The area in pink shows the extent of the works carried out by a North Canterbury farmer in the Waiau River bed.

A $34,000 fine handed down to a North Canterbury farmer should serve as a warning to others farming near braided rivers.

Jan Scott Rutherford also faces additional costs of remediating land after he cleared about 70 hectares of the braided Waiau River, which despite being on his property title, was not permitted under the Resource Management Act. He did so despite knowing he did not have a resource consent in place.

Rutherford, who was sentenced on August 15, pleaded guilty to six charges relating to offending including excavating or disturbing the Waiau riverbed; damaging, destroying or removing plants and plant and animal habitat; and discharge to water.

ENVIRONMENT CANTERBURY Sediment entering the waterway as a result of earthworks.

According to the sentencing notes, released Thursday, Judge John Hassan said Rutherford had planned to develop the site to make it "suitable for more intensive and productive farming". Native plants and animal habitat had been destroyed and heavy machinery used to level the area, subsequently causing the added offence of discharging to a waterway.

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With no resource consent in place, the works were unauthorised, Judge Hassan said, and Rutherford had known from previous meetings with the council that he was required to obtain consents.

ENVIRONMENT CANTERBURY A North Canterbury farmer has been fined $34,000 by Environment Canterbury for clearing 70ha of Waiau riverbed in breach of the RMA.

Rutherford had also acknowledged the area as riverbed in a previous consent application and therefore knew the council would consider his actions unlawful.

The court heard the offending came to light after a complaint that a significant area of the riverbed was being disturbed and an officer was sent to investigate.

Environment Canterbury (ECan) acting CEO Stefanie Rixecker said Rutherford knew the area was considered riverbed, and therefore subject to the responsibilities and restrictions imposed by the Act. Yet, "for his own commercial gain", he had undertaken the clearing works without any discussion with ECan.

ENVIRONMENT CANTERBURY 70ha of the riverbed has been cleared and flattened.

"This sentencing should serve as a warning to anyone doing works alongside the margins of a braided river to call us so we can provide advice on what you can and can't do in order to protect these rivers and their natural character," she said.

"We will not hesitate to take action when someone knowingly interferes with our braided rivers.

"Mr Rutherford's actions affected the natural character of the riverbed which is unacceptable, and he needed to be held accountable."

On top of the $34,000 infringement, Rutherford was ordered to remediate the land and help the river return to its natural flow, at an estimated cost of $130,000, by the end of July 2020.