Fines totalling $26,000 for illegal Hawke's Bay fires

An illegal fire at a property in Longlands Rd. Photo / Supplied

Fines totalling $26,000 have been imposed in relation to Hawke's Bay Regional Council's two Resource Management Act prosecutions for smoke pollution from rubbish fires near Hastings.

James Collier McIlroy was fined $13,200 in relation to a fire at a Pakowhai Rd property he rented. he told investigators people had been coming to the property for 17 to 18 years to burn rubbish, with apparent consent from the owner.

The second was against Hawke's Bay Eggs Ltd, which was fined $12,800 relating to a fire at its Longlands Rd property on June 25, 2019.

The investigations started after calls to the regional council pollution hotline. In each case guilty pleas were entered, although a disputed facts hearing was held last October in the eggs company prosecution.

The maximum available penalty for the offence is a fine of $300,000 or imprisonment not exceeding two years, and sentencing was before Judge Prudence Steven QC in Hastings District Court on January 24.

Regional Council Policy and Regulation Group manager Katrina Brunton says the prosecutions send a strong message about the Regional Council's stance on illegal burning.

"Our community shouldn't be affected by illegal burning, and we are not tolerating it," she says. "We're disappointed that we are still having to prosecute for illegal burning. The rules are very clear, and we're reminding people to follow them all year round."

Council officers went to the Pakowhai Rd after a complaint of toxic black smoke. A summary said that although McIlroy initially denied any connection to the fire, he later admitted lighting the fire and said burning at the property had been a regular occurrence during the time he had lived there.

He had said rubbish was regularly brought to the property by other people and placed in the pit for burning. McIlroy had said he did not approve of the practice, but would burn the rubbish to avoid rodents and other problems.

The Longlands Rd fire included prohibited items such as plastic, a motor mower, spouting, a mattress, whiteware, a car seat and engine oil, the Council said.

Director Laurie Horsfall had said the fire was for waste eggs and chicken cartons, but he made the mistake of lighting the fire on construction spouting previously damaged in a house fire and which he hadn't appreciate would burn a second time around.