A Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) agricultural spokesperson has highlighted what he regards as the hypocrisy of Northern Ireland Water in terms of that organisation’s own polluting record in comparison to farmers.
Councillor Allister Kyle made the comment as the upcoming ban in Northern Ireland on slurry spreading kicks in on Wednesday, October 15.
He added: "As Northern Ireland farmers face the looming slurry spreading ban, many are rightly questioning the logic and the fairness of the system that governs our land and waterways.
"At the same time as farmers are being warned not to spread slurry to grow crops which end up feeding us, NI Water continues to discharge raw sewage into rivers and coastal waters across the country. The hypocrisy is staggering.
"Since the end of August, locally, there have been hardly two dry days in a row. Fields have remained saturated, making slurry spreading not just difficult but impossible in many areas.”
According to the TUV representative, agricultural contractors - who are already under enormous pressure - are now facing a race against time trying to get slurry out before the legal cut-off, all while working between rain showers.
Kyle continued: "Everyone agrees that slurry should only be spread when conditions are right, when the ground is dry enough to absorb it, preventing runoff and making sure the nutrients go where they're needed.
“Ironically, the weather forecast is now showing settled conditions after the ban comes into force. That means farmers could be missing the best chance to apply slurry safely and effectively.
"The race towards the deadline is happening while NI Water, a public body, continues to release untreated sewage into waterways during heavy rainfall.
“These overflows pollute the same rivers and loughs that farmers are being blamed for impacting. Yet there's no ban on this activity;. no looming deadline, and no closed period for polluting the environment with human waste.”
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Andrew Muir has declined to meet with Farmers for Action (FFA) leaders and representatives from an Australian company, Phoslock, to discuss a technical solution that is designed to reduce aqueous phosphate levels within the waters of Lough Neagh.
FFA spokesperson, William Taylor, points to the role played by the Australian company in delivering phosphate reduction solutions in waterways around the world.
He said: “Solutions of the type offered by Phoslock have a role to play in reducing the levels of aqueous phosphate that currently exist in Lough Neagh."
The FFA representative believes that future public tendering processes initiated in Northern Ireland, where the improvement of water in Lough Neagh are concerned, must recognise the type of solution that companies like Phoslock can provide.
Taylor also highlighted the successes achieved over recent years by farmers across the Lough Neagh catchment area in making best use of animal slurries.
The Phoslock product was developed in Australia by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to remove phosphates from water.
The active element in the product is lanthanum (a rare earths element) which has a strong affinity to bind with phosphate.