Dairy farmer fined $97,500 for unlawful effluent discharges

Waikato Regional Council brought the prosecution under the Resource Management Act. Council officers visited Clarke’s dairy operation, which had 170 cows, in September 2025 and discovered substantial accumulations of effluent on the ground.

The inspection found that effluent had been applied through irrigation to soil that was already saturated. Officers identified inadequate infrastructure, including insufficient storage, as well as shortcomings in the supervision of irrigation.

Evan Billington, the council’s investigations team leader, said nobody had overseen effluent irrigation during the three days preceding the incident, despite the wet weather and soil conditions. He described the discharges as avoidable and said Clarke had not invested sufficiently in the infrastructure and systems needed for sustainable effluent management, despite having owned and managed the farm for decades.

Billington also outlined the council’s earlier enforcement action. From 2015 to 2024, Clarke received one abatement notice, six infringement notices and five formal warnings concerning environmental breaches. According to Billington, these measures had not led Clarke to improve either his effluent system or his operating practices.

In her sentencing assessment, Judge Dickey characterised Clarke’s conduct as “highly careless”. She cited his persistent failure to prevent discharges, notwithstanding substantial intervention by the council and repeated advice that the farm’s effluent equipment was insufficient and needed upgrading.

The judge found that the offending was foreseeable and avoidable. She said Clarke could have prevented it by meeting his environmental obligations promptly.