Illegal dumping results in fine

A Christchurch demolition company has been fined $6000 and ordered to pay costs to Environment Canterbury after being found guilty of dumping demolition waste into a pit at a farm in Yaldhurst. The farm was located above an unconfined aquifer, and there was no resource consent allowing the dumping of the demolition waste at that location.

J Mould Demolition pleaded guilty to a charge of illegally dumping waste material on the property of Andrew John Pattullo at 81-83 Conservators Road, Yaldhurst, west of Christchurch. The offences occurred on July 7, 2009 and contravened sections 15(1)(d) and 338 of the Resource Management Act 1991.

On July 7, 2009, Environment Canterbury officers investigated a report that trucks containing waste had entered Mr Pattullo’s property and intercepted a truck belonging to J Mould Demolition. The driver admitted that he had deposited three truckloads of demolition material earlier that day. Upon inspecting the property, officers observed that the pit where it had been dumped contained treated timber and other waste material which Mr Pattullo admitted had been deposited on his land by the demolition company. Mr Pattullo was prosecuted and fined for unauthorised discharges to air and land in late 2009 in a separate case.

The sentencing judgement was delivered in the Christchurch District Court on June 17, 2010. Judge Jackson said that the area is sensitive due to its proximity to groundwater and the significance to drinking water supply. He also said that the dumping was deliberate and the fact that Mr Pattullo had prepared the dump site showed that the offence was planned, possibly to avoid landfill disposal fees. The Judge said that as the dumping of the concrete, timber and treated timber had the potential to affect the water supply, he could not regard the offence as minor.

The Judge accepted that under the RMA, where an offence is committed by an employee, the company is liable in the same manner. He said that Mr Jonathon Mould, as managing director, had negotiated with Mr Pattullo to accept the materials onto his land and supplied a digger so Mr Pattullo could bury it. The Judge also said that the company’s management was inadequate because the systems in place failed to control the risk of employees performing tasks incorrectly.

The Judge noted that the company had no previous convictions and had co-operated with Environment Canterbury’s investigation. The company was fined $7000 and ordered to pay just over $2000 in investigation costs, court costs of $130 and solicitors’ costs of $133. Ninety percent of the fines are paid to the regional council.

“There is an expectation within the community that waste material and refuse will be disposed of in the proper manner and not dumped on private land so people can avoid paying the costs of disposal at a safe facility,” said Kim Drummond, Environment Canterbury director regulation.

“In this case, the information provided came from the public and we appreciate this level of community support. Environment Canterbury encourages residents to report any illegal dumping activity to the Pollution Hotline so we can prevent incidents such as this becoming a trend.”