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The Clutha District Council was fined nearly $ 500,000 for systemic failures in the management of five of its wastewater treatment plants.
The council appeared in Dunedin District Court this afternoon, where it pleaded guilty to six counts under the Resource Management Act.
The violations related to plants in Tapanui, Kaka Point, Lawrence, Owaka and Stirling.
Judge Brian Dwyer noted the “systemic mismanagement” and high degree of recklessness that led to the case going to court.
Such were the flaws, identified towards the end of 2019, that he struggled to find comparable cases.
The charges arose as the result of an Otago Regional Council (ORC) audit that found several major performance failures and resource condition violations.
Mayor Bryan Cadogan said he was deeply ashamed that this situation was allowed to occur and apologized to taxpayers, communities and the iwi.
He said that all steps were being taken to rectify the matter and attorney Michael Parker told the court today that there had been a disciplinary process due to what happened, affecting “current and former employees.”
Since the violations, the Clutha District Council said it had worked together with ORC to rectify the situation, achieve compliance and allow the plants to be successfully managed in the future.
The council, heard in court today, had contracted with City Care Limited to manage the wastewater plants in question.
However, Judge Dwyer said the council did not take any steps to ensure that the company properly managed the sites.
City Care has pleaded not guilty to 12 charges and his case will be called again next year.
The Clutha District Council was fined $ 488,253 and ordered to pay court costs of $ 130 for each charge.
