An Ōpōtiki dairy farm manager and senior farm assistant have been fined $24,700 under the Resource Management Act after an effluent irrigator failed and discharged into a nearby drain.
Charges were also laid against the landowner and consent holder, who was previously found guilty and fined $30,000 for the same offences.
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The failure happened on the same day a Bay of Plenty Regional Council Compliance Officer was carrying out a dairy inspection at the property.
The officer arrived to find the irrigator located within spraying distance of a spring-fed drain.
They also noticed signs of effluent having flowed over the bank and into the drain, which flows into the Waiaua River, and on to reach the coast approximately 10km east of Ōpōtiki.
A water sample taken from the receiving drain on the day of the event found the water had a high faecal coliform reading of 64,000 per 100ml, 640 times higher than the recommended maximum level for safe stock drinking water.
Council Regulatory Compliance Manager Alex Miller said it was well known that, if not managed properly, effluent irrigators can be dangerous to the health of waterways.
"In this case the irrigator was placed close to a waterway, despite conditions in the resource con-sent prohibiting it," he said.
"Once the irrigator was turned on, a mechanical failure occurred and, without fail-safes on the irrigator, it stayed where it was. This led to the effluent building up and running down the bank into the drain," said Miller.
He said while not intentional, the case was a reminder that farm staff have a responsibility to be aware of the environmental risks associated with equipment they're working with.
"They must take the necessary steps to avoid situations like this happening, particularly when using out-dated equipment."
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