CIS Expert group on WFD & Agriculture Nitrates Directive and Water Framework Directive Edinburgh 10th October 2012 Luisa Samarelli DG ENV Agriculture, Forests and Soil

Structure of the presentation The Nitrates Directive The Water Framework Directive The CAP (CC and RDP) Conclusions

The Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) - 1 Objective: reducing water pollution caused or induced by nitrates from agricultural sources and preventing further such pollution Key elements: Water monitoring (groundwater, water courses, lakes, transitional, coastal and marine waters); Identification of polluted waters or waters at risk Designation of nitrate vulnerable zones (NVZ) All land that drains into designated waters and contributes to pollution MS may also opt to apply an action programme on the whole territory Elaboration of codes of good agricultural practices, voluntary outside NVZ and obligatory in NVZ Elaboration of action programmes, obligatory in NVZ Review and, if necessary, revise NVZ and AP at least every four years Reinforce AP if the adopted measures are not sufficient to reach the ND objectives (art. 5 § 5).

The Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) - 2 prevention of nitrates pollution is a key objective of the ND, as well as the reduction of existing pollution all measures to be included in the AP shall aim at preventing nitrates pollution at source: fertilizers shall be applied only in periods during which crops require nitrogen and can actually take it up; manure shall be stored in an impermeable vessel at least for the entire period during which its application is prohibited plus a precautionary period to consider situations outside closed periods when livestock manure application is not possible (e.g. frozen ground) fertilizer application shall be limited to the crop requirement taking into consideration all other available sources of N, etc. … Nitrates Directive is the key cross-compliance and agri-env baseline directive

Designation of Nitrates Vulnerable Zones Possible approaches Designation of specific zones Several MS have yet to complete designation – notably some do not yet respect the requirement to designate all known areas of land which drain into waters affected by or which could be affected by pollution and which contribute to pollution. No designation of specific zones but implementation of the action programme on the whole territory (Finland, Germany, Luxemburg, Austria, Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, Lithuania, Malta and Slovenia)

The WFD (2000/60/EEC) - objectives Objective: reach good status (ecological + chemical for surface waters; quantitative + chemical for groundwater) Surface water bodies: WFD Annex V presents the elements for the assessment of good status (e.g. nutrient concentrations) no specifically nitrate or phosphate concentrations are mentioned  It is for the MS to identify the maximum nitrates and phosphate concentrations to enable the achievement of good ecological status in a particular water body. Groundwater: GWD article 3.1 (a) and annex I set up a standard of 50 mg NO3/L for nitrates, but at the same time stipulate that: "Where (…) it is considered that [50 mg/l] could result in failure to achieve the environmental objectives [of the WFD] for associated bodies of surface water, or in any significant diminution of the ecological or chemical quality of such bodies, or in any significant damage to terrestrial ecosystems which depend directly on the body of groundwater, more stringent threshold values will be established."

The WFD (2000/60/EEC) - measures Art. 11 of the WFD requires MS to:   Establish a PoM for each river basin district, including the basic measures and, where necessary, supplementary measures which address the significant pressures in a river basin and which will deliver the objectives of no deterioration and achievement of good status "Basic measures" are the minimum requirements to be complied with and shall consist, inter alia, of those measures required to implement Community legislation for the protection of water, including the ND "Supplementary" measures are those measures designed and implemented in addition to the basic measures, with the aim of achieving the objectives established pursuant to Article 4 Review and, if necessary, update the PoM every six years Adopt additional measures, where monitoring or other data indicate that the objectives of the WFD are unlikely to be achieved.

Common Agricultural Policy - CC A farmer receiving direct payments shall respect the SMR (which includes ND) and the GAEC, including, inter alia: establishment of buffer strips along water courses respect of authorisation procedures for using water for irrigation minimum soil cover minimum land management reflecting site-specific conditions protection of permanent pasture retention of landscape features, including, where appropriate, hedges, ponds, ditches, trees in line, in group or isolated and field margins

Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) - RDP A farmer receiving payments under Axis 2 shall respect the SMR and GAEC Agri-environment payments cover only those commitments going beyond the SMR and the GAEC as well as minimum requirements for fertiliser (and plant protection product use) and other relevant mandatory requirements established by national legislation and identified in the programme (Article 39(3) of Regulation (EC) No. 1698/2005). The minimum requirements of fertilizers must include, inter alia, the Codes of Good Practice introduced under Directive 91/676/EEC for farms outside Nitrate Vulnerable Zones, and requirements concerning phosphorus pollution (Annex II, point 5.3.2.1, of Regulation 1974/2006).

Conclusions - 1 Whenever "polluted waters" (as defined in Annex I of the ND) can be identified, the APs under ND shall apply, as well as when MS opt for applying the AP on their whole territory. In these cases, MS must take measures under ND to prevent pollution at source, according to the requirements of the ND. Furthermore, MS must monitor the efficacy of the AP and if it becomes apparent that the ND objectives will not be achieved with the current AP, MS must strengthen the measures (article 5.5).

Conclusions -2 When implementing the ND and WFD, MS must: Thoroughly analyse pressures to water bodies and identify source(s) of pollution; Establish a ND AP to meet the ND objectives; Progressively reinforce AP under art. 5 § 5, taking measures already included in the AP as a starting point; Establish WFD basic measures to address pollution at source if the ND AP does not sufficiently address WFD objectives (e.g. rules for limitation of P fertilizers, etc.); In case where 2, 3 and 4 above are not sufficient to reach good status, supplementary measures (to the AP and WFD basic measures) must be included in the PoMs. WFD supplementary measures must go beyond what is required under cross compliance SMRs and GAECs and can include agri-environment funded measures.

Thank you Questions?