1991L0676 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 001.001 — 1
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►B COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of12December 1991
concerningtheprotectionofwatersagainstpollutioncausedbynitratesfromagriculturalsources
(91/676/EEC)
(OJ L 375, 31.12.1991, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 29 September 2003L 284 1 31.10.2003
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COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of12December 1991
concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by
nitratesfromagricultural sources
(91/676/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Article 130s thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (3),
Whereas the nitrate content of water in some areas of Member States is
increasing and is already high as compared with standards laid down inCouncil Directive 75/440/EEC of 16 June 1975 concerning the qualityrequired of surface water intended for the abstraction of drinking water
in the Member States (
4), as amended by Directive 79/869/EEC (5), and
Council Directive 80/778/EEC of 15 July 1980 relating to the qualityof water intended for human consumption(
6), as amended by the 1985
Act of Accession;
Whereas the fourth programme of action of the European Economic
Communities on the environment (7) indicated that the Commission
intended to make a proposal for a Directive on the control and reduc-tion of water pollution resulting from the spreading or discharge oflivestock effluents and the excessive use of fertilizers;
Whereas the reform of the common agricultural policy set out in the
Commission's green paper ‘Perspectives for the common agriculturalpolicy’ indicated that, while the use of nitrogen-containing fertilizers
and manures is necessary for Community agriculture, excessive use of
fertilizers constitutes an environmental risk, that common action isneeded to control the problem arising from intensive livestock produc-tion and that agricultural policy must take greater account ofenvironmental policy;
Whereas the Council resolution of 28 June 1988 of the protection of
the North Sea and of other waters in the Community (
8) invites the
Commission to submit proposals for measures at Community level;
Whereas the main cause of pollution from diffuse sources affecting the
Community's waters in nitrates from agricultural sources;
Whereas it is therefore necessary, in order to protect human health and
living resources and aquatic ecosystems and to safeguard other legiti-mate uses of water, to reduce water pollution caused or induced bynitrates from agricultural sources and to prevent further such pollution;
whereas for this purpose it is important to take measures concerning
the storage and the application on land of all nitrogen compounds andconcerning certain land management practices;
Whereas since pollution of water due to nitrates on one Member State
can influence waters in other Member States, action at Communitylevel in accordance withArticle 130r is th erefore necessary;1991L0676 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ No C 54, 3. 3. 1989, p. 4 and OJ No C 51, 2. 3. 1990, p. 12.
(2) OJ No C 158, 26. 6. 1989, p. 487.
(3) OJ No C 159, 26. 6. 1989, p. 1.
(4) OJ No L 194, 25. 7. 1975, p. 26.
(5) OJ No L 271, 29. 10. 1979, p. 44.
(6) OJ No L 229, 30. 8. 1980, p. 11.
(7) OJ No C 328, 7. 12. 1987, p. 1.
(8) OJ No C 209, 9. 8. 1988, p. 3.
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Whereas, by encouraging good agricultural practices, Member States
can provide all waters witha general level of protection against pollu-tion in the future;
Whereas certain zones, draining into waters vulnerable to pollution
from nitrogen compounds, require special protection;
Whereas it is necessary for Member States to identify vulnerable zones
and to establishand implement action programmes in order to reducewater pollution from nitrogen compounds in vulnerable zones;
Whereas such action programmes should include measures to limit the
land-application of all nitrogen-containing fertilizers and in particular
to set specific limits for the application of livestock manure;
Whereas it is necessary to monitor waters and to apply reference
methods of measurement for nitrogen compounds to ensure thatmeasures are effective;
Whereas it is recognized that the hydrogeology in certain Member
States is suchth at it may be many years before protection measureslead to improvements in water quality;
Whereas a Committee should be established to assist the Commission
on matters relating to the implementation of this Directive and to its
adaptation to scientific and technical progress;
Whereas Member States should establish and present to the Commis-
sion reports on the implementation of this Directive;
Whereas the Commission should report regularly on the implementa-
tion of this Directive by the Member States,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
This Directive has the objective of:
— reducing water pollution caused or induced by nitrates from agricul-
tural sources and
— preventing further such pollution.
