Council votes to bring back biosolids
Posted Oct 26, 2011 04:10:55 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Regional councillors have cleared the way for biosolids to once again be used in HRM.
A lengthy debate on the fertilizer, made from treated human waste, ended with a 13-5 vote in favour of lifting a year-old ban.
Coun. Debbie Hum (Rockingham-Wentworth) was one of the councillors opposed to ending the ban.
“There is, worldwide, a growing concern about biosolids,” said Hum during Tuesday’s council meeting. “I’m just talking about the health impacts of biosolids and a growing concern about what that may have on our health and wellbeing.”
The moratorium was put in place one year ago after the fertilizer was used on Dunbrack Street during a summer heat wave.
A foul smell in the area after the application lead to several complaints and council voted to suspend the use of biosolids in HRM until a consultant’s report could be completed.
That report, delivered to council Tuesday, stated the N-Viro soil amendment was not the cause of the smell and that it was probably something else in the mix.
The incident happened in Hum’s district and she did not accept the explanation.
“That’s not good enough for me and that not good enough for our residents to say ‘oh ya, you got sick and you were sick for days, but that’s okay. It just happened to be a combination,'” said Hum. “Well what happens if that combination of soil amendment and fertilizers happens again?”
Coun. Jennifer Watts (Connaught-Quinpool) seemed torn over which way to vote.
“We can never be sure that we can never do harm,” said Watts. “We have to look at the information that’s been provided to us. We have to look at the probability and risk assessment and make a decision with all the best information that we have, listening to as wide as groups as possible, and say, ‘Is this okay?'”
A few councillors wanted the decision put off until after next week’s meeting of the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities.
Biosolids are to be the subject of a panel discussion at the meeting.
The consultant’s report recommends further study of biosolids, as well as an information campaign.
