitted it “should have dealt with this earlier and better”, Mr Davies said.

The company had not had an incident like this before and all its outlets’ waste management systems were compliant and fully maintained.

Since the incident, the company had reviewed maintenance of its waste disposal systems, sent out a national memorandum and at the Kaikorai outlet had installed a bund, put up warning notices and spoken to staff to ensure the incident remained an isolated one, he said.

The company had done its best to make amends for the incident, paying the costs of Fish and Game, the SPCA and donating $500 to each. It also paid the costs incurred by the council.

“Restaurant Brands has done all it can to put things right. What more can you ask of a good corporate citizen.”

Environment Court judge Laurie Newhook said he accepted the company’s consultant ecologist’s finding that the stream was not of high quality, but it did support a notable level of notable exotic and natural fauna.

He also accepted the company had undertaken steps to ensure it did not happen again and had shown a willingness to provide environmental compensation.

An appropriate starting point for a fine was $30,000 but he gave a 25% discount for an early guilty plea, and a 25% discount for the company’s response to the incident, he said.

Restaurant Brands was convicted and fined $15,000 and ordered to pay court costs $132.89, solicitors fees $113, disbursement $110.48.

Ninety percent of the fine would go to the regional council.

Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10796990

Owners fined $67,000 for farm pollution offences

Kathryn — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 22:45:37 +0000

Discharging farm effluent and silage leachate into tributaries of the Wairoa River at Ruawai has cost a Northland farming couple almost $70,000 in fines and court costs.

Mark Allen Stanaway and his wife Kylie Wendy Stanaway were sentenced recently in Whangarei after they had earlier pleaded guilty to a combined total of 16 charges.

Each had faced eight separate charges relating to dairy effluent discharges, a silage leachate discharge and breaching an abatement notice.

In a reserved decision delivered recently in Whangarei on his behalf, Environment Court Judge Laurie Newhook said the 2009 offending – which took place at the couple’s Wallace Rd, Ruawai property – related to a “multiplicity of discharges and situations” and had been serious.

The offending took place between 22 August and 28 September 2009 and had been “deliberate, or if not deliberate, occasioned by a real want of care, associated with large plural discharges, and exposing a disregard for effects on the environment”.

Judge Newhook said effluent and leachate had gone into tributaries of the Wairoa River, these ultimately discharging into the Kaipara Harbour about 12km downstream.

“The Kaipara Harbour is an important place ecologically in New Zealand, in particular providing nursery grounds for a very high percentage of the West Coast snapper fishery spawning.”

The judge said evidence from a Northland Regional Council staff member had revealed that the discharges involved had been “for the most part toxic, and at best the environment was significantly impacted…”

Judge Newhook accepted a submission from the council’s lawyer Karenza de Silva that like so many other dairy effluent prosecution cases, the Stanaways’ offending was symptomatic of “death by 1000 cuts to the environment”.

Ms de Silva said there had been a history of warnings over a number of years with the defendants receiving abatement and infringement notices at both of their farms in the area.

The judge found that while it had been suggested on behalf of the defendants that a farm manager prosecuted separately by the council had some culpability, “I found that the blame for the state of affairs leading to the charges must rest almost entirely with the Stanaways”.

“…This was a classic situation of a farmer running a herd many times the size that the effluent system would cope with, and frankly all the other problems stemmed from that.”

Sentencing the couple, Judge Newhook said all things considered, he believed a starting point for the fine should be a total of $100,000, however, he had discounted that by a third as a result of the couple’s early guilty pleas.

Accordingly, between them they were fined $4187.50 on 16 charges, a total of $67,000. Court costs of $132.89 were also imposed on each charge, a combined total of $2126.24.

The judge directed 90 percent of the fines be paid to the Northland Regional Council and directed that the defendants be able to pay it in 12 equal monthly instalments.

Speaking after the sentencing, the regional council said the judge had once again sent a clear message to dairy farmers that protecting water quality is important and effluent needs to be treated and managed properly.

The council’s Operations Director Tony Phipps says prosecution is a last resort for the regional council, which prefers education and working with farmers to address issues wherever possible, however, in cases like the Stanaways’, it had little option.

He says there are a number of Northland farmers who could find themselves in a similar position if they continued to ignore warnings and abatement notices received over the last dairy season.

Source: http://www.nrc.govt.nz/News/Owners-fined-67000-for-farm-pollution-offences/

Council to work further with Kawhia community after spill

Kathryn — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 22:40:11 +0000

Waikato Regional Council is planning to work closely with the Kawhia community on oil spill response arrangements following the recent incident which saw about 100 litres of diesel spilled into the harbour.

An investigation into the spill has so far checked out a variety of potential sources for the diesel but no conclusive source has yet been identified. As inquiries continue, the council is asking anyone in the community with information to call its resource use group on 0800 800 401.

One thing the investigation has identified is that an unspecified number of vessels have been refuelling in Kawhia harbour using a variety of unpermitted methods. The council’s marine oil spill manager Adam Munro said this was clearly a concern.

“The most important part of the permit process is to make sure that people refuelling vessels have the knowledge, systems and equipment to minimise the risk of any spills. And, if an accident should happen, we want people to know what to do as a quick response can help minimise the harm to the environment.

“This would include processes for promptly alerting the regional council, other relevant authorities and the local community.

