Posted 23rd December 2025. Last updated 26th March 2026.
Opinion Article – Kim Smith, Executive Director, BEST
The Royal Gazette, December 23, 2025

Much has been written about how, for more than ten years, the people living in the vicinity of Green Land dairy farm have had to put up with the overpowering stench of manure. I am told that what was a moderate issue before 2015 has now become unbearable.

Foul-smelling liquid faeces has repeatedly spilt onto the Railway Trail in Smith’s, creating a serious public and environmental health hazard. This rancid sewage has even been spilling into neighbours’ yards and into at least one actual house. These years of persistent violations and substandard farm management at Green Land, along with the lack of enforcement by government officials, are unacceptable. Yet it persists.

It’s time to look more closely at some of the root causes of the problems and ask to what degree they have been caused by: ineffective cross-ministry responsibilities, lack of enforcement of the rules and regulations in place to prevent such pollution, and decision-makers who are political appointees, not subject-matter experts.

One of the main causes of the dairy pollution seems to go back to the original 2015 planning application for the barn and manure pit (P0197-15), the process for which had a number of challenges. There was mention in the paperwork of a 2014 “pre-consultation” with the farm owner at the time, but it is not possible to know exactly what was discussed or agreed to, as pre-consultations are not a documented part of a subsequent application and are not available for public scrutiny.

I was surprised to see that the description for the work proposed for the 2015 application, as it was gazetted, was for a Proposed Pre-fabricated Structure for Dairy Operations only. There was no mention of a manure pit.

Read more here: https://www.royalgazette.com/opinion-writer/opinion/article/20251223/opinion-regulators-need-to-raise-a-stink-over-dairy-farm/