Interwaste Infringement Notice for 12.01.23 Incident.pdf

10 February 2023
Wellington Office
100 Cuba Street
Te Aro, Wellington 6011
PO Box 11646
File No:  WGN110357
Manners Street
Wellington 6142
12 Broken Hill Road
T 04 384 5708
F 04 385 6960
Kenepuru
www.gw.govt.nz
Porirua 5022
Via email: [email address]
Attn:  Valentin Czibesz
Dear Valentin
Infringement Notice I888 and formal warning for objectionable odour
from Interwaste on 12 January 2023
Thank  you  for  your  letter  dated  1  February  2023,  detailing  your  explanation  of  events  that
surrounded  the  production  of  odour  beyond  Interwaste’s  boundary  on  12  January  2023.  The
information you provided was considered in reaching a decision on the outcome of the incident. This
letter now concludes the Greater Wellington Regional Council’s investigation into this matter. You
have received this letter because you directed the discharge to air on 12 January 2023.
On this occasion we have decided to issue you with an infringement notice and formal warning for
the  breaches  of  the  Resource  Management  Act  1991  (RMA)  that  you  are  responsible  for,  and  to
recover the costs of the investigation from you.
Summary of investigation
On  12  January  2023,  at  11.34am,  Greater  Wellington  received  a  notification  of  odour  allegedly
emanating  from  Interwaste.  When  the  rostered  enforcement  officer  spoke  to  the  notifier,  the
notifiers  described  the  smell  as  “a  strong  and  disgusting  toxic  waste  smell”  which  had  lasted
intermittently for between one minute and a few minutes at a time.
Around 12.30pm, the officer conducted a site visit. Standing beyond the Interwaste site boundary,
the officer detected a strong, unpleasant odour. He conducted an odour assessment from 12:34-
12:44pm, describing the odour overall as a “fleshy smell covered in bleach”. Some of his notes across
the  ten  minutes  rate  the  smell  as  4-6/6  at  times  and  describe  the  smell  as  being  “thick,  heavy,
noxiously bad, [like] vomit / off meat / chemical[s] / faeces” and “like bleach over dead meat.”
170999-971342186-24

Wellington Office
Upper Hutt
Masterton office
0800 496 734
PO Box 11646
PO Box 40847
PO Box 41
www.gw.govt.nz
Manners St, Wellington 6142
1056 Fergusson Drive
Masterton 5840
[Wellington Regional Council request email]

The officer found the odour to be objectionable, even in periods of short duration.
Breach(es) of the RMA
This discharge of odour contravenes section 15(1)(c) of the RMA which states that:
no person may discharge any contaminant […] from any industrial or trade premises into air
[…] unless the discharge is expressly allowed by a national environmental standard or other
regulations, a rule in a regional plan as well as a rule in a proposed regional plan for the same
region (if there is one), or a resource consent.
This discharge is not expressly allowed by a national environmental standard, a rule in a regional
plan or a resource consent. Interwaste’s resource consent WGN110357 [34191] allows Interwaste
to produce odour beyond its boundary, but under condition 6:
there shall be no discharges to air that are, in the opinion of an enforcement officer of the
Wellington Regional Council, noxious, dangerous, offensive or objectionable at or beyond the
legal boundary of the property from which the consent holder operates.
Infringement notice
Attached is an Infringement Notice issued under section 343C of the RMA. It is important that you
read and understand the Infringement Notice including the Summary of Rights on the reverse side,
which sets out the actions available to you if you wish to appeal this notice. Please note that if you
do not pay the infringement fee and do not deliver a letter requesting a hearing within 28 days after
the service of this notice, you will be served with a reminder notice requesting payment within a
further  28  days.  If  you  do  not  pay  the  infringement  fee  and  do  not  deliver  a  letter  requesting  a
hearing  in  respect  of  the  alleged  infringement  offence  within  28  days  after  the  service  of  the
reminder notice, the notice will be referred to the court for collection of the fee and you may become
liable to pay court costs in addition to the infringement fee.
You should be aware that if you request a hearing and you are found guilty, or plead guilty, the Court
may impose a penalty which is different from the infringement fee set out in the infringement notice.
The  penalty  imposed  by  the  Court  may  be  more,  less  or  the  same  as  the  infringement  fee.  The
penalties which the Court can impose at a hearing are in the case of a company, a fine up to $600,000
or in the case of an individual, a fine up to $300,000. You may wish to seek your own legal advice on
the matter.
Formal warning
On  this  occasion  you  have  committed  one  offence  against  the  RMA  and  have  received  only  one
infringement notice. Please ensure that you take all necessary steps to comply with your obligations
under the RMA in future as we may not be so lenient if a further breach occurs. Please also note that

