The Queenstown Lakes District Council lodged eight compliance charges against Kawarau Jet at the Queenstown District Court on Thursday, but the legal action was news to the tourist operator yesterday.
The charges were the latest in a week of legal incidents for the Queenstown jet-boat company.
District council chief executive Duncan Field told the Otago Daily Times the charges related to an incident in February, when a Kawarau Jet boat allegedly operated within 5m of the willows lining the Kawarau River.
This was contrary to bylaws and resource consent conditions, Mr Field said.
"The reason they are required to stay out of the willows is to stay visible for safety reasons."
Mr Field said the incident had been "thoroughly investigated" by Lakes Environmental.
Prosecutions had to be lodged within six months of the incident, he said.
The court would now set a date for the hearing.
When contacted by the ODT Kawarau Jet director Andy Brinsley said he was not aware of the charges.
"We know nothing about it and we'll wait and see what [Mr Field] is talking about."
The action comes after Kawarau Jet lodged an incident report with the Queenstown Lakes District Council and Maritime New Zealand, after what it described as a "near miss" on the Kawarau River, on July 9.
That incident allegedly involved harbourmaster Marty Black, who was skippering a private craft with independent commissioners John Matthews and Leigh Overton on board.
However, senior media adviser Sophie Hazelhurst said yesterday that Maritime NZ had carefully reviewed the incident reports from both Kawarau Jet and the district council, which gave differing accounts of what happened.
"Given there were no injuries or damage, there wasn't a collision, or even a suggestion of a near-miss, Maritime New Zealand is satisfied there are no further outstanding safety issues that would warrant further investigation or action," she said.
"If there was any further information that came to light, it might be reviewed."
Last Tuesday, the commissioners reserved their decision on Queenstown Water Taxis' application to operate up to four boats on the Kawarau River as Thunder Jet.
