How often a North Otago dairy farm in the Waiareka Valley illegally discharged effluent was argued in the Oamaru District Court yesterday before Environment Court Judge Jane Borthwick.
Elderslie Dairy Farms Ltd and its farm manager, Andrew Mark Jefferies (46), were jointly charged by the Otago Regional Council with, between October 9 and 23 last year, discharging dairy herd effluent on to land in circumstances which might result in contaminants reaching water through a drain then emptying into the Waiareka Creek.
Both admitted the charges, but disputed a summary prepared by the Otago Regional Council which said discharges had occurred on more than one occasion.
That led to the disputed facts hearing yesterday.
The defendants said the discharge was a one-off, caused by a failure of the disposal system when a float switch was blocked by effluent and a sump overflowed.
Otago Regional Council enforcement officer Eryn Duffy visited the dairy farm in October 2005.
The disposal system consisted of a sump which held effluent for two milkings from a dairy shed then pumped it to a travelling irrigator.
Effluent had leaked from an overflow pipe and the sump, pooling at the bottom of a hill.
Mrs Duffy said that on subsequent inspections, there was no overflow detected so the system was compliant.
On October 23 last year, when she found effluent overflowing from the sump, she asked Mr Jefferies if he had any problems during the previous year.
Mr Jefferies did not highlight any specific matter, but said there had been ongoing problems, she said.
Under cross-examination by the defendants' counsel Bill Dean, Mrs Duffy said that in October when speaking to Mr Jefferies she asked how the effluent system was working.
She accepted that included the travelling irrigator, and when Mr Jefferies said there had been ongoing problems, he could have been referring to that.
Giving evidence, Jefferies said he was shocked when he was told the sump was overflowing in October last year.
When he was discussing the system with Mrs Duffy and referred to an "ongoing problem", he was referring in general terms to dairy effluent disposal and in particular the travelling irrigator.
Jefferies was unaware of problems with the sump overflowing, apart from on that day. A new system had been installed for this season.
The sump had become a stone trap, with the effluent flowing into a settling pond, then into a second pond from which it was pumped to pasture by K-line irrigation.
Judge Borthwick adjourned the hearing to October 21 in Oamaru when she would give an oral decision on her findings of fact.
That would involve whether or not Jefferies had made an admission of ongoing problems and photographic evidence on whether or not there had been previous discharges.
Waitaki River south bank farmer William John Pile (60) admitted taking water for irrigation in a manner that was not expressly allowed, a charge brought by Environment Canterbury (ECan).
He was fined $9000, with 90% going to Ecan, court costs $130, solicitor's costs $130.
Judge Borthwick said the fine was to denounce what Pile had done and deter others from illegally taking water. ECan counsel Kristy Rusher said Pile was taking water from a small spring-fed channel of the river on his property for a single gun irrigator on January 16, which was not permitted under the Waitaki catchment water allocation plan and without a resource consent.
Pile's counsel, Michael de Buyzer, said the defendant had four resource consents to take water, including one for a site about 170m away from the one he was being prosecuted for.
On January 16, including the illegal take, he was still well below what he was permitted to take under the consents.
The court also had 12 other charges relating to offences on two North Otago farms which were adjourned for hearings later this month and next month.
