MEDIA RELEASE
28 August 2009
Fines show intolerance of environmental offending
Significant fines handed out today to a Crafar farming company and members of the Crafar family are a clear sign of the
intolerance the courts and the wider community have for environmental offending that further degrades water quality,
says Environment Waikato.
Hillside Limited, Allan Crafar and Frank Crafar were each fined $29,500, and Elizabeth Crafar was fined $1500, by Judge
Laurie Newhook in the Hamilton District Court after their conviction on a total of 34 charges related to the “systemic
failure” of the effluent system on a farm near Hamilton. The fines totalled $90,000.
The farm was operated by a sharemilker but Judge Newhook had earlier found that the Crafars, as company directors, bore
ultimate responsibility for the offending in that they failed to ensure the farm used proper effluent management.
As a result of that failure, an effluent holding pond leaked significant amounts of effluent and paddocks had too much
effluent applied. That led to effluent getting into a nearby stream which flows into the Waikato River.
EW, which brought the charges against the Crafars under the Resource Management Act, said today’s sentences were a sign
of the court’s and community’s intolerance of poor practices by the Crafars.
“The court has sent a strong message that it will not tolerate environmental offending of this kind,” said EW’s
regulatory committee chairman Ian Balme.
“Directors of companies have a clear responsibility to ensure their sharemilkers are doing things properly. They can’t
blame poor effluent management on someone else.”
EW’s complaints and enforcement manager Rob Dragten said protecting water quality was something the community is very
concerned about. “EW will continue to remain vigilant about preventing farming practices that can hurt the health of our
waterways.
“Letting excessive dairy effluent into waterways risks making people sick when they use rivers for recreation, and it
can also stimulate the growth of weeds which affect the health of waterways,” Mr Dragten said.
“EW has clear rules on effluent management and farmers need to make sure they know what they are, and comply with them.
“Most farmers and the wider agriculture industry are doing their best to minimise their environmental impacts. Only
around 10 per cent of the farms we inspect have significant non-compliance with our rules on effluent management – it’s
people like the Crafars who let the side down when they fail to do things right,” said Mr Dragten.
He said he hoped the fines in this case would serve as a strong reminder that farmers needed to ensure they had
comprehensive effluent management systems in place. “There’s plenty of information and support available from the likes
of Fonterra, effluent consultants, DairyNZ and dairy industry publications.”
The region contains nationally important electricity generation facilities and an internationally significant dairy
sector. It is also home to iconic natural features which are key tourist attractions.
Environment Waikato’s responsibilities include:
· sustainable management of natural and physical resources, including pest control.
· planning regional growth and transport, and providing bus services.
· civil defence, emergency response, navigation safety, dam safety, flood management, erosion control and road
safety.
ends