A company has been fined $71,250 for offensive odours at a compost site in north Taranaki – which had been described by neighbours as smelling like “faecal and pig effluent”.
Remediation NZ pleaded guilty at the New Plymouth District Court to discharging the odorous compounds between March and May 2024 – when the discharges were not permitted by the resource consent held by the company.
Taranaki Regional Council inspected the site between March and June 2024 both proactively and in response to complaints. The council said officers found a “number of issues” with the management of site operations, which contributed to the odour generation.
The council said this included uncontrolled venting of odours from compost piles due to insufficient capping materials and poor management of associated site operations, resulting in the generation and subsequent discharge of the odours beyond the site.
Remediation NZ held 10 resource consents at the site – conditions of which outlined discharge of odour beyond the site’s boundary should not be “offensive or objectionable”.
On five of six dates where the company was assessed – alleged occurrences of the odour was found to have been offensive and objectionable at a residential address.
During an inspection on April 19, officers identified an odour linked to the facility about 2.5km from the site’s entrance.
‘Pervasive and life altering’
In a victim impact statement, the court heard the odour was given a severity between six to eight out of 10 by a person who had made several complaints.
Judge MJL Dickey said there was no doubt the odour was objectionable – and it was likely the offensive odours were also emitted at other times.
“Offensive odour can be life pervasive and life altering. It is difficult to escape, and I have no doubt that those experiencing it would have been revolted and distressed. I find the effects of the offending were serious.”
The company’s culpability was “highly careless” – however a 25% discount was applied to the $95,000 starting point due to their guilty plea.
A discount was not applied to “belated” remedial steps or good behaviour. The steps taken were viewed as necessary and not a circumstance for discount – and the good behaviour discount was denied due to the company’s long enforcement history at the facility.
Taranaki Regional Council had issued 16 abatement notices and 34 infringement notices between July 2009 and January 2024.
The company has eight previous convictions under the Resource Management Act, which includes a conviction in 2010 for five discharges in contravention of the Resource Management Act related to discharges from the site.
Taranaki Regional Council compliance manager Jared Glasgow welcomed the severity of the fine imposed on the company – due to the history of failing to comply with obligations under resource consents.
“The victim impact statements show that the offending had a hugely detrimental impact on residents in the Uruti Valley. Our officers saw this for themselves during the inspections and this was why it was important to bring this prosecution,” he said.
Glasgow said the level of the fine, and the fact no discounts were allowed for mitigation or good behaviour “reflect the seriousness of the case”.
“Hopefully the $71,250 fine will act as a deterrent and a reminder to resource consent holders that they have a duty to follow the rules and ensure discharges are not negatively impacting people living nearby.”
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