2005/294/EC: Commission Decision of 5 April 2005 concerning a request for derogation under point 2(b) of Annex III to and Article 9 of Council Directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources (notified under document number C(2005) 1032)
Date: 2005-04-05
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Denmark, agricultural waste, derogation from EU law, environmental monitoring, pollution from agricultural sources, soil conditioning, water protection

L 94/34

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

13.4.2005

COMMISSION DECISION

of 5 April 2005

concerning a request for derogation under point 2(b) of Annex III to and Article 9 of Council
Directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from
agricultural sources

(notified under document number C(2005) 1032)

(Only the Danish text is authentic)

(2005/294/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(5)

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

In December 2003 Denmark completed the evaluation of
its second Action Plan on the Aquatic Environment
which indicated the achievement of the reduction target
for nitrate leaching of 48 % in the period 1985 to 2003.

to

regard

Council Directive

Having
of
12 December 1991 concerning the protection of waters
against
from agricultural
by
sources (1), and in particular point 2(b) of Annex III thereof,

91/676/EEC

pollution

nitrates

caused

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

The amount of manure that a Member state intends to
apply per hectare each year, which is different from the
one specified in point 2 of Annex III and point (a) of
Annex III of Directive 91/676/EEC, must be fixed so as
not
the objectives
that Directive and must be
specified in Article 1 of
justified on the basis of objective criteria, such as,
in
the present case, long growing seasons and crops with
high nitrogen uptake.

to prejudice the achievement of

On 18 November 2002,
the Commission adopted
Decision 2002/915/EC (2) concerning a request for dero-
gation under point 2(b) of Annex III to and Article 9 of
Directive 91/676/EEC. The derogation was applicable
within the framework of the Danish action programme
adopted for the year 1999 to 2003 and valid until
1 August 2004. It allowed the application of livestock
manure containing up to 230 kg of nitrogen per hectare
per year on specific cattle holdings.

On 8 January 2004, Denmark requested an extension of
the derogation. This request was completed by technical
documents dated 2 February 2004, 2 April 2004,
23 April 2004, 14 June 2004, 2 August 2004,
14 September 2004 and 4 October 2004.

Danish legislation transposing Directive 91/676/EEC can
be considered to be in compliance with Directive and its
provisions apply equally to the notified derogation.

(1) OJ L 375, 31.12.1991, p. 1. Directive as amended by Regulation
(EC) No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council
(OJ L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1).
(2) OJ L 319, 23.11.2002, p. 24.

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

The Danish Parliamentary agreement on the third Danish
Action Plan on the Aquatic Environment 2005 to 2015
set
reduction of nitrate
leaching by 13 % in the period 2005 to 2015 and for
a reduction of the phosphate surplus by 50 %.

the objectives for a further

In conformity with Article 5 of Directive 91/676/EEC,
Denmark has set action programmes that will ensure
compliance with the objective of
a maximum of
50 mg/l of nitrates in groundwater as set out in that
Directive.

Results of monitoring and controls show that, in period
2002 to 2003, 1 845 cattle holdings, 213 617 livestock
units and 123 068 hectares, corresponding respectively
in Denmark, were
to 4 %, 11 % and 5 % of the total
in Decision
set
the derogation,
encompassed by
2002/915/EC.

Calculations on nitrate leaching based on survey and
nutrient analysis in agricultural catchments, in reference
sites on sandy and clay soils, show that, in the period
1990 to 2003, nitrate leaching has been reduced by 42 %
in loamy soils and by 52 % in sandy soils. This reduction
is confirmed for 2002/2003.

(10)

Trend analysis of measured nitrate concentration in water
leaving the root zones shows that
it has decreased
steadily and is now approaching 50 mg/l, with a yearly
decrease of 3,1 and 6,1 mg/l respectively for loamy and
sandy soils. Nitrate concentration in streams in agri-
cultural catchments decreased by 29 % in the period
1990 to 2003. In 2003, nitrate average concentration
in upper groundwater was below 50 mg/l, both in
sandy and loamy soils.

