Source: Environment Canterbury Regional Council
The investigator passed their findings and a recommendation to Environment Canterbury’s regulatory Enforcement Decision Panel to determine the appropriate action.
The Panel met on Friday 12 July and decided formal warnings would be issued to Peter Scott and two other parties.
Now that the affected parties have been advised of the outcome, Environment Canterbury is releasing the independent investigation report, in recognition of the high level of public interest.
The independent investigation into irrigation and land use consents is estimated to have cost $66,000.
Breaches of the Resource Management Act may result in enforcement action being taken including prosecution, an infringement notice, a record of non-compliance, an abatement notice, or a formal warning.
Given the time that had elapsed since the Council first had information on the activities (through the application for a land use consent in October 2022), along with the low level of environmental impact, the panel determined it did not meet the threshold for prosecution.
