A Northland farmer has been fined nearly $60,000 for breaching animal effluent regulations.
Peter Thomas Flood was sentenced in the Auckland District Court for discharging effluent from two feedpads into tributaries of the Kaumangatia River.
Flood, who owns the Ruawai property, pleaded guilty to three charges laid by the Northland Regional Council in 2009.
The sentencing judge said the feedpads were badly constructed and the case reflects the poor compliance statistics of dairy farms in the region.
He says Flood, as the owner, is ultimately responsible for the farm's operation.
