Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
A South Wairarapa farmer has been fined $26,000 for taking water in breach of his resource consent conditions.
Greater Wellington laid charges against John Coveney back in December 2021.
He has now been convicted and fined for taking groundwater from a bore in breach of resource consent conditions, and for breaching an abatement notice requiring him to cease unauthorised extraction of the water.
In the Environment Court at Masterton on Tuesday, Judge Prudence Steven KC refused an application from Coveney for a discharge without conviction after he earlier pleaded guilty to the charges.
In passing the sentence, Judge Steven said Coveney had a "poor attitude" towards the consent conditions and a demonstrated history of non-compliance.
Greater Wellington environment group manager Lian Butcher said the council took no pleasure in pursuing convictions and only did so as a last resort.
"Coveney has a history [of] non-compliance since 2012 for which other abatement and infringement notices were issued by the regional council," Butcher said.
"When non-compliance continued, there were very few options left available to us other than court action."
Greater Wellington controls the taking and use of freshwater in accordance with the Proposed Natural Resources Plan.
