It's that time of year again and once more the people of our villages are forced to suffer the dual nuisance of odours and flies as a result of farmers spreading their fields and storing waste on farms.
You will no doubt be aware that this is an annual occurrence which, despite assurances, appears to become worse each year. Once again I have contacted the Environmental Health & Consumer Protection department at the council to let them know of my concerns and to ask them to contact farmers in our area to take immediate action, where appropriate, to tackle this problem.
The council has limited powers in dealing with problems of this nature in that they are not able to deal with sludge storage (this is the responsibility of the Environment Agency) but I think that they should be quicker in serving abatement notices on farmers who are proven to have flouted the law on spreading.
As a matter of interest I have attached an article from the Hartlepool Mail from two years ago relating to this subject. It's disappointing to note that nothing seems to have changed. However I will continue to pursue this issue through the correct channels and seek to bring it to a satisfactory conclusion for residents.
Assurances over smells from fields
Published on Tuesday 28 September 2010 09:28
A COUNCILLOR has assured residents complaining of problem smells from farmers' fields that manure-spreading operations have ceased for this year.
Coun Rob Crute, who represents Blackhall on Durham County Council, has also requested that more is done to combat the problem regarding sludge-spreading on fields in and around Blackhall and Hesleden.
It comes after a number of residents from Blackhall, Hesleden, Horden and Peterlee contacted the local authority to complain about the stink from human and industrial waste being used on the fields.
Coun Crute appeared in the Mail this time last year after locals had raised similar issues.
He had called for tougher waste treatment legislation and Durham County
Council's environment, health and consumer protection department said it was working to improve the situation.
Over the past two weeks, council officers have visited farmers' fields in the area and confirm that a stockpile of sludge has been spread on the land and turned into the ground, in accordance with Government guidelines.
The council has told Coun Crute that although the biosolids in the sludge are treated with lime, rendering any pathogens harmless, "regrettably this does not remove all of the smelly components".
So council officers are setting up close working relations with the Environment Agency, Northumbrian Water and the supplying company, Agrivert, to try to mitigate any issues arising from the operations and to ensure that best practicable means are used at all times.
A spokesman from the council's public health team said: "Reports and investigations relating to individual farms are used to inform future operations and action plans.
"Where operations are carried out outside of these protocols, legal action can and has previously been taken to remedy the situation."
Coun Crute said: "There were similar problems in relation to smell in the area this week as we had last year.
"I am assured by the public health department at the council that the operations have now ceased for this year but I have requested that in the event of a recurrence next year a number of issues be addressed in advance.
"The previous approach has worked although a recurrence was expected sooner or later."
Coun Crute has asked that the public be made more aware of the correct way to report the problem and next year for the council to inform residents of locations and timescales required for sludge-spreading.
"Clearly this won't solve the problems of odours, but at least the public will understand that this work is required and will appreciate an indication of the estimated date for completion," he said.