Sewage sludge and bio solids (FOI)

​Original ​​Request 685673564

1

Do the States provide sewage sludge and bio solids to farmers in Jersey or landholders or Parishes and if so where do they supply it and is it a free resource or is it paid for? 

2

How much has been supplied in the last 5 years by volume or quantity?

3

If it is paid for how much does it cost? 

4

Is it turned into products for dispersal in land in Jersey? 

5

Is any of it recorded by application to field numbers? 

6

If so what are the field numbers for last year and so far this year? 

7

Is the sewage sludge or bio solids used tested for pfas or pfos?

8

If so what are the levels within it? 

9

What happens to sewage sludge and bio solids that are not used on land and how much is there on average per month? 

10

When slurry is spread on land is it tested for pfas and pfos levels?

11

Is there a system in place to record which fields are used and when they are used to assist neighbours and environmental health in raising their awareness of possible run offs and for nuisance complaints?

Original Response

1

Yes, the Government of Jersey provides free sewage sludge, known as Biosolids to the referenced parties.

2

12,297 m3 (cubic meters) of Biosolids were supplied between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2024.

3

It is free as per response to question 1.

4

Yes, it is turned into Biosolids for dispersal in land in Jersey.

5 and 6

The Government of Jersey records the field numbers where the referenced products are spread, however, the field numbers are exempt from release under Article 25 (Personal Information) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011.

7 and 8

The Biosolids produced are tested for PFAS and PFOS, and low levels were recorded of 50 parts per billion.  

PFAS in the Environment will be available in draft for public consultation late 2025. 

9

An average of 280 m3 (cubic meters) of unused Biosolids is incinerated per month.

10 and 11

The Government of Jersey does not record the locations where slurry is spread. The recording of this data is the responsibility of the farmers.

The farmers should record where, when and how much slurry is spread under the Water Code under the:

(Water pollution (Approval of Code of Practice) (Jersey) Order 2020 )​

The Government of Jersey may request the farmers records if they are required to investigate an incident or complaint about pollution or nuisance.

PFAS and PFOS levels in slurry are not tested.

Articles applied

​Article 10 - Obligation of scheduled public authority to confirm or deny holding Information

(1) Subject to paragraph (2), if –

(a) a person makes a request for information to a scheduled public authority; and

(b) the authority does not hold the information, it must inform the applicant accordingly.​​

​Article 25 - Personal information  

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2005. 

(2) Information is absolutely exempt information if –

(a) it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018; and 

(b) its supply to a member of the public would contravene any of the data protection principles, as defined in that Law. 

Internal Review Request 

In response to my questions asking for the locations of the spread of l sewage sludge the answers came back as given to parishes and land owners etc for amenity land. The answers then went on to say the department keeps a record of the field numbers but this is classified personal information. Request denied.

I’d like to ask for the locations of the applications dates and times etc on a couple of grounds

1.Amenity land isn’t private or Parish land isn’t private ?

2. It is impossible to make a nuisance complaint unless we are informed as to the locations. This makes us vulnerable to harm and damages

Clarification requested:

Please can we confirm that this is relation to Questions 5 & 6 of your initial request which was withheld under Article 25?

Clarification received:

Yes 

Thank you

Internal Review Response  

This internal review has been conducted by an official of appropriate seniority who has not been involved in the original decision. As part of their review, they will be expected to understand the reasons behind the original response, impartially determine whether the response should be revised, and how so, considering the request and the information held, any relevant exemptions, or other relevant matters under the Law.    

The Internal Review Panel was asked to review the original response and confirm the following:    

Does the FOI request relate to a body to which the Law applies, or information held by a body covered by the Law?    

If the answer is no, all the other questions are not applicable.        

Further questions if above is a yes:     

i. Was the right information searched for and reviewed? (supply audit if possible)  

ii. Was the information supplied appropriately (supply evidence if possible)  

iii. Was information appropriately withheld in accordance with the articles applied and were the public interest test/ prejudice test properly applied? (supply supporting documents re the test if possible)  

On completion of the review the Panel’s decision is that the application of Article 25 and Article 10 have been incorrectly applied.

The Panel agreed on review for Article 3 to be applied to questions 10 & 11 (Information Held by a Public Authority), as the information is not held by the SPA, and Article 33(b) to be applied to questions 5 & 6 (Commercial Interests) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 as the disclosure of the information requested would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of the SPA.

Article applied

Article 3  Meaning of “information held by a public authority”  

For the purposes of this Law, information is held by a public authority if – 

(a)     it is held by the authority, otherwise than on behalf of another person; or 

(b)     it is held by another person on behalf of the authority. 

Article 33 - Commercial interests 

Information is qualified exempt information if – 

(a) it constitutes a trade secret; or

(b) its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of a person (including the scheduled public authority holding the information)

Public Interest Test

In applying this article, the following considerations were taken into account.    

Public interest considerations favouring disclosure   

• Disclosure of the information would ensure the members of public are informed about where the sewage sludge is dispersed.
• Disclosure to the public would align with open Government of Jersey principles, enhancing trust and transparency in the sewage sludge management reducing concerns. 

Public interest considerations favouring withholding the information    

• Disclosure to the public especially without the completion of the final report currently being conducted where extensive PFAS testing across various mediums, including groundwater, surface water, biosolids, food products, seawater, foam, and spray as part of a broader effort to inform the Scientific PFAS Panel's report on the environmental impact of PFAS, could potentially cause unnecessary anxiety and distress to sensitive individuals.
• Release of the information at this stage might generate partial or out-of-context interpretations that could potentially be exploited by media or individuals to spread misleading narratives.  
• Disclosure of this information could result in an annual financial loss to the SPA, as a result the recent PFAS enquiries questioning farmers and growers about biosolid application.

Considering all considerations above, while transparency is important, the public interest in disclosure must be weighed against potential harm caused by distress or misinformation.  

The SPA has concluded that, on balance, the risk of causing prejudice to the commercial interests to the SPA, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the benefits disclosing the information.