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this letter will form part of your compliance history and will be considered in the event of any future
incidents.
GWRC  has  a  responsibility  to  enforce  the  RMA.  Failure  to  comply  with  the  RMA  may  result  in
enforcement  action  including  formal  warnings,  infringement  notices  or  prosecution.  More
information
on
potential
penalties
is
available
online
at
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1991/0069/latest/DLM239042.html
and
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/1999/0359/latest/whole.html#DLM300060
Cost recovery
Please find enclosed an invoice for costs incurred by GWRC in responding to a confirmed breach of
the Resource Management Act 1991. In accordance with our Resource Management Charging Policy,
a  minimum  standard  charge  of  $260.00  will  apply  to  all  environmental  incidents  inspected.
Additional charges may apply in circumstances where the incident investigation costs exceed the
minimum standard charge.
These costs are sought to ensure that the actual and reasonable costs of GWRC’s compliance work
are  shared  with  the  party  undertaking  the  non-compliant  activity.  The  details  of  this  breach  are
summarised below.
Incident details
Incident:
Odour
Date:
12.01.23
Impact:
Objectionable odour
Responsible party:
International Waste Limited (Interwaste)
Investigating officer:
Emily McDowall
Section(s) contravened:
15(1)(c)

Itemised costs
Standard charge:
$1000.00
Materials:
$N/A
Other:
$270.00 cost recovery (for incident attendance)
Subtotal:
$1270.00
GST (15%)
$40.50 (charged on the cost recovery only)
Total including GST:
$1310.50
These costs are being recovered in accordance with section 150 of the Local Government Act 2002.
Please note that if payment is not received within 28 days after 10 February 2023, GWRC reserves
the right to refer the matter to a collection agency.

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If you have any questions about this matter please email me at [email address] or call
me on 021-191-9689.
Yours sincerely

Emily McDowall
Resource Advisor
Environmental Regulation

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Notice number:  I 888

Resource Management Infringement Notice
(Issued under the authority of section 343C of the Resource Management Act 1991)

Enforcement authority

Enforcement officer:  Emily McDowall
Wellington Regional Council

Authority:  A  warrant  941  issued  by  Wellington  Regional
PO Box 11646, Wellington 6142
Council on 2 December 2019 and delegated authority

TO:
International Waste Limited (Interwaste)

12 Broken Hill Road, Kenepuru

For:  Valentin Czibesz, Wellington Operations Manager, Interwaste

You are alleged to have committed an infringement offence against the Resource Management Act 1991, as
follows:

Details of alleged infringement offence
Section of Resource Management Act 1991 contravened: section 15(1)(c) being an offence against section
338(1)(a) of the Resource Management Act 1991.

Nature of infringement:
Objectionable odour beyond the site boundary

This discharge contravenes section 15(1)(c) which states that: no person may discharge any contaminant […]
from  any  industrial  or  trade  premises  into  air  […]  unless  the  discharge  is  expressly  allowed  by  a  national
environmental standard or other regulations, a rule in a regional plan as well as a rule in a proposed regional
plan for the same region (if there is one), or a resource consent.

This discharge is not expressly allowed by a national environmental standard, a rule in a regional plan or a
resource consent.

You  have  received  this  notice  because  you  are  the  Wellington  Operations  Manager  at  Interwaste,  the
business from which the odour emanated.

Location:  12 Broken Hill Road

Kenepuru

Porirua 5022

Date: 12 January 2023

Approximate time: 12.36pm

The fee for this infringement is $1460.50 including GST

Payment of infringement fee
The infringement fee is payable to the enforcement authority within 28 days after 10 February 2023

The infringement fee is payable to the enforcement authority
at 100 Cuba Street, Te Aro, Wellington  or  PO Box 11646, Wellington 6142

Payments  by  cheque  should  be  made  out  to  Greater  Wellington  Regional  Council  and  crossed  "Not
Transferable".

.....................................
Signature of Enforcement Officer

Important
Please read summary of rights printed overleaf

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resource Management Infringement Notice

Notice no:  I 888

Name:  International Waste Limited (Interwaste)
Invoice no:  Invoice Number

Electronic Payment may be made to Bank A/c 06-0582-0104781-00
Payment made:  $ _________
Please put our invoice number in the reference field.

