A pig farm has received an “unprecedented” fine for discharging raw effluent into the environment.
Rawhiti Environmental Park Ltd was convicted in the Hamilton District Court and fined $437,000 for piggery effluent discharges between February and October 2023.
Many of the discharges flowed into streams of the Kaimai Range, north of Te Aroha.
Judge Melinda Dickey at the Hamilton District Court issued the convictions and fine last Thursday after the Waikato Regional Council brought a case under the Resource Management Act.
The council said it was the largest single fine imposed under the RMA in its 34-year history.
Judge Dickey issued an Enforcement Order banning future unlawful discharges and mandating ongoing environmental risk management.
Between February 1 and October 3, 2023, council compliance officers conducted 50 inspections at the site because of concerns about pig effluent management.
The piggery housed the equivalent of 6500 pigs, at any given time, generating large volumes of effluent, Waikato regional compliance manager Patrick Lynch said.
“This offending has been appalling.
“We simply have not had a case this bad before. The scale and frequency of these discharges, and the repeated failure by the piggery owner to comply with resource consent and environmental regulation over so many months.
“It was terrible.”
The discharges had a severe impact on the environment and community, as reflected in the unprecedented fine imposed by the court, Lynch said.
“We were literally using every tool available to us under the RMA to change the behaviour on this property. It was distressing and frustrating for the council staff who were seeing the impacts on the environment each time they inspected the property.”
During 26 of these inspections, officers found effluent being discharged from the piggery infrastructure on to adjacent land, then flowing into the headwaters of the Patuwhao and Hotahika streams, and on to the Waihou River.
The council issued numerous notices and directions to the company to halt the discharges over this period.
Waikato Regional Council applied for an Interim Enforcement Order in August 2023 due to the seriousness of the offending.
It required the defendant to immediately cease unlawful discharges and take steps to reduce pig numbers and lower effluent pond volumes.
A council ecologist found that the affected streams supported diverse fish and macroinvertebrate populations, including at-risk species.
These populations suffered from toxic effluent discharges, and high faecal and nutrient levels likely worsened Waihou River pollution.
Three days after approval, council officers responded to a report of a pig effluent discharge into Patuwhao Stream, warning downstream water users of health risks.
“We continue to monitor the activities on the site. We are very happy to report that there has been much improvement,” Lynch said.
“Though we have had a few complaints regarding objectionable odour coming from the site, their effluent management has generally been far more compliant and there have been improvements made to their effluent infrastructure.”
Tom Eley is a multimedia journalist at the Waikato Herald. He previously worked for the Weekend Sun and Sunlive.