Citizen concern

If the reaction of a few vocal citizens is representative of general feeling, the public will not tolerate land application of bio-solids in Kings County. Following presentations from the provincial Department of Environment (DOE) and municipal staff on bio-solids management, several people took advantage of the two-minute public comment session at the conclusion of a special Kings County council committee of the whole session last Thursday. Some applauded council for requesting a moratorium from the province.

Farmer Greg Webster commented economics is the only reason farmers are using bio-solids; they are not making enough money to farm with proper inputs.

“If bio-solids are available and legal, they will use it,” he said.

If consumers start asking questions, retailers may refuse to buy produce grown with bio-solids. Should this happen, farmers using the products will be putting their access to markets and future land use at risk. Webster said a food safety auditor with Loblaws told him that use of N-Viro products would mean an automatic fail. He added use of bio-solids is “putting the whole food production system at risk.”

Nova Scotia Environmental Network Bio-solids and Waste Water Caucus chair Dr. Marilyn Cameron said she is ashamed of government support of land application of bio-solids. Disregard is being shown for health and food safety, she added, and Nova Scotians want the poisoning of their water and land to stop.

“All the concerned people here today can recognize a bad thing when they see it and this really stinks,” she added, pointing out requested scientific documents from government assuring safety of the practice of land application have yet to be released.

Former councillor John Griffiths commented if people don’t want land application, there has to be an alternative. If the use of bio-solids is not safe, he added, it shouldn’t be allowed.

Skip Hambling cautioned against putting blind faith in experts because many things once thought to be safe turned out to be anything but.

Carol Harris said pride in Kings’ buy-local movement and farm markets would go down the drain with use of bio-solids. The science is extremely premature at this point, she said. Adding she is very disappointed in government for allowing application

John Percy, of the Green Party of Nova Scotia, said perception is reality and, if the public feels food is unsafe, little could be done to dispel the idea and farmers would suffer.

Fred Blois said we must invoke the precautionary principle if this world is to survive.

Organic Farmer Joe Cogswell wanted to ask the provincial environment representative if he would rather eat spinach grown in bio-solids or organic soil but Warden Fred Whalen disallowed the question.

Jim Wolford commented he is cynical about quality control and very little information was presented about how DOE would ensure it. He added he is concerned about possible interactions among contaminants and said we are all living an environmental experiment.