Date:  ________________
For manual payments please forward this slip and payment to:
Greater Wellington Regional Council
PO Box 11646, Wellington 6142

PLEASE RETURN THIS PORTION WITH YOUR PAYMENT

Summary of rights

Note:   if, after reading this summary, you do not understand anything in it, you should consult a
lawyer immediately.
Payment
1.
If you pay the infringement fee within 28 days after the service of this notice, no further
action will be taken against you in respect of this infringement offence. Payments should be
made to the enforcement authority at the address shown on the front of this notice.
Note:   if, under section 21 (3A) or (3C) (a) of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957, you enter
or have entered into a time to pay arrangement with an informant in respect of an
infringement fee payable by you, paragraphs 3 and 4 below do not apply and you are
not entitled either to request a hearing to deny liability or to ask the Court to consider
any submissions (as to penalty or otherwise) in respect of the infringement.
Further action
2.
If you wish to raise any matter relating to circumstances of the alleged offence, you should
do so by writing a letter and delivering it to the enforcement authority at the address shown
on the front of this notice within 28 days after the service of a reminder notice in respect of
the offence.
3.
If  you  deny  liability  and  wish  to  request  a  hearing  in  the  District  Court  in  respect  of  the
alleged offence, you must, within 28 days after the service of a reminder notice in respect of
the offence, deliver, to the enforcement authority at the address shown on the front page
of this notice a letter requesting a Court hearing in respect of the offence. The enforcement
authority will then, if it decides to commence court proceedings in respect of the offence,
serve you with a notice of hearing setting out the place and time at which the matter will be
heard by the Court.
Note:   if the Court finds you guilty of the offence, costs will be imposed in addition to any
penalty.
4.
If you admit liability in respect of the alleged offence but wish to have the Court consider
submissions  as  to  penalty  or  otherwise,  you  must,  within  28  days  after  the  service  of  a
reminder  notice  in  respect  of  the  offence,  deliver,  to  the  enforcement  authority  at  the
address shown on the front page of this notice a letter requesting a hearing in respect of the
offence  AND  in  the  same  letter  admit  liability  in  respect  of  the  offence  AND  set  out  the
submissions that you would wish to be considered by the Court. The enforcement authority
will then, if it decides to commence court proceedings in respect of the offence, file your
letter with the Court. There is no provision for an oral hearing before the Court if you follow
this course of action.
Note:   costs will be imposed in addition to any penalty.
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Non-payment of fee
5.
If you do not pay the infringement fee and do not deliver a letter requesting a hearing within
28 days after the service of this notice, you will be served with a reminder notice (unless the
enforcement authority decides otherwise).
6.
If you do not pay the infringement fee and do not deliver a letter requesting a hearing in
respect of the alleged infringement offence within 28 days after the service of the reminder
notice, you will become liable to pay costs in addition to the infringement fee (unless the
enforcement authority decides not to commence court proceedings against you).
Defence
7.
You will have a complete defence against proceedings relating to the alleged offence if the
infringement fee is paid to the enforcement authority at the address shown on the front
page of this notice within 28 days after the  service of a reminder notice in respect of the
offence. Late payment or payment made to any other address will not constitute a defence
to proceedings in respect of the alleged offence.
8.
(1)
This paragraph describes a defence additional to the one described in paragraph 7.
This defence is available if you are charged with an infringement offence against any
of sections 9, 12, 13, 14, and 15 of the Resource Management Act 1991.
(2)
You must prove either of the following to have the defence:
(a)
that—
(i)
the  action  or  event  to  which  the  infringement  notice  relates  was
necessary for  the  purposes  of  saving  or protecting  life  or  health,  or
preventing serious damage to property, or avoiding an actual or likely
adverse effect on the environment; and
(ii)
your conduct was reasonable in the circumstances; and
(iii)
you  adequately  mitigated  or  remedied  the  effects  of  the  action  or
event after it occurred; or
(b)
that—
(i)
the action or event to which the infringement notice relates was due
to  an  event  beyond  your  control,  including  natural  disaster,
mechanical failure, or sabotage; and
(ii)
you could not reasonably have foreseen or provided against the action
or event; and
(iii)
you  adequately  mitigated  or  remedied  the  effects  of  the  action  or
event after it occurred.
(3)
Subparagraph (2) does not apply unless—
(a)
you deliver a written notice to the enforcement agency; and
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(b)
in the notice, you—
(i)
state that you intend to rely on subparagraph (2)(a) or (b); and
(ii)
specify the facts that support your reliance on subparagraph (2)(a) or
(b); and
(c)
you deliver the notice—
(i)
within 7 days after you receive the infringement notice; or
(ii)
within a longer period allowed by a District Court.
(4)
If you do not comply with subparagraph (3), you may ask the District Court to give
you leave to rely on subparagraph (2)(a) or (b).
8A
(1)
This paragraph describes a defence additional to those described in paragraphs 7 and
8. This defence is available if—
(a)
you are—
(i)
a principal; or
(ii)
an employer; or
(iii)
the owner of a ship; and
(b)
you may be liable for an offence alleged to have been committed by—
(i)
your agent; or
(ii)
your employee; or
(iii)
the person in charge of your ship.
(2)
If you are a natural person, including a partner in a firm, you must prove either of the
following to have the defence:
(a)
that you—
(i)
did not know, and could not reasonably be expected to have known,
that the offence was to be, or was being, committed; and
(ii)
took all reasonable steps to remedy any effects of the act or omission
giving rise to the offence; or
(b)
that you took all reasonable steps to—
(i)
prevent the commission of the offence; and
(ii)
remedy any effects of the act or omission giving rise to the offence.
(3)
If you are a not a natural person (for example, you are a body corporate), you must
prove either of the following to have the defence:
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(a)
that—
(i)
neither  the  directors  (if  any)  nor  any  person  involved  in  your
management knew, or could reasonably be expected to have known,
that the offence was to be, or was being, committed; and
(ii)
you  took  all  reasonable  steps  to  remedy  any  effects  of  the  act  or
omission giving rise to the offence; or
(b)
that you took all reasonable steps to—
(i)
prevent the commission of the offence; and
(ii)
remedy any effects of the act or omission giving rise to the offence.
8B
(1)
This  paragraph  describes  a  defence  additional  to  the  defences  described  in
paragraphs  7,  8,  and  8A.  This  defence  is  available  if  you  are  charged  with  an
infringement  offence  against  section  15A(1)(a)  of  the  Resource  Management  Act
1991 (relating to dumping waste or other matter in the coastal marine area from a
ship, aircraft, or offshore installation).
(2)
In order to have the defence, you must prove all of the following in relation to the
act or omission that is alleged to constitute the offence:

