CAVAN COUNTY COUNCIL

WATER POLLUTION (AGRICULTURAL) BYE-LAWS, 2000.

Bye-laws for the purpose of. Preventing or eliminating the entry of polluting matter to waters.

The County Council ofthe County of Cavan, in exercise ofthe powers conferred upon
it by Section 21 ofthe Local Government (Water Pollution)(Amendment) Act, 1990,
hereby makes the following Bye-Laws in relation to agricultural activities in those
parts of the functional area of the County Council ofthe County of Cavan listed in the
schedules attached hereto.

1.

1.1

1.2

1,8

1.4

1.5

1.6

PRELIMINARY AND GENERAL

These Bye-Laws may be cited as the Water Pollution (Agricultural) Bye-
Laws, 2000.

These Bye-Laws shall come into effect on the first day of October, 2000.
These Bye-Laws shall not apply to —

(a) a person in relation to an activity the carrying on of which requires the
grant ofa licence under Part IV ofthe Environmental Protection
Agency Act, 1992;

(b) a person participating in the Rural Environment Protection Scheme
operated by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural
Development.

A person wishing to avail ofthe provisions of sub-section 1.3(b) (non-
application) shall, by 31* December 2000, provide documentary evidence of
participation in the Rural Environment Protection Scheme, to the satisfaction
ofthe Local Authority, and evidence of continued participation shall be
provided thereafter on an annual basis.

The provision of sub-section 1.3(b) shall not apply from the time a person
ceases participation in the Rural Environment Protection Scheme.

In these Bye-Laws -

“agriculture” has the meaning assigned to it by the Local Government
(Water Pollution) Act, 1977;

“approved Nutrient Management Plan” means a nutrient management plan
approved by the Local Authority or the Environmental Protection Agency;

“approved person” means a person approved by the Local Authority;

“aquifer” has the meaning assigned to it in section 2 ofthe Local
Government (Water Pollution)(Amendment) Act, 1990;

“authorised person” means a person appointed by the Local Authority to be an
authorised person for the purposes of these Bye-Laws;

“chemical fertiliser”” means any fertiliser which is manufactured byan
industrial process;

“Tarmer” means a person undertaking an activity for the purpose of agriculture;
“Tarming” means activity for the purpose of agriculture;

“Tertiliser”” means any substance containing phosphorus and/or nitrogen and/or
potassium compounds utilised on land to enhance growth of vegetation;

“Intensive Agricultural Enterprise” means -

(i) installations for the rearing of poultry, whether within the same
complex or within 100 metres of that complex, where the capacity
exceeds 100,000 units and where units have the following equivalents-
l broiler = 1 unit,

1 layer, turkey or fowl =2 units, and

(ü)  installations for the rearing of pigs, whether within the same complex
or within 100 metres of that complex, where the capacity exceeds
1,000 units on gley soils or 3,000 units on other soils and where units
have the following equivalents-

l pig = 1 unit,
1 sow = 10 units.

“livestock” means all animals kept for use or profit;

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

“Local Authority” means the Council ofthe County of Cavan and references
to the functional area ofthe Local Authority shall be construed accordingly;

“main river channel” means a river which is represented on the 1:50,000
Ordnance Survey maps;

“nutrient” has the meaning ascribed to it by the Local Government (Water
Pollution)(Amendment) Act, 1990, as amended by Section 66 ofthe Waste
Management Act 1996, and includes chemical fertiliser and organic fertiliser;

“Nutrient Management Plan” means a plan which, by reference to soil
analyses reports, soil type, stocking intensity, farming enterprise, efficient use

2.

of nutrients and the environmental sensitivity ofthe area, specifies limits for
nutrient applications;

“person” means owner or occupier;

“plan” means a Nutrient Management Plan;

“public road” has the meaning ascribed to it by the Roads Act, 1993;

“organic fertiliser” means all farm animal excreta, including dungstead and
farmyard manures, silage effluent, mushroom compost, poultry manure, soiled
water, non-farm organic wastes, industrial wastes and residues from fish farms

that are used to promote grass or other crop production;

“waters” has the meaning assigned to it by the Local Government (Water
Pollution) Act, 1977;

“watercourse” means a channel which in the average year conveys water
throughout nine months of the year;

“waterlogged land” means land where the soil pores are saturated with water
and there are small ponds on the surface ofthe soil;

“wet land” means land where all the pores, in the surface layers at least, are
saturated with water;

“sloping steeply” means where surface gradients are in excess of 18% (1:5).

