Dairy Farm Operators Fined $66,500 Over Effluent Breaches

The sentences were imposed in the Huntly District Court by Judge Melinda Dickey in two decisions released recently. The prosecution was taken under the Resource Management Act by Waikato Regional Council. 

 In June 2024, council officers conducted two inspections at a Tuakau farm owned by Sunrise Dam Limited. On the first occasion they found a significant volume of dairy effluent had been unlawfully discharged onto land from a storm water diversion, on the instructions of the farm’s contract milker, Yubraj Subedi. They also found a leachate discharging from a stock feed bunker into a roadside drain. 

During a second inspection later that month, council officers found the feed bunker was still discharging leachate into the same drain, a drain with the potential to discharge into the Waikato River. 

Subedi was convicted and fined $49,000 for his part in the offending, and Sunrise Dam Limited $17,500 in respect of the leachate. 

“This case highlights the importance of clear responsibility for environmental compliance on dairy farms, particularly where farm operations are delegated to others,” said regional compliance manager Patrick Lynch.  

“While the court has recognised that Sunrise Dam Limited had finally upgraded infrastructure since the council intervened, the convictions and fine reinforce that both farm owners and those managing day-to day operations must ensure that systems are fit for purpose and appropriate management procedures are in place at all times to prevent harm to the environment.”