Orange winemaker penalised $35,000 for dumping toxic chemicals in drain

AN Orange winemaker has been fined $35,000 in penalties and court costs after he was found guilty of emptying toxic chemicals into a drain. Rex Nunzio D’Aquino pleaded guilty in Orange Local Court to a charge of polluting waters after he instructed an employee to empty 21 1000-litre drums into a drain leading from the helipad at Highland Heritage Estate to Summer Hill Creek. The drums contained remnants of chlorpyrifos, a pesticide used on cotton crops, which is harmful to wildlife.