STORAGE AND MANAGEMENT OF ANIMAL WASTES

2.1

Ak

2.3

2.5

2.6

2.7

Every person farming land in those parts of the functional area of the
Authority listed in Schedule 2 attached hereto shall provide 24 week‘
capacity for livestock manure arising from livestock housed during the »..
period.

The Local Authority may accept a lesser storage capacity requirement where;

a person can demonstrate a lesser requirement through the preparation of an
approved Nutrient Management Plan, or

through the preparation of a farm management plan, prepared by an approved
person, it can be shown that, having regard to the conditions on the farm
concerned in relation to soil type, distance from waters, land slope, rainfall,
farming system and length of growing season, it is possible to manage
landspreading of slurries with a lesser storage capacity requirement without
risk of causing water pollution.

Every person subject to the provisions of sub-section 2.1 shall comply with the
storage requirement set out in sub-section 2.1 within three (3) years ofthe date
of coming into effect of these Bye-Laws in accordance with a Local Authority
approved programme.

Every person subject to the provisions of sub-section 2.1 shall, within six (6)
months of the date of coming into effect ofthese bye-laws, submit to the Local
Authority an assessment of his/her farm’s effluent storage capacity
requirement together with a programme for compliance with the requirements
of Section 2.1.

Storage requirements shall be assessed in accordance with the “Code of Good
Agricultural Practice to Protect Waters from Pollution by Nitrates’ published
by the Department of the Environment and the Department of Agriculture,
Food and Forestry (1996) or any other code published by those Departments
as its replacement, or as amended from time to time.

Slurry, soiled water and silage effluent shall be directed to and collected in the
storage tanks provided and shall not be caused or permitted to flow onto
adjoining property or to enter any waters or aquifer.

Storage tanks, where new, shall be of watertight construction; the design and
construction standards for concrete tank construction shall be at least
equivalent to the Department of Agriculture Food and Forestry minimum
building specifications for storage units, S123: “Minimum specification:
Slatted livestock units; Reinforced concrete tanks”, (DAFF, 1994a) or any
other code published by that Department as its replacement, or as amended
from time to time.

Storage tanks, where existing, shall be tested for water-tightness; where an
existing tank is found to not be watertight, any works required to render it
watertight shall be completed within one year ofthe coming into effect of
these Bye-Laws.

Dungstead and farmyard manure shall be stored

2.8

2.9

2.10

2.0]

2.12

2.13

- in a manure pit structure constructed in accordance with S108: “MV
specification for manure pit”, (DAFF, 1987), or any other code p
that Department as its replacement, or as amended from time to u...
shall be sited where there is no risk of water pollution, or

- on land in compact heaps at least two metres high, located not less than 30
metres from any waters or public road, 100 metres from any domestic well
and 300 metres from any public water supply source. Field storage shall be
avoided where there is a thin soil overlay to gravel or fissured limestone
formations, or in any other circumstances where there is a high risk of
polluting groundwaters.

Uncontaminated surface run-off from roofs and clean paved areas within the
farmyard shall be collected separately and shall be disposed of to local
watercourses or soakaway.

Landspreading of livestock manure shall be carried out

- as early as practicable in the growing season;

- so that, in a normal year, at least half the livestock manure produced during
the winter housing period is landspread by 31 July and the remainder by 30
September.

The Local Authority may, in exceptional circumstances, as it considers
warranted, decide to vary the dates specified in sub-section 2.9.

Organic or chemical fertiliser shall not be applied :-

- to exposed bedrock;

- to wet or waterlogged land;

- to frozen or snow covered lands;

- to lands sloping steeply towards rivers, streams, and lakes, or, where the
gradient is more moderate, in situations where there is a significant risk of
causing water pollution;

- where permeable rocks, such as pure limestones, are overlain by shallow
(less than 2 metres) free-draining subsoils such as sands, gravels and sandy
tills; and on gravel aquifers, where the water table is within I metre.of the
surface;

- where heavy rain is forecast within the next 48 hours.

Organic fertiliser shall not be applied:-

- within 15 metres of exposed karstified limestone or of karst features such as
swallow holes and collapse features;

- within 50 metres of domestic wells;

- within 100 metres of public water supply sources, or as otherwise specified
in Schedule 5 attached hereto;

- within 20 metres of a main river channel or lake shoreline;

- within 10 metres of other watercourses;

- to lands from a public roadway.

