----

            COMMISSION DECISION         

of 28 February 2006         

granting a derogation requested by Austria pursuant to Council Directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources

(notified under document number C(2006) 590)

(Only the German text is authentic)

(2006/189/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Directive 91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991 concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources (1), and in particular the third subparagraph of paragraph 2 of Annex III thereto,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The derogation requested by Austria by letter of 3 November 2005, for the purpose of allowing a higher amount of livestock manure than that provided for in the first sentence of the second subparagraph of paragraph 2 of Annex III to Directive 91/676/EEC and in point (a) thereof, is granted, subject to the conditions laid down in this Decision.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purpose of this decision, the following definitions shall apply:

Article 3

Scope

This Decision applies on an individual basis and subject to the conditions set out in Articles 4, 5 and 6 to cattle farms where the crop rotation includes more than 70 % of particularly nitrogen consuming crops, with a long growing season.

Article 4

Annual authorisation and commitment

1.   Farmers who want to benefit from a derogation shall submit an application to the competent authorities annually.

2.   Together with the annual application referred to in paragraph 1 they shall undertake in writing to fulfil the conditions provided for in Articles 5 and 6.

Article 5

Application of manure and other fertilisers

1.   The amount of livestock manure applied to the land each year on cattle farms, including by the animals themselves, shall not exceed the amount of manure containing 230 kg of nitrogen per hectare, subject to the conditions laid down in paragraphs 2 to 8.

2.   The total nitrogen inputs shall comply with the nutrient demand of the considered crop and the supply from the soil. Total nitrogen application from fertilisers shall not exceed 280 kg per hectare per year.

3.   A fertilisation plan shall be kept for each farm describing the crop rotation of the farmland and the planned application of manure and nitrogen and phosphate fertilisers. It shall be available in the farm each calendar year by 1 March at the latest.

The fertilisation plan shall include the following:

Plans shall be revised no later than seven days following any changes in agricultural practices to ensure consistency between plans and actual agricultural practices.

4.   Fertilisation accounts shall be prepared by each farm. They shall be submitted to the competent authority for each calendar year.

5.   Each farm benefiting from an individual derogation shall accept that the application referred to in paragraph 1 of Article 4, the fertilisation plan and the fertilisation accounts can be subject to control.

6.   Periodic nitrogen and phosphorous analysis in soil shall be performed for each farm which benefits from an individual derogation at least once every four years for each homogeneous area of the farm, with regard to crop rotation and soil characteristics. At least one analysis every five hectares of land shall be required.

7.   Manure shall not be spread in the autumn before grass cultivation.

8.   Fertiliser shall not be applied to land within 30 m of a lake.

Article 6

Land cover

70 % or more of the acreage available for manure application on the cattle holding in question shall be cultivated with grass, grass catch crops or beets and other crops being undersown by grass with low nitrate leaching potential. Farmers benefiting from an individual derogation shall carry out the following measures:

Article 7

Monitoring

1.   Maps showing the percentage of farms, percentage of livestock and percentage of agricultural land covered by individual derogation in each municipality, shall be drawn by the competent authority and shall be updated every year.

Those maps shall be submitted to the Commission annually.

2.   A monitoring network for sampling of surface and shallow groundwater shall be established and maintained to assess the impact of derogation on water quality. The existing monitoring network shall be reinforced in the districts with 3 % or more of farms benefiting from individual derogations over the total number of farms.

3.   Survey and nutrient analysis shall provide data on local land use, crop rotations and agricultural practices on farms benefiting from individual derogations. Those data can be used for model-based calculations of the magnitude of nitrate leaching and phosphorus losses from fields where up to 230 kg nitrogen per hectare per year from livestock manure is applied.

4.   Monitoring sites shall be established to provide data on nitrogen in water leaving the root zone and entering the groundwater system and on nitrogen losses by surface and subsurface runoff, both under derogation and non derogation conditions.

Article 8

Reporting

1.   The competent authority shall submit the results of the monitoring every year to the Commission, with a concise report on water quality evolution and evaluation practice. The report shall provide information on how the evaluation of the implementation of the derogation conditions is carried on through controls at farm level and include information on non compliant farms based on results of administrative and field inspections.

2.   The results thus obtained will be taken into consideration by the Commission with regard to an eventual new request for derogation.

Article 9

Application

This Decision shall apply in the context of the Third Austrian Action programme 2004-2007. It shall expire on 31 December 2007.

Article 10

This Decision is addressed to the Republic of Austria.

Done at Brussels, 28 February 2006.

For the Commission

Stavros DIMAS            

Member of the Commission

----

(1)OJ L 375, 31.12.1991, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1).

----