Article 2
For the purpose of this Directive:
(a) ‘groundwater’: means all water which is below the surface of the
ground in the saturation zone and in direct contact with the groundor subsoil;
(b) ‘freshwater’: means naturally occurring water having a low concen-
tration of salts, which is often acceptable as suitable for abstractionand treatment to produce drinking water;
(c) ‘nitrogen compound’: means any nitrogen-containing substance
except for gaseous molecular nitrogen;
(d) ‘livestock’: means all animals kept for use or profit;
(e) ‘fertilizer’: means any substance containing a nitrogen compound
or nitrogen compounds utilized on land to enhance growth of vege-tation; it may include livestock manure, the residues from fishfarms and sewage sludge;
(f) ‘chemical fertilizer’: means any fertilizer which is manufactured by
an industrial process;
(g) ‘livestock manure’: means waste products excreted by livestock or
a mixture of litter and waste products excreted by livestock, evenin processed form;
(h) ‘land application’: means the addition of materials 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 surfacelayers of the land;1991L0676 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 001.001 — 3
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(i) ‘eutrophication’: means the enrichment of water by nitrogen
compounds, causing an accelerated growth of algae and higherforms of plant life to produce an undesirable disturbance to the
balance of organisms present in the water and to the quality of the
water concerned;
(j) ‘pollution’: means the discharge, directly or indirectly, of nitrogen
compounds from agricultural sources into the aquatic environment,the results of which are such as to cause hazards to human health,harm to living resources and to aquatic ecosystems, damage to
amenities or interference withoth er legitimate uses of water;
(k) ‘vulnerable zone’: means an area of land designated according to
Article 3 (2).
Article 3
1. Waters affected by pollution and waters which could be affected
by pollution if action pursuant Article 5 is not taken shall be identifiedby the Member States in accordance with the criteria set out in AnnexI.
2. Member States shall, within a two-year period following the noti-
fication of this Directive, designate as vulnerable zones all known areasof land in their territories which drain into the waters identifiedaccording to paragraph 1 and which contribute to pollution. They shall
notify the Commission of this initial designation within six months.
3. When any waters identified by a Member State in accordance
withparagraph1 are affected by pollution from waters from anoth erMember State draining directly or indirectly in to them, the Member
States whose waters are affected may notify the other Member States
and the Commission of the relevant facts.
The Member States concerned shall organize, where appropriate with
the Commission, the concertation necessary to identify the sources in
question and the measures to be taken to protect the waters that areaffected in order to ensure conformity withth is Directive.
4. Member States shall review if necessary revise or add to the
designation of vulnerable zones as appropriate, and at last every fouryears, to take into account changes and factors unforeseen at the timeof the previous designation. They shall notify the Commission of anyrevision or addition to the designations within six months.
5. Member States shall be exempt from the obligation to identify
specific vulnerable zones, if they establish and apply actionprogrammes referred to in Article 5 in accordance withth is Directivethroughout their national territory.
Article 4
1. Withth e aim of providing for all waters a general level of protec-
tion against pollution, Member States shall, within a two-year period
following the notification of this Directive:
(a) establisha code or codes of good agricultural practice, to be imple-
mented by farmers on a voluntary basis, which should contain
provisions covering at least the items mentioned in Annex II A;
(b) set up where necessary a programme, including the provision of
training and information for farmers, promoting the application ofthe code(s) of good agricultural practice.
2. Member States shall submit to the Commission details of their
codes of good agricultural practice and the Commission shall includeinformation on these codes in the report referred to in Article 11. Inthe light of the information received, the Commission may, if itconsiders it necessary, make appropriate proposals to the Council.