“We’d ask anyone refuelling at Kawhia to contact Dave Lovatt on the 0800 800 401 number so we can work with them to ensure things are done correctly in future. We hope this will help ensure no repeat of the recent spill.”

Meanwhile, Mr Munro said the council would continue to liaise with community representatives over current oil spill response arrangements at Kawhia and any changes that may be required.

“We are committed to working closely with local people on the best way forward for reducing the risk of any future oil spills at Kawhia.”

Source: http://www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/Community/Whats-happening/News/Media-releases/Council-to-work-further-with-Kawhia-community-after-spill/

Beefed up committee takes on environmental and monitoring role

Kathryn — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 22:39:07 +0000

Waikato Regional Council has merged two of its standing committees to drive a greater focus on environmental monitoring and reporting of its policy effectiveness.

The new resource use and environmental monitoring committee replaces the environment and regulatory committees, and brings together the councillors from the two committees.

The council’s committee structure came up for review late last year when the regulatory committee recommended that the council remove its power to consider and/or initiate legal proceedings for resource management non-compliance.

The committee sought a review of the terms of reference and scope of activity for the regulatory committee and the potential for amalgamation with the council’s other standing committees.

As a result, the new committee has been formed to oversight monitoring and reporting in relation to:

the effectiveness of the council’s policy implementation activities, navigation safety by-law responses, and Building Act responsibilities
the regulatory performance of permitted activities, resource consents and bylaw rules including compliance and enforcement
the performance and effectiveness of the council’s community extension activities including environmental education, Enviroschools, care groups, natural heritage partnership projects and air quality incentive programmes
State of the Environment monitoring trends.

The committee will also consider emerging environmental issues and provide advice on the implication for effective resource management in the region, as appropriate.

Its work will take into account iwi perspectives relating to environmental and regulatory monitoring.

Committee members are Lois Livingston (chair), Phillip Legg (deputy chair), Jane Hennebry, Theresa Stark, Russ Rimmington, Tony Armstrong, and the council chairman Peter Buckley and deputy chairman Simon Friar.

Source: http://www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/Community/Whats-happening/News/Media-releases/Beefed-up-committee-takes-on-environmental-and-monitoring-role/

More dairy farm effluent storage ponds being built

Kathryn — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 23:36:14 +0000

More effluent storage ponds are being built on dairy farms across the country, following a crackdown by regional councils.

DairyNZ environmental extension manager Donna Corbin says more than half the 800 dairy farms in Southland will need new or upgraded effluent systems to comply with resource consents by 2015.

She says that’s the case across the country, and urges farmers to contact DairyNZ to make sure their effluent ponds meet council regulations.

A consents planning manager for the Canterbury Regional Council, Laura Hull, says the increase has also been driven by a focus on water quality.

There’s also been an increase in the number of regional effluent expos as dairy farmers search for the right product for their farms.

The country’s biggest dairying region Waikato will hold its second annual expo on Tuesday.

Canterbury held its first expo last week and an event has also been held for the first time in Waimumu in Southland.

Source: www.radionz.co.nz/news/rural/99549/more-dairy-farm-effluent-storage-ponds-being-built

Work to continue to improve dairy effluent compliance levels

Kathryn — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 04:05:26 +0000

Bay of Plenty Regional Council will continue to work with the dairy industry to improve dairy effluent compliance levels following recent monitoring.

As part of the Regional Council’s routine compliance monitoring programme, 312 dairy farms were visited in late 2011, with 67 percent (208 farms) found to be meeting all conditions in their consents. This is down from 72 percent the previous year.

Chairman of the Regional Council’s Operations, Monitoring and Regulation Committee Malcolm Whitaker said while the results were disappointing, the council recognised that there were many farmers in the region who were working hard to make sure they were meeting their consent conditions 365 days a year.

“We congratulate those farmers who are doing a good job, especially those in the Pāpāmoa/Pongakawa/Matatā area, and the Rangitāiki/Tarawera catchments who had the lowest levels of significant non-compliance,” Mr Whitaker said.

“We’ve been and will continue to work closely with a Bay of Plenty Dairy Stakeholders working group, which included representatives from Federated Farmers, DairyNZ, Fonterra and Open Country Dairies, to try to increase the region’s dairy effluent compliance levels.”

Bay of Plenty Regional Council staff inspected all aspects of the effluent treatment and/or disposal systems during their visits. This included inspecting the location of stormwater diversion systems, checking effluent sumps, pipeworks, ponds, irrigation systems and checking for obvious signs of seepage or overflows from effluent ponds into waterways.

Mr Whitaker said the monitoring criteria for dairy effluent compliance was the same for all regional councils.

Staff will be taking the results of this season’s monitoring back to the Bay of Plenty Dairy Stakeholders Group meeting in April to discuss.

Upcoming Dairy Expo

Bay of Plenty Regional Council staff will attend next week’s Dairy Expo at the Mystery Creek Events Centre, answering questions and providing advice to farmers about effluent management. The expo is being organised by DairyNZ and Waikato Regional Council, and brings together more than 40 exhibitors to promote effluent management solutions. Farmers from throughout the Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Auckland regions are expected to attend.

The Effluent Expo is being held on Tuesday 28 February, from 9am through to 3.30pm at the Mystery Creek Events Centre.

Source: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK1202/S00469/work-to-continue-to-improve-dairy-effluent-compliance-levels.htm