Nitrates Directive information failure
Tim Lombard, a Fine Gael member of the Council, last week welcomed the Council’s initiative in putting their interpretation of the Directive up on their website, but warned that the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Environment have failed to inform farmers of the requirements in the legislation.
According to the Council, the European Communities (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2005 (Ireland’s Nitrates Directive Action Plan) comes into effect on a phased basis from February 1, 2006 to December 31, 2008. The following measures are already operative, according to the Council:
All slurry, soiled water, effluents, farmyard manure, etc., produced in a building or a yard, shall be collected and held in a manner that prevents run-off or seepage, directly or indirectly, to groundwaters or surface waters.
Storage facilities for slurry, soiled water, effluents, farmyard manure, etc., shall be maintained in good condition.
Livestock manure applied together with that deposited by grazing animals shall not exceed an amount containing 170kg of nitrogen per hectare (equivalent to a stocking rate of two dairy cows per hectare, one livestock unit per 1.24acres).
Chemical fertiliser shall not be applied within 1.5m of an open drain, stream, river or lake.
Slurry, soiled water, effluents, farmyard manure, etc. shall be applied to land in as accurate and uniform a manner as possible.
They shall not be spread within 200m of a large water supply source, (serving more than 500 persons or 100m3/day); 100m of a smaller water supply source, (serving more than 50 persons or 10m3/day); 25m from any other water supply source, 20m of a lake, 15m of a karst limestone feature, swallow hole etc; 5m of an open drain, stream or river; 10m of an open drain, stream or river where the land slopes to the watercourse at an incline of 10% or greater.
Fertiliser, slurry, soiled water, effluents, farmyard manure, etc. shall not be spread when the land is waterlogged, flooded or likely to flood, snow covered or frozen, if heavy rain is forecast within 48 hours, or when the ground slopes steeply and there is a significant risk of causing water pollution.
Slurry, soiled water and effluents shall not be spread using an upward facing splashplate, a rain-gun or sludge irrigator mounted on a slurry tanker, from a public road or farm passageway.
Soiled water shall not be spread at more than 50,000 l/ha (4,450gals/ha) in any 42 day period, (25,000l/ha in Karst Limestone areas unless soil depth is greater than 1m); by irrigation at a rate exceeding 5mm/hour, (3mm/hour in Karst Limestone areas unless soil depth is greater than 1m).
Farmyard Manure may be stored in a field in a compact heap if it is more than 250m from a public water supply source, (serving more than 50 persons or 10m3/day); 50m from any other water supply source; 20m from a lake; 10m from an open drain, stream or river.
Suitable records, as prescribed in the regulations, shall be maintained, these shall be prepared for each calendar year by June 30 of the following year, and shall be retained for at least five years.
Cork County Council note that their interpretation is for guidance only, is aimed particularly at dairy, cattle and tillage farmers in Co Cork , and is not a legal interpretation.
