Amid a nitrate scare in Gore, Environment Southland has been accused of going to ‘‘outrageous’’ lengths to minimise blaming intensive dairying. Mary Williams reports. Managers at freshwater watchdog Environment Southland downplayed the dairy industry’s contribution to drinking water pollution, internal documents show. From a starting position of pointing the finger at intensive dairying, an internal ES communication plan — about publicising a report on nitrate contamination — was watered down to remove references to dairy farms in its key messages. Internal communications also show the council chose to say crops and horticulture were a potential source in the nitrate scare which closed down a water supply in Gore. This was despite its own scientist warning colleagues the evidence ‘‘does not specifically identify arable and horticulture as ‘high-risk activities’ within the Gore context’’.…