(a)
that the act or omission was necessary—
(i)
to save or prevent danger to human life; or
(ii)
to avert a serious threat to any ship, aircraft, or offshore installation;
or
(iii)
in the case of force majeure caused by stress of weather, to secure the
safety of any ship, aircraft, or offshore installation; and
(b)
that  the  act  or  omission  was  a  reasonable  step  to  take  in  all  the
circumstances; and
(c)
that  the  act  or  omission  was  likely  to  result  in  less  damage  than  would
otherwise have occurred; and
(d)
that the act or omission was taken or omitted in such a way that the likelihood
of damage to human or marine life was minimised.
8C
(1)
This  paragraph  describes  a  defence  additional  to  the  defences  described  in
paragraphs  7,  8,  8A,  and  8B.  This  defence  is  available  if  you  are  charged  with  an
infringement offence against section 15B(1) or (2) of the Resource Management Act
1991 (relating to certain discharges of a harmful substance, a contaminant, or water
in the coastal marine area from a ship or offshore installation).
(2)
You must prove either of the following to have the defence:
(a)
that  the  harmful  substance,  contaminant,  or  water  was  discharged  for  the
purpose of securing the safety of a ship or an offshore installation, or for the
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purpose of saving life and that the discharge was a reasonable step to effect
that purpose; or
(b)
that the harmful substance, contaminant, or water escaped as a consequence
of  damage  to  a  ship  or  its  equipment  or  to  an  offshore  installation  or  its
equipment, and—
(i)
such damage occurred without your negligence or deliberate act; and
(ii)
as  soon  as  practicable  after  that  damage  occurred,  all  reasonable
steps  were  taken  to  prevent  the  escape  of  the  harmful  substance,
contaminant, or water or, if any such escape could not be prevented,
to minimise any escape.
Queries/correspondence
9.
When writing or making payment of an infringement fee, please indicate -
(a)
The date of the infringement offence; AND
(b)
The infringement notice number; AND
(c)
The identifying number of each alleged offence and the course of action you
are taking in respect of it (if this notice sets out more than 1 offence and you
are not paying all the infringement fees for all the alleged offences); AND
(d)
Your address for replies (if you are not paying all the infringement fees for all
the alleged offences).

Full  details  of  your  rights  and  obligations  are  set  out  in  sections  341  to  343D  of  the  Resource
Management Act 1991 and section 21 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957.
Note:  all  payments,  all  queries,  and  all  correspondence  regarding  this  infringement  must  be
directed to the enforcement authority at the address shown.

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