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Bay of Plenty Regional Council fines RMD Transport and Bunge New Zealand $8000 each over Mount Maunganui odour discharge

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council issued $8000 fines each to freight company RMD Transport Ltd and stockfeed company Bunge New Zealand Ltd after offensive odours from a bulk storage facility on Aerodrome Rd in Mount Maunganui prompted 25 complaints between June 4 and July 2. The council traced the smell to an RMD shed holding Bunge's Distiller's Dried Grains with Soluble, which had heated to around 65C and begun heating and fermenting, most likely due to moisture contamination during transport or storage. The discharge breached the Resource Management Act and the regional plan, and unauthorised discharges confirmed on June 30 breached abatement notices previously issued to both companies; each company was issued two $4000 fines for the offensive odour and the abatement notice breach. The odours affected nearby properties for several days before the material was isolated, cooled and removed from the site.