Forest companies charged with breaches of the Resource Management Act, for alleged offending that contributed huge amounts of forestry waste to devastating flooding during extreme weather events of June 2018, have been called at a scheduling fixture. Source: Gisborne Herald
Legal counsel for the companies appeared via AV link before Environment Court judge Brian Dwyer who was in Gisborne on Monday to sentence Aratu Forests Limited, in respect of breaches it admitted.
Aratu Forestry Limited, previously Hikurangi Forest Farms Limited, on Monday was fined a total of NZ$379,500 on two charges brought by Gisborne District Council under the Resource Management Act of discharging contaminants — forestry waste and silt — to land in circumstances that enabled it to enter water.
The company was also ordered to pay three victims a total of NZ$125,000 reparation for emotional harm.
Gisborne District Council brought prosecutions under the Resource Management Act against 10 forest companies in the wake of the 2018 storms.
Juken New Zealand was the first of the companies to plead guilty and was sentenced by Judge Dwyer last November.
This week another of the companies, DNS Forest Products 2009 Limited, confirmed its guilty plea to the same charge faced by Aratu and Juken: that it discharged contaminants — forestry waste and silt — in circumstances where the material could enter water.
DNS is the consent holder for Makere Forest, in Waimata, where Uttings Bridge was damaged by floodwaters laden with forestry waste, leading to the closure of Waimata Road, inconvenience to people north of the bridge, and considerable repair costs for the council.
After DNS’s guilty plea, the council withdrew charges against three companies also operating in Makere under that same consent — A and R Logging Limited, Logic Forest Solutions, and South Pacific Forestry Holdings Limited.
Four companies maintain not guilty pleas to charges they face. P F Olsen Limited and Permanent Forests Limited have elected a judge-alone trial, a date for which will be set at a call over of the case on March 25. Ernslaw One Limited and Timbergrow Limited have elected a jury trial, a date for which is also yet to be set.
