After successfully challenging a penalty of $127,500, a property owner that cleared endangered plants has been ordered to contribute $80,000 to an environmental project.
In a case that highlights the potential pitfalls of alternative sentencing, a consultant has been fined $25,000 for failing to complete a court-ordered project that proved much more costly than anticipated.
The NSW Land and Environment Court has fined a farmer $112,000 and ordered him to pay environment department costs of $45,000 for unlawfully clearing native vegetation.
A property developer that undertook to donate 180 hectares of its site to a neighbouring nature reserve has been fined $32,500 and faces rehabilitation costs of up to $150,000 after a contractor illegally cleared part of the reserve.
A court has ordered Forestry NSW to pay $35,000 in penalties for hazard reduction burns that polluted waterways and contravened a threatened species licence.