A Westland farming company has been hit with one of the largest fines in New Zealand for dirty dairying.
Potae and van der Poel Ltd was stung $120,000 yesterday for dairy effluent discharges, as a result of a West Coast Regional Council prosecution in court in Christchurch.
It is the largest fine given to a West Coast farmer.
Mary-Anne Potae said this morning she was "still pretty much in shock", but accepted the decision and said the company would not appeal.
The company was issued with abatement notices two years ago for dairy effluent discharges from three of its seven farms at Whataroa, 114km southwest of Hokitika. Vickers Creek and tributaries of the Whataroa River were affected.
However, the company did not comply with the abatement notices and the council took court action. It pleaded guilty to eight charges.
Regional council consents and compliance manager Colin Dall said Judge Jane Borthwick told the court she considered the matter serious.
The sharemilkers were dealt with separately but because of their inability to pay a fine, they each received sentences of 200 hours' community service.
"She (the judge) did an initial (fine) calculation, then pulled it back. The total was $120,000, the largest (farming) fine on the West Coast."
Ms Potae said this morning her husband, Adrianus van der Poel, had farmed in the area for 25 years.
Lawyer Brian Burke said the couple had slowly added more farms since 1985 and now milked about 3000 cows in the Whataroa area.
"It was a family operation and it got too big to manage. They fully accept that they let themselves down and caused harm to the environment."
A consultant environmental engineer had been employed to put in systems to ensure it would never happen again, Mr Burke said.
Although the couple were shocked at the size of the fine, they thanked the court for pointing out their shortcomings and accepted the decision, he said.
Regional council chairman Ross Scarlett, a dairy farmer from Karamea, said the council had always had a conciliatory policy and an unwritten "three strikes and you're out" rule.
"There comes a point where we have to take action. We're not a draconian council. But we have to protect the reputation of farmers, and society as a whole demands quite high standards."
Mr Dall said two more West Coast prosecutions were pending, although court dates had not been set.
The company came to council attention because overflows from an effluent reservoir ran directly into a farm drain and on to Vickers Creek in high concentrations.
Also, a stormwater bypass was left open so effluent reached an unnamed tributary of the Whataroa River in high concentrations.
Earlier this week, Oceana Gold pleaded guilty to breaching its resource consent by discharging sediment into Devils Creek, Reefton, in another West Coast Regional Council prosecution.
The Australian gold miner was directed to meet with the council in a restorative justice conference to find a favourable solution. The council has said it wants the company to restore the creek, which was left lifeless as a result of sediment discharges.