Nicola Valley First Nations, BC government agree to cooperate on biosolids solution
Five First Nations were calling for a moratorium on sewage sludge derived from human waste
After a year of protests and disagreements, the Nicola Valley First Nations and the B.C. government have taken the "first step" in cooperatively deciding how the use of biosolids should be regulated in the Merritt region.
- Nicola Valley chiefs protest biosolid shipment
- Nicola Valley residents protest biosolids being dumped
Biosolids, the end product recovered during the treatment process of waste water from humans, can be used as a soil fertilizer.
Five First Nations have signed an agreement with the provincial government, which will enable First Nations oversight and participation in the scientific study of the potential effects that the sewage sludge has on human health, wildlife and the environment.
The five First Nations chiefs that signed the agreement had previously declared a moratorium on the importation of sewage sludge from the Okanagan and Lower Mainland into the Nicola Valley, arguing that the practice was polluting their ancestral lands.
"It's really just a first step. We have to agree to terms of reference," said Aaron Sam, chief of the Lower Nicola Indian Band.
"We have to agree to when testing takes place, who's going to be doing the testing, how we're going to be doing the testing."
This agreement, which the province has called a "collaborative engagement protocol," will also take into consideration Aboriginal title and rights.
A year of protests
Biosolids have been a contentious issue in the region over the past year.
The five First Nations chiefs and their supporters protested at the B.C. legislature in May.
In mid-April a small group of both First Nations and non-aboriginal protesters occupied Premier Christy Clark's West Kelowna constituency office.
Earlier in the year a group of concerned citizens formed the Friends of the Nicola Valley to protest the use of biosolids, and for several months some Nicola Valley residents maintained a blockade preventing trucks carrying biosolids from entering the region.
B.C. Environment Minister Mary Polak, who previously said that farmers have the legal right to use whatever waste product they want on their properties, said in a statement that this agreement is a "constructive process to tackle a challenging problem in the Nicola Valley."
In a statement, Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation John Rustad said that he looks forward to working with the five chiefs.
"It is imperative that a resolution to the biosolids issue be arrived at collaboratively through a government-to-government process."
Sam said he was optimistic, but still cautious.
"This issue of biosolids has been in the forefront in the Nicola Valley for over a year now. We're not going to resolve the issue over the next month or so. This process is going to take several months."
"We realize there's still a lot of hard work ahead."
To hear the full interview listen to the audio labelled: Nicola Valley First Nations and BC government agree to cooperate on biosolids solution