Filenews 26 October 2023 - by Angelos Nicolaou
A bill passed yesterday by the Council of Ministers with emphasis on the pollution control system for the protection of water and soil, expands, among other things, the scope to cover activities that may cause water and soil pollution, and not only facilities.
During the discussion in the House Standing Committee on the Environment on the environmental problems and the strong stench that occur in the district of Larnaka as a result of the uncontrolled dumping of manure, an issue that has been in the news for the last four years, a representative of the Department of Environment said that the bill that will be put before Parliament for approval covers the disposal and disposal of manure and sewage resulting from animal husbandry. In this way, all livestock facilities are covered, while farmers will also have an impact.
MPs referred to the odour problem, pointing out that the phenomenon is more intense this year. The mayor of Aradippou, Evangelos Evangelidis, suggested that manure be incorporated immediately into the soil and not within 24 hours as is currently the case so as not to cause further odour problems.
A spokesman for the agriculture ministry said there are facilities without planning permission, they cannot be upgraded, but no one is closing them.
The Department of Environment mentioned that the district of Larnaka is surrounded by a plethora of livestock facilities, stressing that Dromolaxia is most affected. He explained that a framework was established for the appointment of inspectors by municipalities who have the option to issue an extrajudicial €500 in case of violation of terms. The Municipality of Aradippou proceeded with the appointment of five inspectors, the Municipality of Livadia with the appointment of one person, while the Municipality of Dromolaxia none and only recently applied for the appointment of two people.
The Department of Agriculture reported that they want manure to enter the fields, while it was stressed that there is a code of good agricultural practice that is mandatory only in nitrate pollution areas.
On behalf of the Water Development Department, it was stressed, however, that there may be a risk of pollution of the aquifer by irregular manure.
During the meeting, representatives of the agricultural organizations PEK and EKA, referred to violations in the disposal of waste from agricultural units, which were reported to the Department of Environment, but were not effectively addressed. Specifically, it was reported that a cheese factory opened a pipeline and channelled the serum into an army trench, as well as a pig farmer discharged pig sewage into a field with crops. Finally, it was denounced that human effluent from a biological plant is being placed in fields and subsidies are being given.
The President of the Committee, Charalambos Theopemptou, spoke of "total failure of the Government regarding the issue of manure management". "With government officials always coming and telling us that they will change the legislation and passing the years and discussing the same issue again, we have reached the point where so many people are suffering," Theopemptou said.
