A Clydevale dairy farmer and his company were each fined $16,750 plus costs, in the Environment Court in Dunedin yesterday, for discharging dairy effluent to land.
Barry Stuart Cowley and Cowley Ltd faced three charges each for discharging dairy effluent to land in circumstances where contaminants may enter water, discharging effluent from an irrigation system and discharge of effluent from a storage pond.
The charges arose from a routine dairy farm effluent inspection carried out by an Otago Regional Council enforcement officer on the Cowley farm on October 31, 2008.
Judge Brian Dwyer, of Wellington, ordered Cowley and his company to pay fines of $7500 each for discharging contaminants from the irrigation system in circumstances where contaminants might enter water.
On the charge of discharging contaminants to land from the irrigation system in breach of a rule in a Regional Plan: Water, both parties were fined $2500.
On a third charge of discharging the contaminants from the effluent storage pond, both parties were fined $6750.
On all charges, the company and Mr Cowley were ordered to pay court costs of $130 and solicitor's fees of $113.
Both were to jointly pay the analyst's fee of $1201 incurred by the regional council and reimburse it for disbursements totalling $568.30.
Ninety percent of the fines imposed were to be paid to the regional council.
