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CONFIDENTIAL

Ms Catherine Day

Secretary General

Secretariat-General

Commission of the European Communities
200 Rue de laLoi

B1049 Bruxelles

DGENV
30 1 2005

     
 
 

Belgium rn

26th January 2006

European Communities (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of
Waters) Regulations 2005 (S.l. No. 788 of 2005).

Dear Secretary-General

| have been asked by my authorities to refer to my letter of 29 July 2005
and previous correspondence to the European Commission concerning
the Commission’s Letter of Formal Notice dated 22 December 2004 under
Article 228 of the Treaty (reference SG-Greffe (2004) D/206145) relating to
measures taken by Ireland to comply with the judgment of.the European
Court of Justice in Case C-396/01 regarding Ireland’s implementation of
the Nitrates Directive (Council Directive 91/676/EEC).

| enclose, by way of formal notification in accordance with Article 12 of the
Nitrates Directive, two copies of the European Communities (Good
Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2005 (S.l. No.
788 of 2005). The Regulations, which give legal effect to Ireland’s national
Nitrates Action Programme, (submitted with my letter of 29 July 2005)
were made on 12 December 2005 under section 3 of the European
Communities Act, 1972. Notice of the making of the Regulations was
published in Iris Oifigiüil on 20 December 2005. These Regulations, which
were finalised following consultation with Commission officials, will be
remade under the Water Services Bill following its enactment. The
Regulations set legally binding limits for the use of nitrogen and
phosphorus based on the nutrient requirements of crops. They establish a

mechanism for improving nutrient recovery from manures, including a
requirement for specific targets to be achieved during the period of the
action programme and future action programmes. The Regulations will
come into force on 1 February 2006.

The Regulations give further effect to a number of European Union
Directives including Council Directive 76/464/EEC on pollution caused by
certain dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment of
the Community (the Dangerous Substances Directive), in that they
specifically address the reduction and prevention of pollution resulting from
phosphorus from agricultural sources. This was a key consideration in the
adoption by Ireland of a whole territory approach under the Nitrates
Directive. In this context my authorities would wish the Commission to
accept the notification of the Regulations as a further formal response to
the Commission’s correspondence of 15 June 2005 regarding the
measures taken by Ireland to comply with the European Court of Justice
judgment in Case C-282/02 concerning Ireland’s transposition and
implementation of Directive 76/464/EEC.

My authorities have asked that | refer to the Commission’s
correspondence of 25 November 2002 which sought details of the
measures taken by Ireland to comply with the European Court of Justice
judgment in Case C-316/00 concerning Ireland’s implementation and
transposition of Directive 80/778/EEC on the quality of water for human
consumption. This correspondence has been the subject of continuing
comprehensive responses on the part of Ireland. Given the measures
specified in the enclosed Regulations in the context of the protection of
drinking water sources, my authorities would also wish the Commission to
accept their notification as a further response to the Commission’s
correspondence of 25 November 2002.

Yours sincerely
ae

WE T/

Environment Counsellor

CC Mr. Moaens Peter Carl, ! a : za
" ıment)

n

STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS

S.l. No. 788 of 2005

European Communities
(Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2005

PUBLISHED BY THE STATIONERY OFFICE
DUBLIN
To be purchased directly from the
GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS OFFICE
SUN ALLIANCE HOUSE, MOLESWORTH STREET, DUBLIN 2
Or by mail order from
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(Tel: 01 6476634/35/36/37; Fax: 01 647 6643)
Or through any bookseller

PRN. A5/2117 Price €4.57

Article

—_

en

15.
16.

INDEX

PART 1
PRELIMINARY

Citation
Commencement
Interpretation

PART 2
FARMYARD MANAGEMENT

Minimisation of soiled water

Collection and holding of certain substances

Structural integrity of storage facilities

General obligations as to capacity of storage facilities
Capacity of storage facilities for effluents and soiled water
Capacity of storage facilities for pig manure

Capacity of storage facilities for poultry manure

Capacity of storage facilities for manure from deer, goats
and sheep

Capacity of storage facilities for manure from cattle
Reduced storage capacity in certain circumstances
Operative dates

PART 3
NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT

Interpretation etc
Duty of occupier in relation to nutrient management

Page

oO OD SION OD

= 00c0

—_

11
12

PREVENTION OF WATER POLLUTION FROM FERTILISERS AND

IR;
18.

