A prosecution of a land developer under the Resource Management Act by Auckland Council has resulted in a conviction and fine. It came about after repeated warnings and enforcement action by the Council.
The land developer was fined $48,750 following unauthorised earthworks and failures to control sediment discharges on Auckland's North Shore.
The company was granted resource consent back in November 2020 with conditions that included proper erosion and sediment management, stabilisation of bare areas and prevention of discharges onto public roads or neighbouring land.
However, council inspections found ongoing non-compliance issues, despite repeated warnings and issuance of an abatement notice. Sediment from the sites flowed onto neighbouring properties and into waterways.
The court rejected the company's claim that it was only minimally responsible because contractors had carried out the work. The judge found that as the landowner and an experienced property developer, the company had "turned a blind eye" to what was happening on its land and failed to take reasonable steps to prevent harm. "It would not have taken a great deal of effort to visit and check", the judge said.
Note that RMA fines can no longer be insured under statutory liability insurance. However, the legal costs to defend a prosecution can be, and these are often more substantial than the fine itself.
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