Members of a Waikato farming family have been fined a total of $90,000 after the effluent system failed on one of their farms.
Allan, Frank and Elizabeth Crafar, and their company Hillside Limited, were convicted of 34 charges in Hamilton District Court.
As a result of the failure, an effluent holding pond on one of their farms near Hamilton leaked significant amounts of effluent and paddocks had too much effluent applied.
This led to effluent getting into a nearby stream which flows into the Waikato River.
The Waikato Regional Council says the fines are a clear sign of the intolerance which the courts and the wider community have for environmental offending that further degrades water quality.
The Crafar family says before deciding whether to appeal the decision it will need to weigh up the likely costs.
Complaints enforcement manager Rob Dragten told Checkpoint the Crafars and Hillside Limited have five convictions - more than any other dairy farmer in Waikato.
Mr Dragten says the Crafars have since installed a state-of-the-art effluent system. However, the council will continue to monitor the family's activities.
Fonterra spokesperson John Hutchings says farmers must be vigilant over resource consents and cannot afford to assume they'll remain compliant because they have been in the past.
