Business owner Stan Semenoff did not light the fires himself but a judge says his culpability is at the highest level.
Photo: RNZ / Lois Williams

Former Whangārei mayor and deputy chairman of the Northland Regional Council Stan Semenoff has been convicted and fined for two air pollution breaches.

Semenoff was found guilty after a trial and was sentenced this morning, for discharging contaminants while burning waste outdoors and burning tyres in June 2020.

He was ordered to pay $15,520 and $130 in court costs.

The wealthy trucking businessman did not light the fires himself – one of his staff illegally burnt dumped rubbish from members of the public that had accumulated onsite in Raumanga over two years.

But the Northland Regional Council argued that Semenoff’s culpability was at the “highest” level.

Judge Prudence Steven said Semenoff failed to ensure staff knew the Resource Management Act rules, and didn’t have policies and procedures for outdoor burning, when he should have.

She said he “placed too much reliance on visibility to be onsite at all times to oversee day-to-day operations”.

“That was certainly a highly risky, if not careless approach to have taken, given that there have been historical incidents of unlawful burning of waste on Mr Semenoff’s sites, albeit that there were no such incidents since 2014.”

She said he was aware of the rules and had alternative arrangements in place at his business so burning waste wasn’t needed.

Judge Steven accepted the offending “would not likely have occurred had Mr Semenoff not been incapacitated by the strokes he had suffered”.

She said his staff had since been made aware of outdoor burning rules but prior to this, “the employee responsible for lighting the fire admitted that this practice was common on the site and was unaware of the regional council rules on burning, although he had contacted Fire and Emergency on that morning [of offending] to seek approval to light the fire”.

Semenoff applied for a discharge without conviction, stating he was fearful a conviction would severely diminish his legacy and reputation.

The application was opposed by the Northland Regional Council and rejected by Judge Steven.

She acknowledged Semenoff had no prior convictions and had been “very generous in the time and financial resource he has devoted to community activities, including through the support of local sports, local education, [and] local arts in the town generally”.

Semenoff has received a Northland Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award.

The judge accepted there would always be stigma with a conviction, but she said “it must also be borne in mind that convictions for offences under the Resource Management Act do not carry overtones of dishonesty or immorality or violence, they are regulatory offences”.