Auckland Council has filed 17 charges against three defendants relating to discharges of wastewater at the Formosa Golf Club in Beachlands, East Auckland. The defendants have been summoned to appear at the Manukau District Court on 22 January 2020
These cases are prosecuted under the RMA and can carry a maximum penalty on conviction of 2-years imprisonment for an individual or a $300,000 fine, or a $600,000 fine for a company.
Auckland Council’s Regulatory Compliance Manager, Steve Pearce said “We take a graduated approach to enforcement, however where there are serious effects from non-compliance and the council’s requests are ignored we will take offenders to court”.
“The council takes improving Auckland’s water quality very seriously and significant effort is spent in working to maintain the quality of streams and other waterways across Auckland.”
The embattled golf resort Formosa , has been in the news in the past year over accusations raw sewage has been pumped out of on-site septic tanks and disposed of in a stream that flows to the ocean.
The company was served with an abatement notice by Auckland Council on January 31 this year, concerning the toxic effluent-filled wastewater.
