Wednesday, 07 August 2019 11:55

$24,700 fine for farm workers

Written by 

Two farm workers have been fined $24,700 for breaching effluent management rules.

A Opotiki dairy farm manager and senior farm assistant were found guilty of breaching the Resource Management Act after a week-long trial earlier this year.

An effluent irrigator failed and discharged waste into a nearby drain. Charges were also laid against the landowner and consent holder, who was previously found guilty and fined $30,000 for the same offences.

The failure happened on October 18, 2016, the same day a Bay of Plenty Regional Council compliance officer was doing a dairy inspection at the property. The officer arrived to find the irrigator located within spraying distance of a spring-fed drain. He also saw signs of effluent having flowed over the bank and into the drain which flows into the Waiaua River, and on to reach the coast about 10km east of Ōpōtiki. 

A water sample taken from the receiving drain on the day of the event found the water had a high faecal coliform reading of 64,000 per 100ml -- 640 times higher than the recommended maximum level for safe stock drinking water.

Regulatory compliance manager Alex Miller says it’s well known that effluent irrigators, if not managed properly, can endanger the health of waterways.   

“In this case the irrigator was placed close to a waterway, despite conditions in the resource consent prohibiting it. Once the irrigator was turned on, a mechanical failure occurred and, without fail safes on the irrigator, it stayed where it was. This led to the effluent building up and running down the bank into the drain,” says Miller.

“While not intentional, this case serves as a reminder that farm staff must be aware of the environmental risks with equipment. They must take the necessary steps to avoid situations like this, particularly when using outdated equipment,” says Miller.

Environment Court Judge David Kirkpatrick noted that the farm worker was “careless to a relatively high degree”. 

More like this

Solution for every farm

For over 40 years, Williams Engineering has been trusted by farmers across New Zealand and beyond to deliver simple, reliable, and cost-effective effluent solutions that make farm life easier.

Effluent is 'rocket fuel' for grass

Precision Slurry says they are effluent application specialists who pride themselves on leading the way in cleaning out any system - fully utilising the nutrients often seen as a problem on farms.

Featured

Being a rural vet is ‘fantastic’

Everyone from experienced veterinarians and young professionals to the Wormwise programme and outstanding clinics have been recognised in this year’s New Zealand Veterinary Association Te Pae Kīrehe (NZVA) awards.

Editorial: Long overdue!

OPINION: The Government's latest move to make freshwater farm plans more practical and affordable is welcome, and long overdue.

National

Lame stories from a country vet

Everyone from experienced veterinarians and young professionals to the Wormwise programme and outstanding clinics have been recognised in this year’s…

Machinery & Products

Gongs for best field days site

Among the regular exhibitors at last month’s South Island Agricultural Field Days, the one that arguably takes the most intensive…

Amazone extends hoe range

With many European manufacturers releasing mechanical weeding systems to counter the backlash around the use and possible banning of agrochemicals,…

Gong for NH dealers

New Holland dealers from around Australia and New Zealand came together last month for the Dealer of the Year Awards,…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Less hot air

OPINION: Farmers won't get any credit for this from the daily media, so Milking It is giving the bouquets where…

Dollars go offshore

OPINION: The Advertising Standards Authority’s 2024 report revealed that not only is social media rotting our brains, it is also…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter