Written Ministerial Statement by Phil Woolas: Implementation of the Nitrates Directive - 21 July 2008
The Minister for the Environment (Mr Phil Woolas)
The Government is today publishing its response to a consultation on proposals to revise the Regulations which implement the Nitrates Directive. Copies will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
The consultation drew a very high response from stakeholders and prompted two Westminster Hall debates and an inquiry by the Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee. I am also writing today to the Chairman of the Select Committee to respond to its report.
The consequences of nitrate pollution of water are serious. They include high treatment costs for removing it from drinking water sources, adverse impacts on biodiversity and the aquatic ecosystem, and reduced amenity use and benefits. Agriculture is the main source of this pollution, chiefly from manures and fertilisers. The key to addressing this problem is to achieve an improvement in farming practices, and the Nitrates Regulations make an important contribution to that. They are part of a broader approach that is being developed – as highlighted earlier this year in the Government’s water strategy for England – to address diffuse sources of pollution from all sources, both agricultural and non agricultural.
A factual analysis of comments received on the consultation proposals has been published on the Defra website at: www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/waterpollution-nitrates/summary-responses.pdf.
The Government has considered very carefully the points made by stakeholders and has refined some of the proposals, largely to address practical implementation difficulties which they identified. For example:
- Cover crops - We are removing the proposed cover crops measure. Instead, we are exploring whether there is scope for introducing a new management option within Entry Level Stewardship
- Closed periods for organic manure - We intend to remove the higher rainfall band and align the closed periods end dates according to soil type and are adding a new exemption for registered organic producers.
- Capacity of storage vessels - We are increasing the implementation time allowed for this measure from two to three years and are adding a refinement to the storage requirement calculation to allow farmers to take account of the amount of manure that can be spread to “low risk run-off land”
- Whole farm limit for livestock manure - We are reiterating our commitment to seek a derogation from the European Commission on the 170 kg/ha whole farm limit as a matter or urgency
As the EFRA Committee report acknowledged, the Directive prescribes specific measures that must be included in member states’ regulations to achieve the environmental objectives of the Directive. We have made full use of the limited discretionary elements of the Directive’s provisions in drafting regulations which will be laid before the House in September. We also intend to align the implementation of the Directive with our anaerobic digestion strategy.
This package of measures represents the best way forward for addressing concerns raised by stakeholders within the constraints of our obligations to comply with the Directive and protect our waters from nitrates from agricultural sources. Officials will be meeting those affected to explain the new requirements, and arrangements will be set up to provide farmers with advice and guidance.
Page published: 21 July 2008