Enforcement Activity

Enforcement action may be taken in a number of situations such as in response to a serious environmental incident, alleged offence, or where there is a failure to comply with the conditions of resource consent. In these situations, Environment Canterbury’s priority will be to minimise any adverse environmental effects and then to investigate the incident.

Between April to June 2008, 32 infringement notices and 15 abatement notices were issued by Environment Canterbury in relation to environmental incidents from either consented activities or other activities. The majority of environmental incidents reported through the Pollution Hotline were unsubstantiated, mitigated, or resolved through verbal and written warnings.

Enforcement Activities
Images of Pollution to Water and Land

Read the Enforcement Activity Statistics

A range of enforcement tools are available to Environment Canterbury which include:

A verbal warning is an informal notification to an offender that an offence has occurred.
A notice of an alleged offence is a non-statutory written notice that an offence has occurred which is generally issued on site. The notice may instruct the recipient to take or desist from immediate action.
A letter of warning is a formal notification to an offender that an offence has occurred.
An Infringement Notice is a written notice of an alleged offence requiring the payment of a fine.
An Abatement Notice is a written direction requiring certain action to be taken or ceased.
An Enforcement Order is made by the Environment Court requiring action to be taken or ceased or reimbursement to be provided.
A prosecution action commences when a charge is made that an entity has committed an offence under the legislation.