Effluent mismanagement attracts large fine

A Waikato farming company has been convicted and fined $49,000 for the unlawful discharge of dairy effluent from and effluent pond in January 2024. 

Apex Farming Limited was sentenced by District Court Judge Melinda Dickey in the Hamilton District Court on 30 June 2025 on a charge for an offence under the Resource Management Act as a result of a prosecution taken by Waikato Regional Council.

In late January 2024, council officers conducted a compliance inspection at a 450-cow farm owned by the defendant at Wharepuhunga, near Te Awamutu. They found one of two dairy effluent storage ponds was overflowing, with effluent ponding in the surrounding paddock and running off into a farm drain which is a tributary of the Mangawhara Stream.

Council officers heard that the effluent irrigation pump had been repeatedly blocking for 12 months, making it difficult to manage pond volumes. 

In sentencing, Judge Melinda Dickey found that the defendant was highly careless in their management of the farm effluent ponds and the system was vulnerable to human error or lack of oversight. 

Waikato Regional Council acting regional compliance manager Evan Billington said managing environmental risk was a fundamental of good industry practice. 

“It is very disappointing to find a situation where effluent management has been given such a low priority as to allow an effluent pond to overflow in the middle of summer,” he said.

Sentencing notes [PDF, 289 KB]

Photos:

Overflow path from pond to farm drain.

Council officer sampling pond overflow.