increase font size
OCD was fined $221,000 for discharging objectionable odours from its Waharoa factory.
Waharoa residents are looking forward to getting on with their lives without “unwanted intrusion” from a nearby milk processing plant.
Waikato Regional Council investigations and incident response manager Patrick Lynch says it has the greatest sympathy for the Waharoa community trying to live with the terrible impacts of stench coming from the Open Country Dairy plant.
Last month OCD, NZ’s second largest dairy processor, was fined $221,000 on being convicted for discharging objectionable odour and unlawfully discharging wastewater.
The case was brought against OCD by the council following many complaints from local businesses and residents of Waharoa, near Matamata, through two periods in 2018.
This is the fifth prosecution of the Waharoa plant relating to unlawful discharges into the environment, and the largest fine imposed for any prosecution under the Resource Management Act in Waikato.
Residents reported ongoing, persistent and objectionable odour. They described a range of debilitating effects, eg having to keep doors and windows shut, headaches and vomiting.
The council responded to the complaints and began investigating. In March 2018 the council found the odours arose from the failure of the company’s wastewater pond liner. This resulted in contamination of the Waitoa River.
In her ruling, Judge Melanie Harland said the odour impacts on residents were “profound and, of their kind, serious”.
Judge Harland also issued an enforcement order, which the company agreed to, prohibiting further objectionable odour from the site. The order also requires the company to have a plan to keep the community and council informed of issues at the plant that may result in objectionable odour being discharged.
On top of the fine, OCD also agreed to pay $2000 reparation to each of the 17 residents and businesses affected by the odour.
Justice Harland also noted that at a restorative justice conference OCD also agreed to donate a vehicle to provide security to the community.
“It continues to pay the costs associated with the operation of the vehicle, which amount to some $40,000,” she said.
Lynch says the council investigator has communicated directly with the complainants following the court decision.
“I think it is safe to say they’re just wanting to get on with their lives without unwanted intrusion from this company’s activities,” he told Rural News.
“As ever, we will be vigilant for complaints received from members of the public and respond accordingly.”
OCD's costly stink
• Total fines of $221,250
• $2000 paid as reparation to each of 17 affected residents
• A vehicle provided and maintained by OCD to provide security for the community
• Enforcement order prohibiting company from discharging odour beyond its boundary.
Your old mate understands the country’s second largest dairy company, Open Country Dairy (OCD), has just had a ‘stink’ month. During October OCD copped a record fine of more than $221,000 for a “vomitus stench being emitted from its Waharoa factory”.
A company whose motto is “great dairy…no bull” has been slapped with a $476,000 fine for repeatedly failing to report positive listeria results from its factory.
Two farm workers have been fined $24,700 for breaching effluent management rules.
A Northland farmer (62) has been fined $5000 and banned from owning more than 70 cows for two years after being found guilty of animal welfare offences.
Open Country Dairy is the first anchor tenant in the Ports of Auckland (PoAL) regional freight hub that formally opened on April 30 at Northgate Business Park at Horotiu just north of Hamilton.
OPINION: There’s some agitation out there at the moment about farming being under threat from forestry. Much of what’s circulating is based on misinformation so it’s time to lay out the facts.
New Lincoln University research shows analysing a farmer’s personal characteristics is important when dealing with their anxiety.
Disregarding the social and economic effects of the proposed water reforms is a recipe for disaster, warns Federated Farmers Waikato president Andrew McGiven.
Storytelling will help attract, retain and inspire the next generation in dairy farming, says Jules Benton, Dairy Women’s Network chief executive.
An Auckland company believes reducing enteric methane through productivity gains is the way to tackle green house gas emissions.
Pride is returning to the dairy industry, says the new chair of Dairy Women’s Network, Karen Forlong, a Central Plateau farmer.
A mate of the Hound reckons outgoing special agricultural trade envoy Mike Petersen, who is due to finish his current…
With the Government wanting to implement huge costs on the livestock farming sector by making New Zealand the only country…
