Poultry effluent fine far from paltry

A Masterton poultry company has been convicted and fined $40,000 for the illegal discharge of effluent.

GWRC laid two charges against Henergy Cage-Free Limited (Henergy) for discharging the contents of effluent ponds on to land without the required resource consent.

The Council alleged the discharges had occurred a number of times a year for some time and effluent had probably entered a tributary of the Whangaehu Stream.

An abatement notice was issued in November 2013 ordering discharges to cease.
GWRC Environmental Regulation Manager, Alistair Cross said the company had failed to re-evaluate their compliance needs as the business grew and was still working under the requirements of a much smaller business.

“Henergy has since undertaken a very comprehensive review and upgrade of the site infrastructure and applied for resource consent for future discharges. They have been a pleasure to work with and have since gone beyond meeting compliance requirements to working to best practice standards.”

In delivering his decision, Environment Court Judge Thompson noted Henergy’s guilty pleas, cooperation, and efforts to come into compliance since the investigation. He considered Henergy to be a socially responsible company.

Overall, it is hoped that this significant penalty will encourage others to keep pace with regulatory requirements and deter future offending.

ENDS

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