Time to hold individuals to account for council effluent spills, say unlikely allies

Tuesday, 17 December 2019

Wastewater being discharged into the lower Wairoa River from the town's treatment ponds through an unconsented overflow pipe built by Wairoa District Council.

Councils responsible for sending thousands of litres of human waste into waterways face insufficient deterrents and it is time to hold individuals to account, two unlikely allies are arguing.

Human waste and toilet paper lining the banks of one of our most popular rivers, 1.7million litres of waste flowing down the Waikato River, 900 litres of sewage poured in Lake Wakatipu, and 5000 cubic metres of waste water and solids pour into the sea near Titahi Bay: facts of the offending by councils over the past five years do not make pretty reading.

Now two men more accustomed to being adversaries than allies – freshwater ecologist Mike Joy and Federated Farmers board member and environment spokesperson Chris Allen – say it's time to shift responsibility back to individuals.

Queenstown Lakes District Council was fined $24,225 in January this year for discharging at least 912 litres of effluent into Lake Wakatipu. (File photo)

Figures obtained under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act reveal that 51 abatement notices, 31 infringement fines, and 86 formal warnings were issued to city and district councils for wastewater offending since June 2014.

**READ MORE:

The Waikato River received 1.782 million litres of wastewater including human sewage from Hamilton City Council's central city wastewater pumping station on Anzac Parade over a 19-hour period on February 20, 2018.

* Council fined for discharging raw sewage into Waikato River

* Invercargill City Council fined for discharging raw sewage into Waihopai River

Federated Farmers environment and water spokesman Chris Allen said farmers would like to see more consistency between enforcement of farmers and councils.

* Two years after town's wastewater pipe became clogged Wairoa District Council discovers why**

* More than 200 convictions and 6000 notices issued for dirty dairy offences over past decade

Many councils were repeat offenders. One was issued seven abatement notices, another was issued five. Two were issued four infringement notices.

The worst were taken to court, with seven prosecutions.

Fifty-one abatement notices, 31 infringement fines and 86 formal warnings have been issued to city and district councils for wastewater offending since June 2014.

Successful prosecutions see the city or district council slapped with a fine to be paid to the prosecuting regional council.

This practice is referred to in several rulings as 'Peter pays Paul', and judges imposing the fines are wary that it is ratepayers who will be paying the fine.

'I'm really disappointed with the way wastewater treatment discharges have been treated. I've been fighting this for 20 years. Because the councils are ratepayer funded they're allowed to get away with murder,' said Dr Mike Joy.

In many cases sentencing judges will convict and discharge the offending council on the understanding that it puts a sum equivalent to any fine toward an environmental project or restoration near the site of the offending.

But, opponents argue this has the perverse outcome of benefiting the offending party.

When a farm company is charged in the Environment Court for the likes of dairy effluent offending, it will often appear alongside the farmer or company director. Not so with councils.

Freshwater ecologist Mike Joy said the legacy of wastewater pollution in New Zealand waterways was partly due to there being no real deterrent.

Holding an individual to account, such as a council chief executive, could change that, he said.

'It would probably be the only thing that will deter them because nothing else will worry them.

'It's the CEO's who are making the decisions to do nothing on improving their infrastructure so they can spend the money on more exciting projects.'

He knew of rivers receiving unlawful discharges from councils and farmers, but 'it's the cocky that gets fined for his dairy shed effluent and the council, which has a discharge a thousand times worse than his, never gets fined'.

'Because the councils are ratepayer funded they're allowed to get away with murder. The fines should be much higher and they should go into a fund that upgrades infrastructure that is causing the problem,' he said.

Allen said farmers would like to see more consistency between enforcement of farmers and councils.

Waikato Regional Council's decision this month not to lay charges over the discharge of 800,000 litres of wastewater into Taupō in July illustrated the inconsistency, he said.

'Councils seem to get away with a lot more and I think it's the consistency of approach that's missing.'

Allen believed elected councillors should be the individuals held responsible.

'You cannot get yourself out of the responsibility of health and safety … It stops at the top. That way the elected officials will hold everyone in the organisation accountable,' he said.

Taxpayers' Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke said councils should be hit with penalties even if it cost ratepayers in the short-term, as it was the only way to improve behaviour.

A spokesman for Local Government New Zealand said the organisation did not wish to comment after learning the Joy had commented on the story.

BAD WATER

* Queenstown Lakes District Council was fined $24,225 in January this year for discharging at least 912 litres of effluent into Lake Wakatipu in August, 2017. Judge Dwyer said he hoped the councils would put the fine towards environmental projects.

* Invercargill City Council was fined $30,625 in August after raw sewage was pumped into the Waihopai River in January last year. Judge Dwyer said it would be appropriate for the sum to be spent on an environmental project, but that he had no power to order that.

* Wellington Water Ltd, owned by five councils and Greater Wellington, was fined $67,500 in August for an illegal discharge from the Porirua plant in October, 2018, that saw about 5000 cubic metres of waste water and solids pour into the sea near Titahi Bay. The sum has been earmarked for environmental projects led by Ngati Toa in the Porirua Catchment.

* Clutha District Council was convicted last year for a discharge of sewage and toilet paper into the Clutha River. The council was convicted and discharged after it agreed to spend $21,000 - the equivalent of a fine - on an environmental enhancement project.

* When fining Whanganui District Council $21,000 in December for discharging wastewater into the Mowhanau Stream, Judge Dwyer received a written undertaking from Horizons chief executive that the funds would go towards the health and wellbeing of the stream.