Landfill case update
18 October 2021
Environment Judge Jeff Smith has reserved a sentencing decision relating to a leachate breach at the Rotorua district landfill in April 2017.
Rotorua Lakes Council (RLC) pleaded guilty to one charge of discharging a contaminant, namely stormwater contaminated with leachate, onto land in circumstances which may result in that contaminant entering a tributary of the Tūreporepo stream, in breach of the council’s resource consent.
Part one of the District Court sentencing hearing was held last week and was adjourned part-heard, resuming today with the judge hearing further submissions from counsel for RLC and discussing, with both counsel for the Crown and for RLC, starting points and matters to be taken into consideration for sentencing.
The charge for which RLC is being sentenced was the sole remaining count of six initially brought against RLC by Bay of Plenty Regional Council (BOPRC), following a major weather event in 2017 that saturated the landfill and resulted in an overflow of leachate onto land at the site which then entered a stormwater pond that discharged to the stream.
Two charges relating to green waste were subsequently dismissed in 2018, two others related to green waste were dismissed in 2020, and a fifth count was withdrawn by the Crown after RLC agreed to plead guilty to the remaining charge.
In reserving his decision today, Judge Smith said there were a number of matters he wanted to consider and indicated he hoped to be able to deliver his decision within a month.
Judge Smith indicated his thinking was that any reparation ordered would go towards a mana whenua trust, a concept discussed during the first part of the sentencing hearing, with a view to funding from council for such a trust being used for restoration projects within the catchment.
The judge suggested it would be useful for the Crown, RLC and mana whenua to hold preliminary discussions relating to the formation of a trust prior to delivering his sentencing decision.
11 October 2021
A District Court sentencing hearing over a leachate breach at the Rotorua district’s landfill in April 2017 has been adjourned part-heard today.
Rotorua Lakes Council (RLC) pleaded guilty to one charge of discharging a contaminant, namely stormwater contaminated with leachate, onto land in circumstances which may result in that contaminant entering a tributary of the Tūreporepo stream, in breach of the council’s resource consent.
It was the sole remaining count of six initially brought against RLC by Bay of Plenty Regional Council (BOPRC), following a one-in-200 year weather event in 2017 that saturated the landfill and resulted in an overflow of leachate onto land at the site which then entered a stormwater pond that discharged to the stream.
Two charges relating to green waste were dismissed in 2018, two others related to green waste were dismissed in 2020, and a fifth count was withdrawn by the Crown after RLC agreed to plead guilty to the charge for which it is being sentenced.
Environment Judge Jeff Smith has adjourned the sentencing hearing part-heard with a date for the conclusion of the hearing to be confirmed.
Today victim impact statements were read out by mana whenua representatives who were part of a restorative justice process prior to sentencing. In response to questions from the judge they expressed support for establishing a kaitiaki group or trust, and reparation from the court case being paid to that group or trust for its work.
Counsel for RLC said the council acknowledged leaching to land at the landfill happened, but that it was in the context of an extreme weather event that was outside of its control and could not have been foreseen. The storm was described by experts as a one in 200-year event and was the same event that caused major flooding at Edgecumbe.
The level of physical adverse effect on the receiving environment is unknown, however the council acknowledges the impact on the spiritual and cultural values of the waterway and on mana whenua and apologised to mana whenua representatives as part of the restorative justice process, Counsel said.
Counsel for the Crown contended that the breach was foreseeable and could only be attributed to RLC’s failure to address on-site leachate management at the landfill, citing previous breaches.
The landfill site has since been transitioned from an open face tip to being capped and sealed and now operates as a waste transfer station.