Stopbank cuts cost pair $112k

This stopbank in Hikurangi was cut by Stephen Brown using a digger to divert floodwaters. Photo / Northland Regional Council

Two Northland farmers who dug through a stopbank on a Whangarei District Council-owned swamp drainage-scheme to divert floodwater into rivers have been fined more than $112,000.

The stopbank Stephen Brown and Clim Lammers interfered with to divert water into the Waiotu River in mid-July last year was part of the Hikurangi swamp flood management scheme. The floodwater was as a result of a storm that brought widespread rainfall throughout Northland.

Charges against another Hikurangi farmer, Evan Smeath, have been withdrawn after Lammers provided further details that confirmed the latter acted alone in cutting the stop banks.

Brown pleaded guilty in the Environment Court to three charges relating to breaches of the Resource Management Act.

He was this week fined $67,500 or $22,500 for each charge by Judge Craig Thompson.

Brown made one cut to the flood bank using a digger which also allowed silt and sediment into the Waiotu River.

He told the Northern Advocate he would not cut the stop bank again.

"I thought there was a provision that protects you under certain circumstances because stopbanks have been opened up in the past," he said.

The fine, he said, was "tough" considering he was paying about $20,000 a year in targeted rate for the scheme. Brown's family trust owns a dairy farm on State Highway One, Waiotu, which is also protected by the scheme.

He used a digger to cut through the stopbank and as a result, flood waters were discharged to the Waiotu river.

WDC investigations revealed Brown had cut the stopbank and notified NRC.

An abatement and an infringement notice were issued by NRC to Brown's company.

In explanation, Brown said he cut the stopbank because his house was flooded. The cut was about 4m high and 9m metres wide at the top and 2m wide at the bottom.

Brown later arranged for a contractor to repair the first cut to the stopbank and repairs were completed in early July. On July 29, he helped WDC repair the second cut by providing a tractor and a digger.

Lammers, who made two cuts to the stopbank, admitted to two charges laid by the Northland Regional Council and was fined $45,000.

His family owns two dairy farms at Forsythe Rd and Hukerenui Rd which are protected by the scheme. The farms are situated in a pocket known as Te Mata.

In a phone call made by NRC monitoring programme manager for water and waste, Tess Dacre, to Lammers, the latter admitted he cut the stopbank on July 14 and 15, 2014.

"I did cut the banks. I am pretty much screwed anyway," he said.

The banks were repaired by WDC engineers in summer when conditions were suitable.