The Nitrates Directive implementation in the EU Blue Waters and Green Agriculture Conference 10 May 2017 Bucharest Marco Bonetti ENV D1 – Land Use & Management

Nutrients Important natural resource, essential to agriculture and life Phosphorus is an irreplaceable, limited natural resource Inefficient use and losses to environment can impact water, soil, air, ecosystems and biodiversity, etc. Eutrophication is one of the key threats to reach "good ecological status" for EU surface waters

Nutrients from agriculture in the EU: trends and outlook Trends and outlook: Water quality and nutrient loading 5-10 year trends: Water quality has improved, although concentrations of nutrients in many places are still high and affect the status of waters 20+ year outlook: In regions with intensive agricultural production, diffuse nitrogen pollution will still be high, resulting in continued eutrophication problems Progress to policy targets: although the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive and the Nitrates Directive continue to deliver pollution control, diffuse nitrogen pollution remains problematic Source: EEA State of the Environment Report 2015

Livestock density & N surplus (LSU/ha) 2010 Copyright, JRC, EU Commission Livestock density NUTS 2 regions (2013) Estimated nitrogen surplus across Europe (2005)

Costs of nutrients pollution Economic Losses Drinking water treatment costs Tourism and recreation Commercial fishing Human health

Water legislation relevant to nutrients Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) 'Framework Directive' bringing together EU water policies Aim: Achieve good status of EU waters by means of integrated RBM Instrument: RBMP and Programme of Measures  integrated approach based on identified pressures Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) Aim: Protect environment from the adverse effects of waste water discharges Instrument: Establishment of proper collection systems for waste water; Ensure appropriate treatment of collected waste water; Ensure reinforced treatment in areas sensitive to eutrophication Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC) Aim: Achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) for marine waters by 2020 by means of coherent approaches across sea basins Instrument: Marine strategies and programmes of measures based on identified pressures Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) Aim: Reduce water pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources and prevent further such pollution Instrument: Codes of Good Agricultural Practices, designation of vulnerable areas, Action Programmes

Other relevant legislation and initiatives Air emissions from livestock manure Critical raw materials Circular economy Consultation on sustainable use of phosphorus Industrial Emissions Fertiliser regulation Nature and biodiversity Common agricultural policy Animal by-product regulation Soil quality R&D Waste policy

Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) Monitoring Identification of polluted waters (or waters at risk of pollution) Identification of Nitrates Vulnerable Zones (NVZ) Codes of Good Agricultural Practice (voluntary) Action Programmes (mandatory) Reporting Reduction of water pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources and prevention of further pollution

Identification of polluted waters 1. Surface freshwaters, in particular those used or intended for the abstraction of drinking water, which contain or could contain > 50 mg/l nitrates, if no action is taken 2. Groundwaters which contain > 50 mg/l nitrates or could contain > 50 mg/l nitrates if no action is taken 3. Natural freshwater lakes, other freshwater bodies, estuaries, coastal waters and marine waters which are found to be eutrophic or in the near future may become eutrophic if no action is taken

NVZ designation Land draining into polluted waters or waters at risk of pollution designated as NVZ Art.3(1) and Art.3(2) Alternatively, MS can take the "whole territory approach" (establishment of obligatory measures for the entire territory) Art, 3(5) Territory designated as NVZ Member States applingthe whole territory approach Non-EU countries NVZ Status

Action Programmes Measures referred to in Annexes II and III to the Directive Periods when fertilizer application is prohibited Min. requirements for capacity and construction of storage facilities Limitation of land application of fertilizer (balanced fertilization) Max. application standard of 170 Kg N/ha/year from livestock manure Application on water-saturated, flooded, frozen or snow-covered ground Buffer strips near water courses Application of fertilizer on steeply sloping ground

Balanced fertilisation It is one of the cornerstones of the Nitrates Directive A balance is needed between the foreseeable nitrogen requirements of the crops and the nitrogen supply to the crops from all sources Respecting balanced fertilisation means avoiding waste of nutrients This principle is a key element of circular economy at farm level: before thinking how to recycle wasted nutrients, it is important to avoid the waste of nutrients.

Practices in EU Member States to apply balanced fertilisation Crop specific application standards, often differentiated (e.g. by historical yields or soil type) Other methodologies, using various approaches and indicators (e.g. field balance vs.farm gate balance) Pros and cons can be observed for the various approaches in terms of: accounting of different nutrient sources, controllability, etc.

Article 10 of the Nitrates Directive Member States shall, in respect of the four-year period following the notification of this Directive and in respect of each subsequent four-year period, submit a report to the Commission containing the information outlined in Annex V. A report pursuant to this Article shall be submitted to the Commission within six months of the end of the period to which it relates 1st Reporting period 1996-1999 2nd Reporting period 2000-2003 3rd Reporting period 2004-2007 4th Reporting period 2008-2011 5th Reporting period 2012-2015

Article 11 of the Nitrates Directive On the basis of the information received pursuant to Article 10 the Commission shall : Publish summary reports within six months of receiving the reports from Member States; and Communicate them to the European Parliament and to the Council.

2008-2011: Water quality is improving % of groundwater stations exceeding 40 and 50 mg/l nitrates % of surface water stations exceeding 40 and 50 mg/l nitrates Challenges and "hot spots" remain in some countries New data on the 2012-2015 period will be available this year

Relevant developments Manure is increasingly being considered as a valuable resource Improvement in processing technologies and efficiency of the final product Improved balanced fertilisation technologies, methodologies and accounting systems Measures more and more targeted to specific areas and type of farm

Conclusions Nitrates Directive: a piece of an integrated policy towards protection of water quality and environment Nitrates Directive: successful policy approach  water quality improvement Improvements of nutrient management related practices (manure storage, phase feeding to match animal N needs and reduce excretion, better application timing and advanced spreading techniques) Balanced fertilisation is a key principle. It is important to take account of all nutrient sources and the specific conditions (type of system, boundaries, etc.) Challenges still remain (hot spots of pollution, eutrophication, controls, etc.). Improving nitrogen use efficiency remains key in this regard

Thank you for your attention ENV-NITRATES@ec.europa.eu