An Auckland golf resort’s been dealt a fine of more than $86,000 for discharging raw sewage into the environment.
1 NEWS exposed the behaviour last year, with hidden camera footage showing someone at the Beachlands resort in the act of pumping wastewater out of tanks on site, towards a stream that flows out to sea.
The footage supplied to 1 NEWS caught the activity on film more than once.
A local resident believes thousands of litres were being discharged every weekend.
Auckland Council filed six charges under the Resource Management Act against Formosa (NZ) Limited, with the company pleading guilty to all counts.
In a written ruling, Environment Court Judge David Kirkpatrick said “the offending was extremely careless”.
He stated that while he does not think that the defendant or its principals intended to discharge waste to the creek, he did find that the problems with the system were not given priority.
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said he was pleased to see the company fined.
“This pollution resulted from repeated acts of negligence and caused serious damage to Auckland’s natural environment,” he said.
“The offender was made aware of the problems, but deliberately chose to ignore them,” said Mr Goff.
Documents obtained by 1 NEWS under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act indicate issues with Formosa’s wastewater system first began six years ago.
A compliance letter in 2013 shows extensive failings from Formosa, in complying with its resource consent conditions.
In an interview with 1 NEWS last year, Auckland Council’s regulatory compliance manager, Steve Pearce, said: “We... checked what they were doing and found they had a few things wrong with the system. We told them what to do, we asked them to get back to compliance, and unfortunately they haven't done that.
“There were no further visits between 2013 and 2018."
He admitted the situation was "disappointing".
"I think we could have done better there,” he said.
In a statement today, Mr Pearce said Formosa knew about the wastewater treatment problems, but it consciously ignored several abatement and infringement notices and repeatedly failed to take steps to address the issues.
Auckland Council Regulatory Committee chair Linda Cooper said that “it’s important that those who breach environmental standards and pollute our waterways are held accountable”.
Mr Goff added that he hopes the fine "will act as a deterrent to those who would choose to pollute Auckland’s waterways”.
Formosa (NZ) Limited no longer owns the land in east Auckland.
In March, the waterfront land holding, including the golf course, was acquired by the NZ Super Fund and parties associated with Russell Property Group.
Locals living near Formosa say the effluent is being pumped towards a stream.
Auckland Council says the waste water system at the resort had been fixed by the time it was sold.
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