Article 5
1. Within a two-year period following the initial designation referred
to in Article 3 (2) or within one year of each additional designation1991L0676 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 001.001 — 4
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referred to in Article 3 (4), Member States shall, for the purpose of
realizing the objectives specified in Article 1, establish actionprogrammes in respect of designated vulnerable zones.
2. An action programme may relate to all vulnerable zones in the
territory of a Member State or, where the Member State considers itappropriate, different programmes may be established for different
vulnerable zones or parts of zones.
3. Action programmes shall take into account:
(a) available scientific and technical data, mainly with reference to
respective nitrogen contributions originating from agricultural and
other sources;
(b) environmental conditions in the relevant regions of the Member
State concerned.
4. Action programmes shall be implemented within four years of
their establishment and shall consist of the following mandatory
measures:
(a) the measures in Annex III;
(b) those measures which Member States have prescribed in the
code(s) of good agricultural practice established in accordancewith Article 4, except those which have been superseded by the
measures in Annex III.
5. Member States shall moreover take, in the framework of the
action programmes, suchadditional measures or reinforced actions asthey consider necessary if, at the outset or in the light of experience
gained in implementing the action programmes, it becomes apparent
that the measures referred to in paragraph 4 will not be sufficient forachieving the objectives specified in Article 1. In selecting thesemeasures or actions, Member States shall take into account their effec-tiveness and their cost relative to other possible preventive measures.
6. Member States shall draw up and implement suitable monitoring
programmes to assess the effectiveness of action programmes estab-lished pursuant to this Article.
Member States which apply Article 5 throughout their national territory
shall monitor the nitrate content of waters (surface waters and ground-water) at selected measuring points which make it possible to establishthe extent of nitrate pollution in the waters from agricultural sources.
7. Member States shall review and if necessary revise their action
programmes, including any additional measures taken pursuant to para-graph 5, at least every four years. They shall inform the Commission ofany changes to the action programmes.
Article 6
1. For the purpose of designating and revising the designation of
vulnerable zones, Member States shall:
(a) within two years of notification of the Directive, monitor the nitrate
concentration in freshwaters over a period of one year:
(i) at surface water sampling stations, laid down in Article 5 (4) of
Directive 75/440/EEC and/or at other sampling stations whichare representative of surface waters of Member States, at leastmonthly and more frequently during flood periods;
(ii) at sampling stations which are representative of the ground-
water aquifers of Member States, at regular intervals and
taking into account the provisions of Directive 80/778/EEC;
(b) repeat the monitoring programme outlined in (a) at least every four
years, except for those sampling stations where the nitrate concen-tration in all previous samples has been below 25 mg/l and no newfactor likely to increase the nitrage content has appeared, in whichcase the monitoring programme need be repeated only every eightyears;1991L0676 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 001.001 — 5
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(c) review the eutrophic state of their fresh surface waters, estuarial
and coastal waters every four years.
2. The reference methods of measurement set out in Annex IV shall
be used.
Article 7
Guidelines for the monitoring referred to in Article 5 and 6 may be
drawn up in accordance withth e procedure laid down in Article 9.
Article 8
The Annexes to this Directive may be adapted to scientific and tech-
nical progress in accordance withth e procedure laid down in Article 9.
Article 9
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee.
2. Where reference is made to this Article, Articles 5 and 7 of Deci-
sion 1999/468/EC (1) shall apply, having regard to the provisions of
Article 8 thereof.
The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be
set at three months.
3. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.
Article 10
1. 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 theinformation outlined in Annex V.
2. A report pursuant to this Article shall be submitted to the
Commission within six months of the end of the period to which itrelates.
Article 11
On the basis of the information received pursuant to Article 10, the
Commission shall publish summary reports within six months ofreceiving the reports from Member States and shall communicatethem to the European Parliament and to the Council. In the light of
the implementation of the Directive, and in particular the provisions
of Annex III, the Commission shall submit to the Council by 1 January1998 a report accompanied where appropriate by proposals for revisionof this Directive.
Article 12
1. The Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations
and administrative provisions necessary to comply withth is Directive
within two years of its notification (
2). They shall forthwith inform the
Commission thereof.
