AWARD-WINNING FARMER CONVICTED - $65,000 fine for river of sludge | Northland News | Local News in Northland

A former Dairy Farmer of the Year has been slapped with a record $65,000 fine for polluting a stream with a thick black tide of animal waste.

The Northland Regional Council took the prosecution against Michael Griffiths, who farms at Aranga, 35km north of Dargaville.

Mr Griffiths, his company Pendre Farms and contractor Gregory Dassler - whose earthworks led to the discharge - were hit with the fine, the biggest for dairy farm effluent in Northland, in the Environment Court in Whangarei.

Mr Griffiths had earlier pleaded guilty to two counts of discharging effluent into the Waitapu Stream, which flows into the Kaihu River, on August 20 and 27 last year.

After the sentencing, Mr Griffiths said the discharge was the result of a lot of circumstances, but also his own inaction.

"You do the crime, you pay the fine. That's how it is. I can't blame anyone," he said.

Mr Griffiths was named Northland's top dairy farmer in 2002 but has been cited six times since then for breaking rules on effluent discharge.

The volume of effluent that overflowed from his ponds is unknown, but 4.5km of the Waitapu Stream and five properties were affected.

Downstream farmer Boyd Parker criticised the council for allowing the situation to get worse over the years, despite repeated visits to the farm.

"I don't think they're monitoring these things very well ... Most of the farmers spend a lot of time and energy doing the right thing, and it takes one or two people to ruin their reputation."

Valona Farms owner Phillip Vallance noticed the stream had turned "blacky-brown" on August 24. "You definitely knew it was sewage," he said.

In her submission to the court on Tuesday, council lawyer Karenza de Silva said Mr Griffiths failed to comply with the October 2005 abatement notice calling for improvements to the ponds' effluent system. She called for a fine that reflected the severity of the offences, saying Mr Griffiths owned four farms and 1140 cows, with an annual income of at least $2.4 million.

His lawyer Neil Beadle said Mr Griffiths was fixing the ponds when neighbours complained and he took the wrong options to address the problem.

Judge Laurie Newhook ordered Mr Griffiths and his company to pay $25,000 for the first offence and $40,000 for the second. Mr Dassler was fined $1500. Judge Newhook ordered that 90 per cent of the fines be paid to the council.

• According to the regional council, close to one in four dairy farmers are breaching the effluent rules. Of Northland's 1100 milk suppliers, 240 discharge waste without following council procedures or resource consent conditions. However, many farms have cleaned up their act - 11 farms in Te Kopuru/Baylys area that were "significant non-compliers" in 2007 have since upgraded their systems. Those improvements are partly offset by systems failing in winter's extreme weather or new owners overloading effluent systems by boosting cow numbers.