Tallow also discharged onto Ngāmotu Beach and into the sea. The beach was closed to the public for at least three days, and the nearby Moturoa School was closed for a day. Hundreds of residents were also unable to flush their toilets for several hours. It was heard in court that the company lacked adequate infrastructure to prevent the spill from occurring and did not have an alarm system to alert it to the uncontrolled discharges. The company was also without the appropriate trade waste permit from the New Plymouth District Council (NPDC), for which an infrastructure upgrade is likely to have been required as a safeguard against uncontrolled discharges such as the one which occurred.