Guilty plea in court case

A company has pleaded guilty in court in relation to a discharge of ammonia to land.

Polarcold Stores Limited pleaded guilty to one of two charges it was facing in the Christchurch District Court this morning.

The guilty plea is in relation to discharging contaminants, namely ammonia or ammonia contaminated water, to land in circumstances where it may enter water, which is prohibited under the Resource Management Act.

The second charge - for which no plea was entered - related to discharging contaminants, namely ammonia, to air, which is also prohibited under the Resource Management Act.

Polarcold Stores Limited will appear in court on December 19 on the second charge.

A second party faces the same charges, but that case has been adjourned until December 19.

The maximum penalties for an individual are up to two years’ imprisonment and/or a fine up to $300,000, and for the business, it is a maximum penalty of a $600,000 fine.

As the matter is before the court, we will not be commenting further.