Earlier today, the Environment Court in New Plymouth on New Zealand's North Island slapped Fonterra with a NZ$192,000 penalty for a single breach of the Resource Management Act.
In October 2014, Fonterra pleaded not guilty to a charge - brought by the Taranaki Regional Council in July 2014 - of discharging odorous compounds into the air in Eltham between March 6 and May 16 2014.
The charge related to the odour created by 3m litres of buttermilk and around 150,000 litres of contaminated whole milk dumped by Fonterra at Eltham Waste Water Treatment plant.
Fonterra was, however, found guilty by the country's Environment Court in July 2015 and appeared for sentencing today.
In a statement sent to DairyReporter.com, Robert Spurway, managing director of global operations, Fonterra, said it regrets "the impact this issue has had on the Eltham community."
"We take our obligations under the Resource Management Act seriously," Spurway said. "Sustainable dairying is one of the core tenets of our business and we set high environmental standards for ourselves."
"Since the 2013 season, Fonterra has taken a number of steps to ensure the circumstances that brought about the need for disposal are not repeated. This includes adding more processing capacity as well as more robust by-product disposal options where required."
"Our focus now is on working closely with our local farmers, the council, and the Eltham community to ensure we're meeting their expectations for the coming season and into the future," he added.
Residential odour complaints
In September 2013, South Taranaki Regional Council agreed to accept a quantity of buttermilk from Fonterra to help it deal with excess production.
In total, just over 3m litres of buttermilk and around 150,000 litres of contaminated whole milk were transported from Fonterra's nearby Hawera processing facility to Eltham.
Residential odour complaints began in late October 2013 and continued in 2014.
In June 2014, South Taranaki Regional Council said the buttermilk and contaminated whole milk accepted from Fonterra had been removed from Eltham Waste Water Treatment plant.
Later that year, in September 2014, it pleaded guilty to one charge of discharging contaminants under the Resource Management Act.
In November 2014, it was fined NZ$115,000 (US$76,000, €69,000).