2. When Member States adopt these measures, they shall contain a
reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference
on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of makingsuch a reference shall be laid down by the Member States.1991L0676 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 001.001 — 6
(1) Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures
for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (OJ
L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23).
(2) This Directive was notified to the Member States on 19 December 1991.▼M1
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3. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of
the provisions of national law which they adopt in the field governedby this Directive.
Article 13
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1991L0676 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 001.001 — 7
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ANNEX I
CRITERIAFORIDENTIFYINGWATERSREFERREDTOINARTICLE
3(1)
A. Waters referred to in Article 3 (1) shall be identified making use, inter alia,
of the following criteria:
1. whether surface freshwaters, in particular those used or intended for the
abstraction of drinking water, contain or could contain, if action pursuant
to Article 5 is not taken, more than the concentration of nitrates laid
down in accordance withDirective 75/440/EEC;
2. whether groundwaters contain more than 50 mg/l nitrates or could contain
more than 50 mg/l nitrates if action pursuant to Article 5 is not taken;
3. whether natural freshwater lakes, other freshwater bodies, estuaries,
coastal waters and marine waters are found to be eutrophic or in the
near future may become euthropic if action pursuant to Article 5 is not
taken.
B. In applying these criteria, Member States shall also take account of:
1. the pyhsical and environmental characteristics of the waters and land;
2. the current understanding of the behaviour of nitrogen compounds in the
environment (water and soil);
3. the current understanding of the impact of the action taken pursuant to
Article 5.1991L0676 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 001.001 — 8
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ANNEX II
CODE(S)OFGOODAGRICULTURALPRACTICE
A. A code or codes of good agricultural practice withth e objective of reducing
pollution by nitrates and taking account of conditions in the different regions
of the Community should certain provisions covering the following items, in
so far as they are relevant:
1. periods when the land application of fertilizer is inappropriate;
2. the land application of fertilizer to steeply sloping ground;3. the land application of fertilizer to water-saturated, flooded, frozen or
snow-covered ground;
4. the conditions for land application of fertilizer near water courses;5. the capacity and construction of storage vessels for livestock manures,
including measures to prevent water pollution by run-off and seepage
into the groundwater and surface water of liquids containing livestock
manures and effluents from stored plant materials suchas silage;
6. procedures for the land application, including rate and uniformity of
spreading, of both chemical fertilizer and livestock manure, that will
maintain nutrient losses to water at an acceptable level.
B. Member States may also include in their code(s) of good agricultural prac-
tices the following items:
7. land use management, including the use of crop rotation systems and the
proportion of the land area devoted to permanent crops relative to
annual tillage crops;
8. the maintenance of a minimum quantity of vegetation cover during
(rainy) periods that will take up the nitrogen from the soil that could
otherwise cause nitrate pollution of water;
9. the establishment of fertilizer plans on a farm-by-farm basis and the
keeping of records on fertilizer use;
10. the prevention of water pollution from run-off and the downward water
movement beyond the reach of crop roots in irrigation systems.1991L0676 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 001.001 — 9
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ANNEX III
MEASURES TO BE INCLUDED IN ACTION PROGRAMMES AS
REFERREDTOINARTICLE5(4)(a)
1. The measures shall include rules relating to:
1. periods when the land application of certain types of fertilizer is prohib-
ited;
2. the capacity of storage vessels for livestock manure; this capacity must
exceed that required for storage throughout the longest period during
which land application in the vulnerable zone is prohibited, except where
it can be demonstrated to the competent authority that any quantity of
manure in excess of the actual storage capacity will be disposed of in a
manner which will not cause harm to the environment;
3. limitation of the land application of fertilizers, consistent with good agri-
cultural practice and taking into account the characteristics of the
vulnerable zone concerned, in particular:
(a) soil conditions, soil type and slope;
(b) climatic conditions, rainfall and irrigation;
(c) land use and agricultural practices, including crop rotation systems;
and to be based on a balance between:
(i) the foreseeable nitrogen requirements of the crops,
and
(ii) the nitrogen supply to the crops from the soil and from fertilization
corresponding to:
— the amount of nitrogen present in the soil at the moment when the
crop starts to use it to a significant degree (outstanding amounts at
the end of winter),
— the supply of nitrogen through the net mineralization of the
reserves of organic nitrogen in the soil,
— additions of nitrogen compounds from livestock manure,— additions of nitrogen compounds from chemical and other fertili-
zers.
