Not guilty plea in court case

A company has pleaded not guilty in court in relation to a discharge of ammonia to air. 

Polarcold Stores Limited pleaded not guilty to a charge it was facing in the Christchurch District Court this morning.

The not guilty plea is in relation to discharging contaminants, namely ammonia, to air, which is prohibited under the Resource Management Act.

In November, Polarcold Stores Limited pleaded guilty to a charge in relation to discharging contaminants, namely ammonia or ammonia contaminated water, to land in circumstances where it may enter water, which is also prohibited under the Resource Management Act.

An individual also faced the same charges, and entered a not guilty plea to both charges in Court this morning.

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.

Both Polarcold Stores Limited and the individual will appear in court on February 20 for a case management review, where it is expected a timeline will be agreed as to what happens next.

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