27 November 2014

Company fined $81,000 for discharging sediment and diesel into Harania Stream

A Mangere East company has been fined $81,000 for discharging sediment and diesel into Harania Stream in Mangere, a significant conservation stream which flows into the Manukau Harbour.

Specialised Container Services (Auckland) Ltd, which owns a container park on two sites in Savill Drive, Mangere East, had previously been subject to council action over unlawful discharges of dust and sediment from its largely unsealed site. It was convicted and fined in 2009 and 2013.

On 4 December 2013 and 21 January 2014, the company discharged sediment-laden water into Harania Stream and on 4 December, they also discharged diesel into the stream.

Harania Stream has been identified as a significant breeding ground for threatened species, including whitebait, banded kokopu and inanga. The stream is also part of a conservation project for several local schools and a Wai Care group.

In sentencing the company, Judge Harland said: “There is no escaping the fact that the defendant has known about the problems associated with its unsealed sites for a number of years.”

She accepted that the company had taken steps to remediate the problem, but commented that it was hard to see why interim measures could not have been put in place to avoid further discharges.

Judge Harland also referred to the effects of the offending on the environment, saying the discharges would have had a negative impact that was insidious and cumulative on the stream and the Mangere Inlet.

Auckland Council Resource Consents compliance manager, Stefan Naude, said the prosecution sent a message to all businesses that repeated breaches of the Resource Management Act will not be tolerated and enforcement action will be taken against those responsible.

ENDS

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