The remains of the Environment Court building, which were buried and burnt on a Hororata dairy farm.





In a poetic twist, the fate of a man who hid the ruins of the earthquake-damaged Environment Court is now in the hands of the Environment Court.

Barry Foster, a Christchurch contractor, oversaw the demolition of the Environment Court's Christchurch premises following the 2011 earthquakes.

Instead of disposing of the rubble legally, it was alleged Foster burned and buried the rubble beneath a Hororata dairy farm in a ploy to save money.

MINISTRY OF JUSTICE The Environment Court building being demolished in April 2012.

Foster has pleaded guilty to three charges relating to the rubble, which testing showed had infected the land with contaminants and come into contact with water - offences typically prosecuted in the Environment Court. He is to be sentenced next week.

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For two years the rubble remained hidden beneath the farm. In that time, Foster filed for bankruptcy and the farm was sold.



The rubble was discovered by Environment Canterbury (ECan) investigators, who were tipped off about its existence.



In its summary of facts, ECan's prosecutor said about 15 truckloads of material were transferred to the farm, where it was dumped in a pit, burned, buried, then grassed over.



The rubble covered an area of around 2000 cubic metres, and in some places was buried four metres deep.



ECan said Foster admitted to burying the rubble and confessed it had come from the Environment Court building.



The exact amount of waste cannot be determined because it was burned, but ECan estimated the volume to be about eight tonnes, more than what would have come from the Environment Court alone.

It is understood Foster wrote a letter to judge Jane Borthwick, advising his offending had been done out of desperation, rather than malice.

SUPPLIED Piles of rubble still remain on the property, several years after it was discovered.

He could not dispose of the waste at the Burwood Recovery Plant as he had outstanding fines, and no means to pay them.

He has since donated his skills as a digger driver to community projects to show his remorse.



Foster has twice been convicted of environmental breaches - the first involving dirty gold mining on the West Coast, and the second involving ponding effluent on the same Hororata dairy farm.



NEW OWNERS UNAWARE OF WHAT LAY BENEATH THEIR PASTURE

The discovery came as a shock to the farm's new owners, who had bought the property after Foster's company went into liquidation in 2013.

A syndicate of dairy farmers bought the farm, unaware of what had been buried beneath the property until it was dug up.

One of the co-owners, who currently farms the property, declined to talk about the situation but confirmed some of the rubble was still there.

Diggers have removed large amounts of the rubble, but there is currently no plan in place to take it off the farm.

ECan said it was discussing options with the new owners.

The Environment Court will relocate to the Justice and Emergency Services precinct next year.

CHRISTCHURCH'S WASTE PROBLEM

It is amongst the most egregious cases of waste dumping in Christchurch since the quakes, a practice which has resulted in dozens facing disciplinary action for improperly disposing of waste.

It has become a popular method for contractors to save money when disposing of large volumes of demolition waste.

The Canterbury earthquakes produced 40 years worth of waste, which the city has at times struggled to contain.

It largely goes to the council-owned Burwood Recovery Resource Park, where 700,000 tonnes of waste has been store since the quakes.

It costs $120 per tonne to dump waste at the site.

Hoping to save money, some contractors choose to dispose of their own demolition waste, often against their resource consent.

Since 2014, 16 people have been caught out improperly disposing of demolition waste.

They include numerous building contractors who have been served abatement notices or fined, the largest totalling $75,000.

Other recent offences include a pile of asbestos-waste in central Waipara, roading waste dumped in bottle lake forest, and a homeowner who concealed demolition waste in their home swimming pool.

The largest fine for waste dumping was in 2013, when a fine of more than $150,000 was imposed on various groups for dumping contaminated waste on Coutts Island.

Some contractors had also been investigated for burying waste on-site instead of dumping the material.

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