| |
STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS
1996 No. 888
WATER, ENGLAND AND WALES
The Protection of Water Against Agricultural Nitrate Pollution
(England and Wales) Regulations 1996
| Laid before Parliament |
22nd March 1996 |
| Coming into force |
17th April 1996 |
The Secretary of State for the Environment and the Minister of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Food, acting jointly as respects England, and the Secretary
of State for Wales as respects Wales, being Ministers designated[1]
for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972[2]
in relation to measures relating to the prevention, reduction and elimination
of pollution of water, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by the
said section 2(2) and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf,
hereby make the following Regulations:
Citation, commencement and extent
1. These Regulations may
be cited as the Protection of Water Against Agricultural Nitrate Pollution
(England and Wales) Regulations 1996, shall come into force on 17th April
1996 and shall extend to England and Wales.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless
the context otherwise requires—
"action programme" means an action programme established in accordance
with regulation 6;
"the Agency" means the Environment Agency;
"chemical fertiliser" means any fertiliser which is manufactured by
an industrial process;
"the Directive" means Council Directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection
of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources[3];
"eutrophication" means the enrichment of water by nitrogen compounds,
causing an accelerated growth of algae and higher forms of plant life to
produce an undesirable disturbance to the balance of organisms present
in the water and to the quality of the water concerned;
"fertiliser" means any substance containing a nitrogen compound or
nitrogen compounds utilised on land to enhance growth of vegetation, and
may include livestock manure, the residues from fish farms and sewage sludge;
"freshwater" means naturally occurring water having a low concentration
of salts, which is often acceptable as suitable for abstraction and treatment
to produce drinking water;
"groundwater" means all water which is below the surface of the ground
in the saturation zone and in direct contact with the ground or subsoil;
"land application" means the addition of materials to land whether
by spreading on the surface of the land, injection into the land, placing
below the surface of the land or mixing with the surface layers of the
land;
"livestock" means all animals kept for use or profit;
"livestock manure" means waste products excreted by livestock or a
mixture of litter and waste products excreted by livestock, even in processed
form;
"nitrate vulnerable zone" has the meaning given by regulation 3;
"nitrogen compound" means any nitrogen-containing substance except
for gaseous molecular nitrogen;
"the Objectives" means the objectives specified in Article 1 of the
Directive, that is to say—
(a) reducing water pollution caused or induced by nitrates from
agricultural sources; and
(b) preventing further such pollution;
"pollution" means the discharge, directly or indirectly, of nitrogen
compounds from agricultural sources into the aquatic environment, the results
of which are such as to cause hazards to human health, harm to living resources
and to aquatic ecosystems, damage to amenities or interference with other
legitimate uses of water;
"the relevant Minister"—
(a) in relation to land or waters which are wholly in England
or which are partly in England and partly in Wales, means the Secretary
of State and the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food acting jointly;
and
(b) in relation to land or waters which are wholly in Wales,
means the Secretary of State;
and other expressions used in the Directive have the same meaning as in
the Directive.
(2) Any reference in these Regulations
to a numbered regulation or Schedule is a reference to the regulation or
Schedule so numbered in these Regulations,
Nitrate vulnerable zones
3.—(1) In these Regulations, "nitrate
vulnerable zone" means any of the areas referred to in Schedule 1 and more
particularly shown coloured pink on the maps contained in the volume of
maps marked "Volume of Maps of Nitrate Vulnerable Zones S.I. 1996 No. 888"
and deposited at the offices of the Secretary of State for the Environment
and the Secretary of State for Wales, being all known areas of land in
England and Wales which drain into and contribute to pollution of the waters
which the relevant Minister has identified, in accordance with the criteria
set out in Schedule 2, as waters affected by pollution and waters which
could be affected by pollution if action pursuant to regulation 6 were
not taken.
(2) The relevant Minister shall, by 19th December
1997 and at least every four years thereafter, review and if necessary
revise or add to the designation of nitrate vulnerable zones to take into
account changes and factors unforeseen at the time of the previous designation.
