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An Ōpunake farmer with a poor effluent system has been fined $35,000 with a discount on the penalty discarded after he charged at a Taranaki Regional Council officer inspecting the ‘systematic problems’ on his farm.
James Langton was sentenced at New Plymouth District Court in January after pleading guilty to two charges under section 338(1)(a) of the Resource Management Act for discharging untreated dairy effluent onto land which could have contaminated groundwater and the Hihiwera Stream near Opunake.
Judge JA Smith noted the threats and intimidation of Council officers when police were present at the inspection on 12 October last year.
Officers were investigating the discharge of untreated dairy effluent onto land and groundwater at the 40ha farm on Ihaia Road. That followed seven earlier non-compliance notices from 2009 to 2022, five of which were related to effluent on the site.
The judge said it was a ‘miracle’ the effluent in the 2025 incident had not made it to water after the inspection found effluent was being discharged directly from pipes rather than an irrigator and a broken outlet pipe was also discharging directly onto land.
An inspection on 9 October could not be completed when Langton became aggressive to staff and, on 12 October, he charged at a Council officer and police had to intervene.
“This Court will not tolerate threats or intimidation of Council officers who are doing their job,” wrote Judge Smith.
Langton, who no longer operates the farm, was denied a 5 per cent discount for personal remorse or otherwise good conduct due to the ‘regrettable’ charging of the Council officer.
Council Compliance Manager Jared Glasgow said the decision to discard the discount and the substantial fine shows the severity of the incident.
“We were appalled by the actions of the farmer. There is no place for intimidation or threats to our staff who are out in the community working to safeguard our environment,” says Mr Glasgow.
“While we work really well with the vast majority of farmers, we hope the outcome of this case will act as a reminder that our staff are people and should be treated accordingly. Our staff are doing fantastic work and deserve to be treated with respect.
“This case is also a reminder of the importance of following resource consents and ensuring dairy effluent is disposed of correctly with zero chance of it entering waterways or groundwater.”
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