27:

29.
30.
Ss:
32.
33.
34.

PART 4

CERTAIN ACTIVITIES

Distances from a water body and other issues
Requirements as to manner of application of fertilisers,
soiled water etc

Periods when application of fertilisers is prohibited
Limits on the amount of livestock manure to be applied
Ploughing and the use of non-selective herbicides

PART 5
GENERAL

General duty of occupier
Keeping of records by occupier
False or misleading information
Authorised person

Offences

PART 6
FUNCTIONS OF PUBLIC AUTHORITIES

Minister for Agriculture and Food

Making and review of action programme by the Minister
Agency

Local authorities

Compliance with Data Protection Acts

Certificate in relation to nutrient content of fertiliser
Exemption for exceptional circumstances for research
Transitional provisions relating to licensed activities

SCHEDULES

Schedule 1 Soil test

Schedule 2 Criteria as to storage capacity and nutrient

management

Schedule 3 Storage periods for livestock manure

Schedule 4 Periods when application of fertilisers to land is

prohibited

24
25
26
27
28
28
29
29

30

32

45

45

S.l. No 788 of 2005

European Communities (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of
Waters) Regulations 2005

The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in
exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 3 of the European
Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) and for the purposes of giving
further effect to Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975', Directive
76/464/EEC of 4 May 1976, Directive 80/68/EEC of 17 December 1979°,
Directive 91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991*, Directive 2000/60/EC of 23
October 2000° and Directive 2003/35/EC of 26 May 2003° hereby makes
the following Regulations:

PART 1
PRELIMINARY
Citation

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities
(Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations
2003.

Commencement

2. These Regulations shall come into effect on 1 February, 2006, save
as is otherwise provided in relation to any particular provision.

O.J. No. L 194/39, 25 July 1975
O.J. No. L 129/23, 18 May 1976
O.J. No. L 020, 26.01.1980, p.43
O.J. No L 375,31.12.1991, p.1
O.J. No. L 327/1,22.12.2000, p.1
O.J. No. L 156/25.6.2003, p.17

PT P@AN>

Interpretation

3. (1) In these Regulations, save where the context otherwise
requires-—

“Act of 1992” means the Environmental Protection Agency
Act, 1992 (No. 7 of 1992);

“Agency” means the Environmental Protection Agency
established under section 19 of the Act of 1992;

“agriculture” includes the breeding, keeping and sale of
livestock (including cattle, horses, pigs, poultry, sheep and
any creature kept for the production of food, wool, skins or
fur), the making and storage of silage, the cultivation of
land, and the growing of crops (including forestry and
horticultural crops),;

“application to land”, in relation to fertiliser, means the
addition of fertiliser 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 but does not include the direct deposition of
manure to land by animals;

“aquifer" means any stratum or combination of strata that
stores or transmits groundwater,;

“chemical fertilise” means any fertiliser that is
manufactured by an industrial process;

“farmyard manure” means a mixture of bedding material
and animal excreta in solid form arising from the housing of
cattle, sheep and other livestock excluding poultry;

“fertiliser” means any substance containing nitrogen or
phosphorus or a nitrogen compound or phosphorus
compound utilised on land to enhance growth of vegetation
and may include livestock manure, the residues from fish
farms and sewage sludge;

“groundwater” means all water that is below the surface of
the ground in the saturation zone and in direct contact with
the ground or subsoil;

“holding” means an agricultural production unit and, in
relation to an occupier, means all the agricultural
production units managed by that occupier;

“ivestock” means all animals kept for use or profit
(including cattle, horses, pigs, poultry, sheep and any
creature kept for the production of food, wool, skins or fur);

“iiyestock manure” means waste products excreted by
livestock or a mixture of litter and waste products excreted
by livestock, even in processed form;

