Judge Brian Dwyer
Two companies accused of discharging contaminants onto a rural property from an old industrial site in Gore have had their charges dismissed by an Environment Court judge. The trial, before Judge Brian Dwyer, started in Invercargill on April 21 and pitted Environment Southland against Johnstone Construction Limited and Marshalls Excavating Limited. Environment Southland had charged both companies with discharging a contaminant onto or into land from industrial or trade premises. However, at the conclusion of the prosecution evidence, lawyers for both companies applied for a discharge relating to the charges against their clients. This was granted by the judge, and both charges were dismissed.
Environment Court Judge Brian Dwyer is presiding over a case in Invercargill.
Two companies accused of discharging contaminants onto a rural property from an old industrial site in Gore have been taken to the Environment Court. The trial, before Judge Brian Dwyer started in Invercargill on Wednesday and pits Environment Southland against Johnstone Construction Limited and Marshalls Excavating Limited. Both companies have been charged with discharging a contaminant onto or into land from industrial or trade premises. An Environment Southland summary of facts outlining the case says in 2017 an industrial site in Mersey St, Gore was being redeveloped, with Johnstone Construction engaged to demolish existing structures and build a service station. In turn, Johnstone Construction engaged Marshalls Excavating to dispose of waste from the site, contaminated or otherwise.
Automatic alarms alerted City Care to the fault and an on-call technician attended the pump station, where he drew incorrect conclusions on the issue. The man previously worked for City Care but, after recommencing employment in 2018, was in need of refresher training, it was heard in court.
SIMON O CONNOR/STUFF/Stuff
The spill occurred after the power supply to the NPDC’s sewage pumping station alongside the stream failed. City Care recognised the man’s need for training and had put the measures in place for the worker to call a colleague to talk through any unforeseen issues. Before leaving the site, he phoned the back-up senior technician for assistance, who did not answer his phone. No other guidance was sought by the on-call worker.
Tallow also discharged onto Ngāmotu Beach and into the sea. The beach was closed to the public for at least three days, and the nearby Moturoa School was closed for a day. Hundreds of residents were also unable to flush their toilets for several hours. It was heard in court that the company lacked adequate infrastructure to prevent the spill from occurring and did not have an alarm system to alert it to the uncontrolled discharges. The company was also without the appropriate trade waste permit from the New Plymouth District Council (NPDC), for which an infrastructure upgrade is likely to have been required as a safeguard against uncontrolled discharges such as the one which occurred.
Press Release – Waikato Regional Council Seven separate court cases against Waikato farmers and businesses have found that they each unlawfully discharged farm effluent into the environment. The cases have been sentenced over the last three months, with the final case being made public …
Seven separate court cases against Waikato farmers and businesses have found that they each unlawfully discharged farm effluent into the environment.
The cases have been sentenced over the last three months, with the final case being made public today, resulting in convictions and a total of $318,025 in fines. The prosecutions were taken by Waikato Regional Council under the Resource Management Act.