This letter was published in the letters section of the Jersey Evening Post on 09/07/2013
Dear Sir,
I refer to the report on page 2 of The Jersey Evening Post dated Monday 8th July 2013, covering the refusal of a recent planning application by Jersey Water to landscape part of small scrubland area close to Handois Water Treatment Works using material recycled from the water treatment process.
I should like to clarify the facts in respect of the material which was described in the article as being “Toxic”. Whilst the use of the word will obviously make for a good headline, it is wholly inaccurate, misleading and unnecessarily alarmist.
The material in question is a naturally occurring by-product of the water treatment process and is primarily made up of soil and sediment that is removed from water during treatment. Analysis of the material by the Agricultural and Dairy Advisory Service (ADAS) in the UK, shows that the material has ‘soil improving’ characteristics and could also be described as a ‘seedless top soil’. To describe this material as ‘toxic’ is totally incorrect.
Our planning application sought permission to improve an unused scrubland area and we put forward a professionally designed landscaping and tree planting scheme. As one of the largest land owners in Jersey we take our environmental responsibilities very seriously and would never intentionally do anything that we believed was damaging. Sadly, in this instance we have been unable to persuade the Planning and Environment Department to share our views on the merits of the application
Yours sincerely,
Howard Snowden
Managing Director & Engineer