A large Hawke's Bay dairy farming operation has been fined $20,000 for breaching its consent under the Resource Management Act.
The Hawke's Bay Regional Council prosecuted the company after tests showed the concentration of nitrogen in effluent sprayed on pastures in 2005 and 2006 was more than double the legal limit.
The council's lawyer told the Environment Court in Napier there were a number of aggravating features to the offending.
They included a previous breach and a failure to address the issue of environmental contamination being related to the number of cows milked.
Judge Craig Thompson says dairy farming companies have to get the message that breaching a resource consent is not acceptable and carries with it a significant consequence.
He accepted the company didn't deliberately set out to break the law but criticised the directors' lack of action in fixing the problem.