Chemical fertiliser shall not be applied within 1.5 metres of any watercourse.
NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT PLANS

3.1

3.2

3.3

3.4

3.5

3.6

3.7

3.8

3.9

3.10

Every person farming land in those parts of the functional area ofthe Local
Authority listed in Schedule 3 attached hereto shall, within nine (9) months of
the date of coming into effect of these Bye-Laws, prepare and furnish to the
Local Authority a Nutrient Management Plan for its approval.

A Nutrient Management Plan furnished to the Local Authority for its approval
shall be prepared in accordance with the requirements specified in Schedule 1
attached hereto.

The Local Authority may:

() refuse to approve a Nutrient Management Plan furnished to it,

(i) approve the plan without modification, or

(ii) make such modifications as it considers proper and approve the plan on
that basis.

Where the Local Authority refuses to approve a plan, the authority may serve a
notice on the person concerned requiring the preparation and submission to it
of another Nutrient Management Plan. The provision ofthese bye-laws
relating to such plan are the same as apply in respect of the original plan.

A Nutrient Management Plan submitted to the Local Authority for its
approval shall be deemed to have been approved by the authority 2 months
after the date of receipt where the authority has not given a decision in the
interim.

An approved Nutrient Management Plan shall come into effect two months
after the date of approval.

A person farming land in those parts ofthe functional area ofthe Local
Authority listed in Schedule 3 attached hereto shall not, after the expiration of
one year from the the date of coming into effect of these Bye-Laws, apply
nutrients, either in chemical or organic form, save in accordance with an
approved Nutrient Management Plan, subject to the provisions of sub-section
3.0.

Records maintained in accordance with the requirements of a Nutrient
Management Plan shall be kept up-to-date and shall be available at all
reasonable times for inspection by an authorised person ofthe Local Authority
and be provided to the Local Authority on request in writing.

The Local Authority will require a review ofan approved Nutrient
Management Plan during its period of operation if, after consultation with the
farmer, it considers such warranted.

An approved Nutrient Management Plan may be varied during its period of
operation with the prior written approval ofthe Local Authority.
INTENSIVE AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISES

4.1

42

5.1

5.2

A person farming land in those parts ofthe functional area of the
LocalAuthority listed in Schedule 4 attached hereto shall not, after the
expiration of one year from the the date of coming into effect of these bye-
laws, apply nutrients from an Intensive Agricultural Enterprise save in
accordance with an approved Nutrient Management Plan prepared by that
Intensive Agricultural Enterprise.

Every person farming land in those parts ofthe functional area ofthe Local
Authority listed in Schedule 4 attached hereto, and applying nutrients from an
Intensive Agricultural Enterprise in accordance with an approved Nutrient
Management Plan, shall maintain such records as are required by the approved
Nutrient Management Plan. The records shall be kept up-to-date for each year
ofthe plan and shall be available at all reasonable times for inspection by an
authorised person ofthe Local Authority.

PENALTIES

A person who contravenes or fails to comply with these bye-laws shall be
guilty ofan offence pursuant to Section 21(3)(a) ofthe Local Government
(Water Pollution)(Amendment) Act, 1990 as amended.

A person guilty of an offence shall be liable to penalties in accordance with

Section 21 (3)(b) ofthe Local Government (Water Pollution)(Amendment)
Act, 1990 as amended.

SCHEDULE 1

A Nutrient Management Plan prepared in accordance with Section 3 shall meet the
requirements set out below.

I;

Identify land by reference to a copy Land Registry or Ordnance Survey map

and the Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) number and field or plot number, in
accordance with Area Aid maps or, where an LPIS number is not available, townland
and field or plot number.

Identify the current land use and proposed land use, if different.
Provide an estimate of nutrients to be applied annually to the land.

Provide a determination of soil nutrient levels in accordance with a programme of
sampling and analysis to be determined by the Local Authority after consultation with
the farmer.

Provide a specification (by the person preparing the plan) of the maximum quantities
of nutrients that ought to be used on the land concerned each year for the duration of
the plan, taking into account:

the nature of the current and proposed land use;

soil characteristics and soil nutrient levels;

types of crop grown or to be grown on the land;

the intensity ofthe animal stocking rate and of any other agricultural activities
carried out on the land, and

the need to make efficient use of nutrients having regard to crop requirements and the
objective of preventing, eliminating or minimising the loss of nutrient(s) to waters.

Specify the times when organic and chemical fertilisers ought and ought not, in the
opinion of the person preparing the plan, be applied to land/crops or injected into land
having regard to crop requirements and the objective of preventing, eliminating or
minimising the loss of nutrient(s) to waters.

