A sawmill has been convicted and fined a total of $20,000 and ordered to pay $10,000 reparation for discharging contaminants to the air six times last year.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council brought the prosecution against Mamaku Sawmilling Company following complaints from neighbours about soot from its timbermill at Ngongotaha near Rotorua.
In May 2012 neighbours complained that black soot was all over a nearby house and car. The company's records showed that it exceeded the air discharge limits in its resource consent, the regional council said.
Video footage showed black smoke billowing from the stack towards the complainant's property.
The regional council issued an abatement notice to the company but received more complaints in July and August about smoke discharges from the stack.
Sentencing the company in Tauranga District Court, Judge J A Smith said the company had a "sorry history" of the machinery it installed not being up to specifications, despite considerable efforts over eight years to comply. It had spent significant amounts to find a solution to its discharge issues.
The judge said that the offences had had a significant impact on nearby Ngongotaha residents.
He fined the company $12,500 for breaching the abatement notice, and $7500 for the other offences, with $2000 reparation to be paid to each of the five complainants.