Meeting of the Parliament 03 September 2015
I commend Margaret Mitchell for bringing this motion before us. The spread of sewage sludge is an important issue that affects a great number of people in quite a large area of Scotland. It is not just confined to the Braes area or to the Avonbridge and Standburn area—it impacts on many communities throughout Scotland. I hope that, by highlighting the issue today, we will highlight to many communities throughout Scotland that this Parliament is looking at the issue with some serious intent to make sure that changes take place.
The matter has come before the Public Petitions Committee, which I sit on, as a petition from the Avonbridge and Standburn community council. The council clearly highlighted the issues regarding the noxious odours that last for days or more, sewage waste damaging soils and water in the area where it has been dumped, and the potential impact that that has on human and animal welfare. Margaret Mitchell ably identified the impact on children in the area.
As mentioned in the motion and as Margaret Mitchell highlighted, the spreading of the sludge has adversely affected people in the local area and their ability to do basic things around their own homes, such as hanging out their washing to dry or even opening their windows.
The issue is a serious environmental and social concern. I am glad that the Scottish Government has announced a review into the spreading of sewage sludge, but we must ensure that the review is an open, transparent and democratic process. Communities that are affected should be consulted and involved in the review.
There is no point in carrying out a desktop review or a review that just involves the officials who are charged with overseeing the legislation in this area at present. The review must involve listening to the communities concerned—the community councils and the tenants and residents associations—because those are the people who suffer the worst effects.
When the Public Petitions Committee heard evidence from Scottish Natural Heritage and SEPA, they highlighted that there was an inconsistency in who was responsible for monitoring, with some of the monitoring being carried out by local authority environmental services departments and some of it being carried out by SEPA. Clearly, that inconsistency has to be reviewed. SEPA said to the committee that there were inconsistencies in the legislation and in the regulations. We must look at those inconsistencies, and we must have a body that takes overall responsibility for ensuring that the sewage sludge that is being spread in Scotland is being adequately monitored.
Margaret Mitchell highlighted that it is not just a case of sewage sludge that is being produced in Scotland; it also involves sewage sludge that is transported from other parts of the United Kingdom without the appropriate monitoring and regulation being applied. That is a worrying factor for many communities throughout Scotland.
The other issue that I want to highlight is that the spreading of sewage sludge has taken place for decades, if not hundreds of years, but the difficulty that we have now is that, with the continued erosion of green-belt land and the building of residential properties closer and closer to farmland, the impact is becoming more apparent on members of those new communities, who might not be used to living close to a farm. We must ensure that the necessary regulation is in place.
I hope that the minister will tell us what action has been taken to consult the affected communities and those that are not at present experiencing an issue. We need to know whether their views have been taken on board as part of the review. We must ensure that communities are fully engaged in the process and that they know who is ultimately responsible for monitoring the spreading of sewage sludge throughout Scotland.
12:55