Monitoring
4.—(1) For the purpose of the designation
and revision of designations of nitrate vulnerable zones, the Agency—
(a) subject to paragraph (2) below, shall have monitored by 19th
December 1997 and at least every four years thereafter shall monitor the
nitrate concentration in freshwaters over a period of one year—
(i) at surface water sampling stations laid down in Article 5(4)
of Directive 75/440/ EEC[4] or at other
sampling stations which are representative of surface waters in England
and Wales, or at both, at least monthly and more frequently during flood
periods; and
(ii) at sampling stations which are representative of the groundwater
aquifers in England and Wales, at regular intervals and taking into account
the provisions of Directive 80/778/ EEC[5];
and
(b) shall review the eutrophic state of fresh surface waters,
estuarial and coastal waters by 19th December 1997 and every four years
thereafter.
(2) Where the nitrate concentration in
all previous samples taken in pursuance of the Directive at any sampling
station has been below 25 mg/l and no new factor likely to increase the
nitrate content has appeared, paragraph (1)(a) above shall have effect
in relation to that sampling station as if the reference to 1997 and the
reference to four years were references to 2001 and eight years respectively.
(3) Monitoring under this regulation shall
be carried out using the reference methods of measurement set out in Schedule
3.
Code of good agricultural practice
5. Those parts of the Code
of Good Agricultural Practice for the Protection of Water published in
1991 by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which are aimed
at providing all waters with a general level of protection against pollution
shall have effect as the code of good agricultural practice established
for the purposes of Article 4 of the Directive.
Action programmes
6.—(1) The relevant Minister shall,
for the purpose of achieving the Objectives, by regulations under section
2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972, make provision establishing
action programmes in respect of nitrate vulnerable zones.
(2) An action programme may relate to more
than one nitrate vulnerable zone, and different action programmes may be
established in respect of different nitrate vulnerable zones or parts of
zones.
(3) An action programme in respect of a nitrate
vulnerable zone shall be established—
(a) in the case of a nitrate vulnerable zone referred to in regulation
3(1), as soon as practicable; and
(b) in the case of a nitrate vulnerable zone designated in accordance
with regulation 3(2), not later than one year after the designation of
that zone.
(4) An action programme shall be implemented—
(a) in a case falling within paragraph (3)(a) above, by 19th
December 1999;
(b) in any other case, within four years of its establishment.
(5) The relevant Minister shall draw up
and implement suitable monitoring programmes to assess the effectiveness
of action programmes.
(6) The relevant Minister shall, at least every
four years, review and if necessary revise the action programmes, including
any additional measures taken pursuant to regulation 7(2).
Contents of action programmes
7.—(1) An action programme shall include—
(a) the provisions described in Schedule 4; and
(b) provisions embodying the measures contained in the parts
of the code of good agricultural practice referred to in regulation 5,
other than such provisions as have been superseded by the provisions described
in Schedule 4.
(2) Action programmes shall also contain
such additional requirements, restrictions and prohibitions as the relevant
Minister considers necessary if, at the outset or in the light of experience
gained in implementing the programmes, it becomes apparent to him that
the provisions referred to in paragraph (1) above will not be sufficient
for achieving the Objectives.
(3) In determining the provisions of an action
programme, the relevant Minister shall take into account—
(a) available scientific and technical data, mainly with reference
to respective nitrogen contributions originating from agricultural and
other sources;
(b) environmental conditions in the relevant regions.
(4) In selecting the additional provisions
referred to in paragraph (2) above, the relevant Minister shall take into
account the effectiveness and cost of such provisions relative to other
possible preventive provisions.
Information and assistance required in connection with the control
of pollution
8. For the purposes of
section 202 of the Water Resources Act 1991[6]
(information and assistance required in connection with the control of
pollution), the following obligations shall be treated as functions of
the relevant Minister under the pollution provisions of that Act:
(a) the obligation under Article 10 of the Directive to submit
reports to the Commission;
(b) the duties of the relevant Minister under these Regulations.
Signed by authority of the Secretary of State
James Clappison
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State,
Department of the Environment
21st March 1996
Signed by authority of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Tim Boswell
Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
20th March 1996
Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Wales
Gwilym Jones
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State,
Welsh Office
21st March 1996
Notes:
[1] S.I. 1989/2393.
back
[2] 1972 c. 68. back
[3] OJ No. L 375, 31.12.91, p. 1. back
[4] OJ No. L 194, 25.7.75, p. 26. back
[5] OJ No. L 229, 30.8.80, p. 11. back
[6] 1991 c. 57.
back |
|