The discharge from pipes in the Waikato region. Photo: Waikato Regional Council / Supplied
A judge has found thick brown sludge, which flowed into Waikato coastal waters, was the result of unlawful runoff from mining waste.
Taharoa Ironsands Limited was convicted and fined $105,000 in the Hamilton District Court on Wednesday, for the unlawful outflow of sediment laden water into the coastal marine area in January 2023.
Waikato Regional Council took the case to court after members of the public complained about "a thick brown sludge" flowing out of pipes into the Tasman Sea.
The council investigated and found that over a two-day period approximately 1.8 million litres of sediment laden water ran into the foreshore and coastal marine area.
Waikato Regional Council's Compliance Manager Patrick Lynch said the pollution was large scale, and avoidable.
The discharge channel to the beach. Photo: Waikato Regional Council / Supplied
"Infrastructure on site was not adequately managed and in this case the court determined that the effects on the environment were serious in the short term, diminishing to moderate-to-low as time passed," he said.
Taharoa Ironsands Limited operated an industrial processing site where iron ore was extracted from sand deposits and pumped out to cargo ships, berthed three kilometres offshore, for export overseas.
A by-product of the mining process was sediment laden water that should be treated and recycled on the site in a series of settling ponds.
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