Environmental advocates say a gold mining company should have been fined for polluting a stream on the West Coast.
OceanaGold has pleaded guilty to one charge under the Resource Management Act and will undertake restorative justice.
The company has been served 15 infringement notices over the past five years for discharging sediments into waterways near the Reefton opencast mine.
It says the problem has been fixed and it will work out the details of the restorative justice settlement with the West Coast Regional Council.
The Green Party says that amounts to a slap on the wrist, while Forest and Bird conservation advocate Quentin Duthie says a fine would have been appropriate as a deterrent.