“local authority’ means a city council or county council
within the meaning of the Local Government Act, 2001 (No.
37 of 2001);

“the Minister” means the Minister for the Environment,
Heritage and Local Government,

“net area”, in relation to a holding and the grassland
stocking rate, means the gross area of the holding or the
grassland as appropriate excluding areas under farm
roads, paths, buildings, farmyards, woods, dense scrub,
rivers, streams, ponds, lakes, sandpits, quarries, expanses
of bare rock, areas of bogland not grazed, areas fenced off
and not used for production, inaccessible areas and areas
of forestry (including Christmas trees), or required to be
totally destocked under a Commonage Framework Plan;

“the Nitrates Directive” means Council Directive
91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991 concerning the
protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates
from agricultural sources;

“occupier”, in relation to a holding, includes the owner, a
lessee, any person entitled to occupy the holding or any
other person having for the time being control of the
holding;

“organic fertiliser” means any fertiliser other than that
manufactured by an industrial process and includes
livestock manure, dungstead manure, farmyard manure,
slurry, soiled water, non-farm organic substances such as
sewage sludge, industrial by-products and sludges and
residues from fish farms;

“ploughing” includes ploughing and primary cultivation,
excluding light cultivation carried out to encourage natural
regeneration;

“relevant local authority” means the local authority in whose
administrative area a farm holding or part of a farm holding
is situated;

“river basin district” means a river basin district established
by the European Communities (Water Policy) Regulations,
2003 (S.l. No. 722 of 2003);

“slurry” includes —

(a) excreta produced by livestock while in a
building or yard, and

(b) a mixture of such excreta with rainwater,
washings or other extraneous material or any
combination of these,

of a consistency that allows it to be pumped or discharged
by gravity at any stage in the handling process but does not
include soiled water;

“soil test” means a soil sample taken in accordance with
the soil sampling procedure set out in Schedule 1 and
analysed in accordance with this Schedule, at a laboratory
approved for this purpose by the Minister for Agriculture
and Food;

“soiled water” has the meaning assigned by sub-article (2);

“steep slope” means ground which has an average incline
of 20% or more in the case of grassland or 15% or more in
the case of other land;

“tidal waters” includes the sea and any estuary up to high
water mark medium tide and any enclosed dock adjoining
tidal waters;

“waters” includes —

(a) any (or any part of any) river, steam, lake, canal,
reservoir, aquifer, pond, watercourse, or other
inland waters, whether natural or artificial,

(b) any tidal waters, and

(c) where the context permits, any beach, river bank
and salt marsh or other area which is contiguous
to anything mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b), and
the channel or bed of anything mentioned in
paragraph (a) which is for the time being dry,

but does not include a sewer,

“waterlogged ground” means ground that is saturated with
water such that any further addition will lead, or is likely to
lead, to surface run-off;

and cognate words shall be construed accordingly.

(2) (a) In these Regulations “soiled water” includes, subject to this
sub-article, water from concreted areas, hard standing
areas, holding areas for livestock and other farmyard
areas where such water is contaminated by contact with
any of the following substances -

(i)  livestock faeces or urine or silage effluent,

(i) chemical fertilisers,

(ii) washings such as vegetable washings, milking
parlour washings or washings from mushroom
houses,

(iv) water used in washing farm equipment.

(b) In these Regulations, “soiled water” does not include any
liquid where such liquid has either —

(i) a biochemical oxygen demand exceeding 2,500
mg per litre, or

(ii)  a.dry matter content exceeding 1%.

(c) For the purposes of these Regulations, soiled water
which is stored together with slurry or which becomes
mixed with slurry is deemed to be slurry.

(3) In these Regulations a reference to:-

(a) an Article, Part or Schedule which is not otherwise
identified is a reference to an Article, Part or
Schedule of these Regulations,

(b) a sub-article or paragraph which is not otherwise
identified is a reference to a sub-article or paragraph
of the provision in which the reference occurs, and

(c) a period between a specified day in a month and a
specified day in another month means the period
commencing on the first-mentioned day in any year