Repeated breaches of effluent discharge rules have cost a Taupō-based farming company and its boss $164,250 in fines.

The conviction and fines were imposed on Gardon Limited and company director Gerard Donald by Judge Jeff Smith in Tokoroa District Court in relation to the unlawful discharge of dairy effluent between November 7, 2019 and March 2, 2020.

Contracting company, Effluent Pumping Systems Limited was also fined $30,000 for over-applying effluent causing significant ponding and runoff at a Gardon Ltd managed dairy farm.

Gardon Ltd runs a 1150 cow dairy operation at Oruanui, north of Taupō, which is managed by company director Gerard Logan Donald.

Donald is also a director and shareholder of another company which owns two adjacent dairy farms. He was employed through his company, Gardon Limited, as the general manager responsible for the overall management of these two operations.

The charges were brought by the Waikato Regional Council.

In a statement, regional council compliance manager Patrick Lynch said: “We look to larger farm operations and professional spreading companies to lead the industry and set examples of best practice … It is fair to say that both the regulator and the wider dairy industry are very disappointed with the breaches uncovered across this substantial farming enterprise.”

At a monitoring inspection at the 1150 cow Gardon operation at Oruanui on November 26, 2019 regional council staff found an effluent irrigation hydrant had been discharging dairy shed effluent over a long period so that it was ponding near the hydrant. A travelling irrigator operating earlier that day had also been over-irrigating effluent onto already wet soils, resulting in further ponding.

An abatement notice was issued but at a follow-up inspection on March 2, 2020, a buried pipe carrying dairy shed effluent to a sump was found with an unsealed inspection hole cut in it, resulting in effluent ponding in a paddock below the pipe, again in breach of regional plan rules and contravening the abatement notice.

The company was fined $101,250 for the two unlawful discharges and contravening an abatement notice.

At an adjacent 1750 cow dairy farm, overseen by Donald in his position as general manager of Gardon Ltd, council staff found an unlined effluent pond overflowing into a sinkhole on November 7, 2019.

A follow-up inspection two weeks later found effluent was still flowing into the sinkhole, despite directions from council staff to prevent further discharges.

For this breach Donald was convicted of unlawfully discharging a contaminant into the environment and fined $35,000.

Council staff also inspected a second Gardon farm, which milked 1600 cows, on November 21, 2019 and found effluent sumps at two stock underpasses under State Highway 1 and Tram Rd were overflowing into unsealed catchpits. In addition, dairy shed effluent irrigated from three stationary irrigators had caused significant ponding of effluent in an undulating paddock.

Donald was further convicted on a charge representative of these unlawful discharges and fined $28,000.

Credit: Stuff.co.nz