Farming

Farming

Silage, slurry and fuel oil

If you operate a farm in England or Wales that:

  • makes or stores silage or
  • stores slurry; or
  • stores more than 1,500 litres of fuel oil used for agricultural purposes; and
  • has storage facilities that were constructed or substantially altered after 1991

you will need to abide by the Control of Pollution (Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil) Regulations 1991.

The regulations are enforced by the Environment Agency (EA), which has produced a summary of the requirements. These can be viewed on EA’s Netregs website - Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil Regulations in England and Wales.

Silage

If you intend to make or store silage on your farm you should take note of both the legislative requirements and the Codes of Good Agricultural Practice that are available.

Silage effluent is one of the strongest effluents produced on the farm and while the ‘Codes’ are not compulsory, compliance will help safeguard the farm, the environment and may be taken into consideration if a pollution incident does occur.

The legal requirements include:

  • notifying the EA in writing at least 14 days in advance if you plan to install a new silo or alter an existing facility (facilities built prior to March 1991 are exempt from the regulations but the regulations should be considered as standards to be met)
  • positioning silos and baled, bagged or wrapped silage more than 10 metres away from a watercourse
  • having a tank to contain effluent - capacity should be 20 litres per cubic metre of silo capacity (up to 1,500 cubic metres and then an additional 6.7 litres per cubic metre thereafter)

Silage effluent as a soil fertiliser
Silage effluent should be diluted with the same amount of water. It can then be applied to land at no more than 50 cubic metres per hectare (4,500 gallons per acre).

A detailed explanation of the rules governing silage storage and the use of silage effluent as a soil fertiliser can be found on the Netregs site – Silage making and storing.

Slurry

If you are storing, or intend to store slurry you must:

  • notify the EA in writing at least 14 days in advance if you plan to install a new store or alter an existing facility
  • position stores more than 10m away from a watercourse (unless the EA gives an exemption)
  • make sure the slurry storage tank accommodates a minimum of 4 months’ production (including rainwater)
  • install two valves in series on any drainage pipe and lock shut when not in use
  • if storage covers less than four months’ production, prepare a Manure Management Plan to show how pollution can be avoided; you can download a draft Manure Management Plan (PDF) from the Defra website.

Further guidance on slurry storage and disposal is available on the Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil Regulations section of the Netregs website.

Cross Compliance
If you claim the Single Farm Payment you will need to meet Cross Compliance standards. Slurry must not be spread on water-logged soil, or within two metres of the centre of a hedgerow or watercourse.

For more information, see Defra’s Cross Compliance Handbook for England 2006. You can order a paper copy by telephoning Defra Publications on 08459 556 000, quoting reference PB 11305. Defra also has a Cross Compliance telephone advice line, 08453 451 302.

Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs)
There are a number of special limitations on slurry spreading and storage for producers whose land falls within an NVZ . These are listed in Defra’s Guidelines for Farmers in NVZs – England (PDF) and include the need to ensure sufficient storage to cover the autumn period which is closed for slurry spreading.

You can f ind out whether your land is in an NVZ by looking at the maps on the Nitrates - Reducing Water Pollution from Agriculture section of the Defra website.

Fuel oil

EA regulations apply on any farm if you are storing more than 1500 litres of fuel oil and using storage facilities built or substantially modified since March 1991.

Where regulations do not apply it is recommended they are considered as standards to help prevent water pollution.

The regulations include:

  • containers should be sited more than 10 metres from the nearest watercourse
  • oil tanks, drums and IBCs (intermediate bulk containers) and their associated
  • equipment should be within a bund or secondary containment system
  • the bund should be capable of holding at least 110 per cent of the largest tank’s capacity or 25 per cent of total capacity if there is more than one tank – whichever is the greater
  • the bund should be water-tight and made to last for 20 years
  • bund walls must be constructed to contain any fuel that may jet from the side of tanks
  • valves and taps should be kept locked when the tank is not in use
  • flexible pipes should be fitted with an automatic closure valve and locked within the bund when not in use

If you store more than 200 litres of fuel oil for non-agricultural purposes, such as kennels or workshops, you will also need to refer to the Oil Storage Regulations.

Bunds
There has been some confusion about the type of bunded tanks required to prevent pollution. The Environment Agency has provided guidance on this on its Netregs site - About Oil Storage Tank.

Any queries should be directed to the EA’s national customer contact centre on 08708 506 506.

Fuel oil disposal
Waste oil should be stored securely and disposed of at a registered waste disposal site. A summary of how to deal with your waste fuel oil and stay within the law can be found at Defra’s Waste Legislation and licensing: Duty of Care.

Additional information can be found in the Defra booklet Waste – Duty of Care (PDF document, 216KB). Free paper copies of the booklet can be ordered from Defra Publications by telephoning 08459 556 000.

Recycling
There may be opportunities for recycling your fuel oil. To find details of your nearest waste recycling centre, you can enter your postcode into the online Waste Recycling Directory.

Useful links

Defra

External

Further information

Defra helpline – 08459 335 577 (local call rate)

Defra publications – 08459 556 000

Environment Agency national customer contact centre – 08708 506 506

Environment Agency pollution hotline – 0800 80 70 60

Page last modified: 1 October 2008
Page published: 1 July 2006

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs