‘Unlivable’: manure deluge from problem farm hits neighbour
A “deluge” of manure from a cattle farm on to a neighbouring property has highlighted the ongoing difficulty of containing waste from Green Land Farm in Smith’s, despite efforts to hold back run-off.
The owner of a rental property next door — where animal waste flooded the swimming pool, one year on from a torrent of manure seeping into the building — said neighbours were contemplating a lawsuit to prompt action on the farm, which is a private business on land leased from the Government.
A spokeswoman for the farm, which also trucks some of its animal waste to the Marsh Folly facility, said the owners had thought they had the worst of it contained.
However, the landlord, who asked not to be named to protect the identity of his tenant, said: “It’s unlivable. You couldn’t stand there more than 20 minutes without feeling your eyes start to water.”
He added: “Its very, very frustrating. It is very difficult for us to find someone taking responsibility. Right now it seems the buck is getting passed between departments. Estates handles the lease, the health department handles the licence, parks manages the railway trail. It’s bureaucracy at its finest.”
The issue was the subject of parliamentary questions last week by Robert King, the Opposition MP for Smith’s North, who insisted “no meaningful action” had been taken.
Jaché Adams, the Minister of Public Works and the Environment, insisted that “no public funds or resources” were being used to address the longstanding complaints about the farm, which he said “remains a private matter”.
“It is the responsibility of the farm owner to ensure compliance.”
Mr Adams said the farm had been served with a warning letter last year, and outlined steps by the present owner, Paul Almeida, to contain a mess that has dogged Green Land Farm for years. Mr Almeida acquired the lease in 2019.
The minister said the property owner had added berms and drainage trenches along the farm’s north boundary to keep waste from overflowing on to the Railway Trail and private properties, which “thus far appears to have reduced storm water run-off during the recent period of heavy rainfall”.
However, the neighbour said the latest rain had caused an overflow that inundated the Railway Trail and poured into his tenant’s swimming pool.
“It piles up and up until it breaches the berm,” he said. “When it does, it creates a deluge.”
A spokeswoman for Green Land Farms said she had been unaware of any problems with run-off over the past eight months.
However, she recognised the frustration of nearby residents and said stemming the problem was an ongoing task.
She added the farm was willing to invest in infrastructural safeguards in addition to their runoff pipes, but understood this would require government involvement.
She said: “I believe those pipes have been there for over 20 years, but obviously with all the rain it's hard.
“We will have to meet with Government and the private sector, which we've done before.
“Obviously we have to come up with a solution, because we thought that we had the solution fixed.”
She added: “We're doing everything that we can. When we took on the farm, we were not aware of this runoff.
“We were never told about the runoff, but we have been doing everything that we can to control the runoff and the smell.”
She explained the runoff became a problem after heavy rainfall, such as that seen this week.
She said the farm has worked with the Government to empty the manure pit and transport it to the Marsh Folly Composting Facility personally or with the help of sanitation services.
The spokeswoman said: “Today it was unfortunate with all the rain that we've had, but like I said, it hasn't happened in a while and we thought we had contained the situation.”
She added: “Once in a while we do get complaints about the odour, but what people have to realise is that it is a farm.
“It doesn't matter what we do, we can't completely get rid of the odour.”
The woman said she talked to one of her neighbours about the problem and their efforts to solve it.
She said: “I could feel his frustration and we're frustrated too because obviously we're trying to do everything that we can and we thought we had a solution.”
He said last year, when the waste poured into the residence, he ended up billing the Government for the clean-up and expense of the tenant staying “weeks” in a hotel while the house was sanitised.
He added: “I believe their insurance paid for it, but I’m not sure if it was government or the farm. I got reimbursed 80 to 85 per cent of the costs.”
Yesterday, he said he faced another bill to have the pool emptied and sanitised.
“In the past, it’s always been excused because of a hurricane, a storm, excessive rain. Yes, it’s rained a lot in the past couple of days but I doubt anybody would say it’s that excessive.”
He said he had met the Almeidas, who were apologetic and insisted they “thought they had it under control”.
However, he said: “We need a solution. You can be sorry but it’s not fixing the problem.”
He described it as “a terrible ordeal” for the farm’s immediate neighbours, beyond the longstanding complaints of odour and flies from residents farther away.
“It needs to be looked at by a qualified engineer.”
The landlord said that not everyone in the community agreed with taking legal action but added: “I think it’s pretty close. It’s been talked about a number of times.
“We’ve been told the only way to get it stopped is with a lawsuit. Government have had multiple opportunities to address this.”
He said: “A lot of people in the area have misgivings about suing the Government”.
“But it’s government. They should be working for the people.”
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