2. These measures will ensure that, for each farm or livestock unit, the amount
of livestock manure applied to the land each year, including by the animals
themselves, shall not exceed a specified amount per hectare.
The specified amount per hectare be the amount of manure containing 170 kg
N. However:
(a) for the first four year action programme Member States may allow an
amount of manure containing up to 210 kg N;
(b) during and after the first four-year action programme, Member States
may fix different amounts from those referred to above. These amounts
must be fixed so as not to prejudice the achievement of the objectives
specified in Article 1 and must be justified on the basis of objectives
criteria, for example:
— long growing seasons,
— crops withh ighnitrogen uptake,— high net precipitation in the vulnerable zone,— soils withexceptionally h ighdenitrification capacity.
If a Member State allows a different amount under subparagraph(b), it
shall inform the Commission which will examine the justification in
accordance withth e procedure laid down in Article 9.
3. Member States may calculate the amounts referred to in paragraph 2 on the
basis of animal numbers.
4. Member States shall inform the Commission of the manner in which they are
applying the provisions of paragraph 2. In the light of the information
received, the Commission may, if it considers necessary, make appropriate
proposals to the Council in accordance with Article 11.1991L0676 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 001.001 — 10
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ANNEX IV
REFERENCEMETHODSOFMEASUREMENT
Chemicalfertilizer
Nitrogen compounds shall be measured using the method described in Commis-
sion Directive 77/535/EEC of 22 June 1977 on the approximation of the laws of
the Member States relating to methods of sampling and analysis for fertili-
zers (1), as amended by Directive 89/519/EEC (2).
Freshwaters,coastalwatersandmarinewaters
Nitrate concentration shall be measured in accordance with Article 4a (3) of
Council Decision 77/795/EEC of 12 December 1977 establishing a common
procedure for the exchange of information on the quality of surface fresh water
in the Community (3), as amended by Decision 86/574/EEC (4).1991L0676 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 001.001 — 11
(1) OJ No L 213, 22. 8. 1977, p. 1.
(2) OJ No L 265, 12. 9. 1989, p. 30.
(3) OJ No L 334, 24. 12. 1977, p. 29.
(4) OJ No L 335, 28. 11. 1986, p. 44.
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ANNEX V
INFORMATIONTOBECONTAINEDINREPORTSTOINARTICLE10
1. A statement of the preventive action taken pursuant to Article 4.
2. A map showing the following:
(a) waters identified in accordance withArticle 3 (1) and Annex I indicating
for each water which of the criteria in Annex I was used for the purpose
of identification;
(b) the location of the designed vulnerable zones, distinguishing between
existing zones and zones designated since the previous report.
3. A summary of the monitoring results obtained pursuant to Article 6,
including a statement of the considerations which led to the designation of
eachvulnerable zone and to any revision of or addition to designations of
vulnerable zones.
4. A summary of the action programmes drawn up pursuant to Article 5 and, in
particular:
(a) the measures required by Article 5 (4) (a) and (b);
(b) the information required by Annex III (4);
(c) any additional measures or reinforced actions taken pursuant to Article 5
(5);
(d) a summary of the results of the monitoring programmes implemented
pursuant to Article 5 (6);
(e) the assumptions made by the Member States about the likely timescale
within which the waters identified in accordance with Article 3 (1) are
expected to respond to the measure in the action programme, along with
an indication of the level of uncertainty incorporated in these assump-
tions.1991L0676 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 001.001 — 12