Dairy Compliance Monitoring Shows Mixed Results

Dairy Compliance Monitoring Shows Mixed Results

Routine farm dairy effluent compliance monitoring in the eastern and western Bay of Plenty has recorded mixed results, with some catchments performing very well but continual poor performance in others.

Of the 302 dairy sites visited in late 2009, overall compliance was 93 percent. Nineteen sites (7 percent) had significant non-compliance at the first visit – the lowest in five years. All sites with significant non- compliance are followed up until the issue is addressed.

Environment Bay of Plenty Regulation Monitoring and Operations Committee Chair Malcolm Whitaker said dairy farms in the Whakatane/Waimana River catchment had performed very well, with no significant non-compliance issues observed. Farmers in the Galatea/Waiohau catchment also improved upon the 2008/09 season with only one site found to have a significant non-compliance issue.

Councillor Whitaker said that while most other catchments had shown compliance rates similar to last season, the continued poor performance of dairy farms west of the Kaituna River to Waihi Beach, including those draining into the Tauranga Harbour, was of concern.

“At 83 percent compliance, dairy farms in this area were the only catchment we monitored to perform below the 90 percent compliance mark. This is very disappointing, especially given the concerns over land use practices affecting Tauranga Harbour’s water quality and the ongoing initiatives and investment underway to protect and restore the harbour,” he said.

The latest round of compliance monitoring did not include dairy farms in the Rotorua lakes catchments, which were audited separately in August and September 2009. There are around 700 dairy farms in the Bay of Plenty region and a portion of these are monitored each year based on their previous performance.

Environment Bay of Plenty Group Manager Water Management Eddie Grogan said the regional council would not hesitate to take enforcement action with sites where significant non-compliance was identified.

“Unfortunately, the actions of a few operators were downgrading what would otherwise be a very successful year,” Mr Grogan said.

Environment Bay of Plenty staff inspected all aspects of the effluent treatment and/or disposal systems during their visits. This included inspecting effluent sumps, pipeworks and ponds, the location of stormwater diversion systems, irrigation systems and checking for obvious signs of seepage from effluent ponds into waterways.

DairyNZ, Federated Farmers, Environment Bay of Plenty, Fonterra and AgResearch agreed late last year to work together to ensure that any serious non-compliance issues on farms are urgently addressed. The parties agreed to collectively work to find solutions to key areas, including certainty of investment, effluent storage and irrigation, soil conditions and looking at new research, which may better inform decision-making.

“The aim of all the parties is to get farmers into a position where they can be certain of 100 percent compliance in future,” Mr Grogan said.

ENDS.

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