Russell Island man Ian Larkman found guilty of 18 environmental charges for faulty sewage plant

The worst case of environmental contamination from leaking sewage seen by a barrister has attracted massive fines for an “arrogant”, unrepentant director in Redlands.

A vocally unrepentant, “arrogant” and “belligerent” company owner has been slugged with nearly $400,000 in fines and legal costs after exposing a “vulnerable” Moreton Bay island community to “exceptionally high” levels of illicit effluent concentration from a faulty sewage treatment plant.

According to magistrate Zachary Sarra the evidence was “very clear, concise, and overwhelming” with “little to no defence” offered by the company owner who refused legal counsel.

Appearing at Cleveland Magistrates Court on June 16 Canaipa Developments Pty Ltd director Ian Larkman of Russell Island was found guilty of 18 offences under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 and the Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018.

Larkman, who owns and runs a shopping centre on High St on Russell Island, was found guilty of failure to ensure disposal of contents of an onsite sewage facility to common effluent drainage, failure to ensure a corporation complies with the act, failure to ensure waste and water from toilet or soil fixture is discharged into on-site sewage facility and more.

Canaipa Developments Pty Ltd was found guilty on a string of similar charges.

Ian Larkman (right) leaves Cleveland Magistrates Court after being found guilty of 18 charges under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 and the Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018. Picture: Marcel Baum

A defiant Larkman could be heard uttering “perjury is a crime” to the prosecution at one stage and remarked to the court, “I am not remorseful because I have done nothing wrong”.

The court heard Larkman made little to no attempt to fix a faulty sewage system despite raw sewage “bubbling up” from underneath a carpark, attracting dogs licking at the human waste.

Shoppers and children had to walk through “pungent sewage” while of the effluent ran into a nearby waterway and was directed into a stormwater pipe, the court was told.

Tests would confirm colony-forming units – a unit used in microbiology to estimate the number of viable bacteria or fungal cells – from leaking effluent as high as 100,000 were found in a nearby creek, described in court documents as “a huge cause of concern”.

Acting on behalf of Redland City Council (RCC) barrister for the prosecution Keith Wylie described Larkman’s negligence as the worst he had seen.

“Apart from some sort of major Exxon Valdez (oil spill) type approach when it comes to the offence of releasing a prescribed water contaminant to a stormwater network it is difficult to see a more egregious breach,” Mr Wylie said.

“I want to avoid hyperbole but in my eight years at the bar, and prior to the bar I was a solicitor at City Legal, I have never seen a case where there is such egregious conduct that is so indefensible and yet with a complete absence of remorse. I will say no more.”

Ian Larkman out the front of his Russell Island shopping centre. Temporary toilet facilities at the High Street location also shown.

The court heard issues with sewage at the shopping centre dated back as far as 2009.

Larkman “knew” the sewage plant ought to have been replaced by 2017 and refused to do so for the “financial gain” inherent in avoiding its costs, according to the prosecution.

Russell Island and its community suffered the consequences, the court heard.

“What is more difficult in this instance is the vulnerability of not just Russell Island but all of the southern Moreton Bay island route,” Mr Wylie said.

“This is the only shopping centre where between 3000 – 5000 people can purchase their groceries.

“Many of these people are vulnerable financially and due to their dislocation to the mainland and yet were put at harm.”

A defiant Larkman swore innocence on all counts, accused RCC of interfering with his attempts to improve the plant and claimed he was denied access to certain witnesses. A claim swiftly shot down by the prosecution and confirmed by Magistrate Zachary Sarra as incorrect.

The defendant was also adamant he would be vindicated in an appeal of the matter and described a winning track record at court against the council.

In 12 matters against RCC Larkman said he had been victorious in all and had been awarded damages on six occasions.

“I wanted to put these people on the stand and I couldn’t,” he said.

“It is a denial of justice as I see it; I haven’t been given a fair trial here.

“Because I know the truth and the truth will come out in the appeal.”

The company owner in a previous roles as a Ray White Russell Island estate agent.

A possible maximum fine of over $1 million did little to fluster the business owner.

“I am representing myself because I have no money, so if you fine me it will go on receivership,” he said.

In closing, Magistrate Sarra acknowledged Larkman’s concerns but confirmed the case against him was “overwhelming”.

“There is clear evidence of his failure to take command and replace the antiquated, depleted, dysfunctional and dilapidated sewage treatment facility,” Magistrate Sarra noted in court documents.

“Mr Larkman’s apathy toward developing strategies to prevent unlawful discharge of pungent illicit effluent, particularly those samples containing exceptionally high levels of colony-forming units, into the community has conceivably exposed the Russell Island community to serious health risks.”

Larkman was personally fined $58,000 and fined $270,000 as director of Canaipa Developments Pty Ltd. Costs totalling $70,000 for legal fees were also awarded with no convictions recorded.

In a statement after the trial a RCC spokesman said Larkman had nine months to fix the sewage treatment plant.

“Today’s verdict follows a December 2020 Planning and Environment Court Order which requires Canaipa Developments to replace the current sewage treatment facility with a state government-approved facility within nine months (by September 2021),” a spokesman said.

“At the request of council, interim orders have been put in place to allow the shopping centre to continue to operate and provide essential services to the people of Russell Island while being serviced by temporary measures, infrastructure and effluent removal services.”