Peter Scott was stood down from his role as chair at the regional council while an investigation took place after he said he was "operating illegally" on a South Canterbury farm. Photo: RNZ / Philippa Tolley
Environment Canterbury chairperson Peter Scott has received a formal warning following an independent investigation into his own claims he was "operating illegally" on a South Canterbury farm.
ECan chief executive Stefanie Rixecker ordered the investigation in May after Scott revealed in a NewstalkZB interview that he was not operating with formal resource consents because of processing delays.
Scott told the presenter he had been waiting six years for information from another government agency - Land Information NZ - so a land use consent could be issued for the 67-hectare farm in Kerrytown Road in Timaru.
Asked about the six-year wait, Scott replied: "In fact what I'm doing is carrying on and I'm ignoring the fact that I haven't got one and so I'm actually operating illegally and I'm the chairman of Environment Canterbury".
Rixecker said the $66,000 investigation into the farm's irrigation and land use consents was done by a Resource Management Act compliance officer from a North Island regional council, although the council has not named the person.
Gary Rooney, who bought the farm in 2023, and John Chapman, who leased the farm between 2019 and 2023, were also formally warned.
Rixecker said their findings and recommendations went to the council's Enforcement Decision Panel last Friday.
"Given the time that had elapsed since the council first had information of the activities (through the application for a land use consent in October 2022), along with the low level of environmental impact, the panel determined it did not meet the threshold for prosecution," she said.
"The panel considered the seriousness of the non-compliance activity to be at the lower end of the spectrum, meaning a warning was appropriate."
Scott voluntarily stood aside from his role while the investigation was carried out and was now free to resume the role, Rixecker said.
In a statement, Scott said he was pleased the investigation was over and confirmed his return as chair at the regional council.
"The farm was in my family for nearly 70 years. We always took great care to ensure we operated within the law, so this delay was immensely frustrating. It was a good example of how consent delays are not always clear cut which is why I mentioned it on radio," he said.
"The subsequent investigation has been time consuming and costly, but I have respected the process and co-operated fully."
Scott said the necessary land use consent for the property was being processed.
"We'd been waiting for LINZ to issue a licence to occupy a three-hectare parcel of land which formed part of the farm but was under their ownership. That's now being actioned. It's unfortunate that roadblock wasn't removed years ago."