A Taranaki farmer has been fined $35,000 with any potential discount discarded after he "charged at" a council officer inspecting "systematic problems" with effluent.
James Langton was sentenced at the New Plymouth District Court in January after he pleaded guilty to two charges for discharging untreated dairy effluent onto land which could have contaminated groundwater, and the Hihiwera Stream near Ōpunake.
Judge JA Smith noted the threats and intimidation of council officers when police were present at the inspection, which took place on October 12 last year.
Taranaki Regional Council said officers were investigating untreated dairy effluent being discharged onto land and groundwater at the 40ha property on Ihaia Rd.
There had been seven earlier non-compliance notices from 2009 to 2022. Five of those notices were related to effluent on the site, the council said.
Judge Smith said it was a "miracle" the 2025 effluent had not made it to the waterways, as the effluent had been discharged directly from pipes rather than an irrigator.
A broken outlet pipe had also been discharging directly onto the land.
On October 9, the council said an inspection could not be completed after Langton became aggressive to staff. On October 12, he "charged at" a council officer, where police then had to intervene, it said.
Judge Smith said the court would not tolerate threats or intimidation of council officers who were doing their jobs.
The council said Langdon no longer operated the farm.
A 5% discount for personal remorse or otherwise good conduct was also denied, due to the "regrettable" charging of the council officer.
Taranaki Regional Council compliance manager Jared Glasgow said the decision to discard the discount, along with the substantial fine, showed 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."
Glasgow said the council worked well with the vast majority of farmers, and hoped the case would act as a reminder that council staff were people and "should be treated accordingly".
"Our staff are doing fantastic work and deserve to be treated with respect," he said.
"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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