Friday, March 29, 2024

OCD fined $137k for ‘nauseating’ factory smell

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Open Country Dairy has been convicted and fined $137,500 for discharging objectionable odour from its Waharoa factory near Matamata.
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The ruling by Judge Jeff Smith at the Hamilton District Court also saw the company ordered to place $120,000 in a trust for the community as reparation for the “severe” impacts the odour had on the local community.

It is the fifth environmental prosecution against Open Country Dairy since 2007.

Between January 3 and February 23 last year, Waikato Regional Council received 109 complaints from 43 separate local businesses and residents in Waharoa.

Judge Smith considered the impacts of the odour as “severe, particularly for those people who may have had respiratory conditions already”.

Victims described the odour as nauseating, in some cases triggering retching and vomiting, causing some to seek medical attention.

Some residents reported having to keep their homes and workplaces closed during the hottest time of the year. Others reported having to clean clothing and furnishings that the odour had permeated.

Complainants also reported associated effects, such as feeling isolated because they felt they could not go outside, and economic impacts from fewer customers visiting local shops.

During the prosecution, the company suggested a trust be established for the community, however, the court set the amount of $120,000 that is to be paid into it. The trustees comprise community members and a representative from Waikato Regional Council.

The purpose of the trust includes assisting and promoting projects and facilities in the community, supporting people and organisations who operate to relieve poverty or advance education, and payment of actual out-of-pocket expenses for community members from the offending.

Judge Smith described aspects of the company’s infrastructure as “woefully inadequate” and that “the actions of the company were reckless and bordering on deliberate”.

“The community has been made to put up with some pretty terrible experiences over the last decade or so from the operation of this company,” Waikato Regional Council compliance manager Patrick Lynch said.

“As a result, this council has had to put a disproportionate amount of regulatory resources into trying to get positive behaviour change from this company.

“We are aware that there has been significant investment in infrastructure on the site, which does bode well for the future and in particular for the community.

“We sincerely hope this is the last time there are any avoidable environmental incidents that require this company to be brought before the courts.”

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