Make provision for the keeping and maintenance of records relating to

the production, treatment, receipt from or transfer to another person of organic
fertiliser; "

the timing, locations and rates of use (application or injection) of organic
fertilisers;

the types, quantities, timing locations and rates of application of chemical
fertilisers;

the types, numbers and ages of animals on the farm;

the winter housing dates of livestock;

the results of sampling and analysis programme to determine soil nutrient levels.

Records relating to livestock, the production, treatment, receipt from or transfer to
another person of organic fertiliser, and the types, quantities, timing locations and

rates of application of chemical fertilisers shall be maintained on a monthly basis.

The duration of the plan shall be five years.

SCHEDULE 2

Townlands to which Section 2 ofthese bye-laws applies

Aghaboy (Clanmahon By)
Aghakilmore Lower
Aghalion

Agbhnahederny

Ardleny

Ballyheelan

Barconny (Massereene)
Bellsgrove

Brackloney

Carn (Castlerahan By)
Carrick (Clanmahon By)
Carrickakillew
Carricknaveddan
Claddagh

Clonbockoge

Clontyduffy (Hart)
Cookkill

Cornagrow (Upper Loughtee By)
Corracarrow
Crosserlough

Crover

Cullow

Derrylea

Drumbhallagh (Castlerahan By)
Drumsceruddan
Dungummin Upper
Finaway

Gallonbane

Garrynogher

Garrysallagh (O’Reilly)
Graddum

Kiffagh

Kilgolagh

Killyfinla

Killyvally (Castlerahan By)
Kilnahard

Lackanclare
Latnadronagh

Lecharry

Lisduff (Clanmahon By)
Lismacanigan Lower
Lisnabrinnia

Magheraboy Lower
Moodoge

Mountprospect

Moynagh Upper

Omard

Polleragh (Clanmahon By)
Pottleboy (Clanmahon By)
Raheever

Rassan

Sranayalloge

Aghacreevy

Aghakilmore Upper
Aghaloory

Aghnaskeagh

Ballaghanna

Barconny (Cuppage)
Barconny (Nugent)
Bobsgrove

Capragh

Carn (Upper Lougtee By)
Carrickabane (Ed Kilgolagh)
Carrickatober

Castlerahan

Clare

Clonkeiffy

Clontyduffy (Nugent)
Corglass (Ed Crosskeys)
Cornahilt

Cortrasna

Crosserule

Cullaboy Lower
Curraghabreedin
Derrylurgan

Drumnavrick

Duffcastle

Enagh (Clanmahon By)
Fortland

Gallonreagh (Clanmahon By)
Garryross

Glebe (Clanmahon By)
Greaghnagee

Kilbride

Kill

Killynure (Castlerahan By)
Kilmore (Ed Ballyjamesduff)
Kilnaleck (Castlerahan By)
Lackanduff

Lattagloghan

Lisaderg

Lishenry

Lismacanigan Upper
Lisnadarragh (Clanmahon By)
Magheraboy Upper
Mountnugent

Moydristan

Mullacastle

Pollafree

Pottle (Castlerahan By)
Raclaghy

Ramonan

Roebuck

Tawlaght (Clanmahon By)

Aghafad

Aghalattafraal

Aghawonan

Aghaoutereery

Ballina

Barconny (Grattan)
Barconny (Robinson)
Bracklagh (Clanmahon By)
Cargagh (Upper Lougtee By)
Camin

Carrickacroy

Carrickavee

Cavancoulter

Cloggagh

Clonloaghan

Conleen

Cormeen (Castlerahan By)
Cornamucklagh (Castlerahan By)
Corwin

Crossrah

Cullaboy Upper

Derrylahan (Castlerahan By)
Drumeeny

Drumroragh

Dungummin Lower

Farragh (Castlerahan By)
Freeduff

Garrison

Garrysallagh (D’arcy)
Gneeve
Keenagh(Castlerahan By)
Kildorragh Glebe

Killyfassy

Killytogher

Kilnacrott =.
Kilquilly

Lackanmore

Lavagh

Lisdonnish

Lislea (Upper Loughtee By)
Lismeen (Upper Loughtee By)
Lossetkillew

Moat

Mountpallas

Moynagh Lower
Mullaghboy (Ed Ballymachugh)
Pollakeel (Clanmahon By)
Pottle Soden

Racraveen

Ranrenagh

Shankill

Togher (Ed Graddum)

Tonagh (Clanmahon By) Tullyagan

Tullyboy
Tullytreane Turin

SCHEDULE 3

Townlands to which Section 3 ofthese bye-laws applies

NONE