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Official Journal of the European Union

L 94/35

(11)

The Commission, after examination of Denmark’s request
and, more in particular,
in the light of the experience
gained from the derogation as provided in Decision
2002/915/EC, considers that
the amount of manure
envisaged by Denmark, 230 kg of nitrogen per hectare
per year, will not prejudice the achievement of
the
objectives of Directive 91/676/EEC,
if certain strict
conditions are met.

(12)

This Decision is applicable in connection with the
framework of
the Danish action programme adopted
for the years 2004 to 2007.

(13) Decision 2002/915/EC expired on 1 August 2004. In
view of the experience gained under that Decision and
the cattle farmers
for
concerned may continue to benefit from derogation,
it
is appropriate that the present Decision shall apply from
2 August 2004.

the purpose of ensuring that

(14)

The measures provided for
in this Decision are in
accordance with the opinion of the Nitrates Committee
set up pursuant to Article 9 of Directive 91/676/EEC,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

Denmark’s request submitted by letter of 8 January 2004 asking
the Commission to allow derogation under point 2(b) of Annex
III
to the
conditions laid down hereunder.

to Directive 91/676/EEC is approved,

subject

Article 2

Definitions

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

(a)

‘Cattle farms’ means holdings with more than three livestock
units, where at least two-thirds of livestock are cattle,

(b) ‘grass’ means permanent or temporary grassland (generally

temporary lies less than four years),

(c)

‘crops being undersown by grass’: silage cereals, silage maize
and/or spring barley, to be undersown before (maize) or
after harvest, by grass which will act as a catch crop, for
biological retention of nitrogen residual during winter,

(d) ‘beets’ means forage beets.

Article 3

Scope

This derogation applies on an individual basis and under the
conditions prescribed in Articles 4 to 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

Cattle farmers shall submit an application for derogation

1.
to the competent authorities annually.

Together with that

2.
shall
annual
undertake in writing to fulfil the conditions provided for in
Articles 5 and 6.

application,

they

Article 5

Application of manure and other fertilisers

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,
under the following conditions:

(a)

the total nitrogen inputs must comply with the nutrient
demand of the considered crop and the supply from the
soil, the fertilisation rate being fixed 10 % under optimal
economic level;

catch crops or beet

(b) a fertilisation plan and account must be kept for each farm.
A plan describing the crop rotation and covering the period
1 August to 31 March the following year must be available
to the authorities by 1 September at the latest. By 21 April
such plans covering the whole of
the period must be
completed with information on expected application of
manure and nitrogen fertilisers and must be available to
the authorities. Crop rotation plans must specify grass,
crops being
grass
undersown by grass. Fertilisation plans must include the
estimated need for nitrogen and phosphorous application,
and nitrogen application shall be fixed 10 % below the
It also must specify the nature of
economic optimum.
fertiliser to be used (e.g. livestock manure, waste products,
fertiliser) and contain a sketch map indicating
chemical
location of
fields. Plans must be revised no
later than seven days following any changes in agricultural
practices to ensure consistency between plans and actual
agricultural practices. A fertilisation account must be
annually submitted to the competent authority. These regu-
lations must be encompassed in statutory orders;

and other

individual

(c) each cattle farm must submit, together with its annual appli-
cation, the fertilisation account and accept that they can be
subject to random control;

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Official Journal of the European Union

13.4.2005

(d) periodic nitrogen and phosphorous analysis in soil will be
done by each cattle farmer who is granted derogation for
accurate fertilisation (at least every three years per 5 ha of
land);

(e) no manure will be spread in the autumn before a grass
cultivation, and the ploughing will be followed by a high
nitrogen demanding crop.

Article 6

Land cover

70 % or more of the acreage available for manure appli-
1.
cation 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.

Grass catch crops shall not be ploughed before 1 March in
2.
order to ensure permanent vegetal cover of arable area for
recovering subsoil autumn losses of nitrates and limit winter
losses.

3.

Temporary grasslands shall be ploughed in spring.

of nitrogen per hectare per year in livestock manure is applied
based on scientific principles.

4.
In order to prove that the derogation will not jeopardise
the national action programme and the
the objective of
Directive, a network of sampling of soil water, streams and of
shallow groundwater
established as agricultural catchment
monitoring sites under the national monitoring programme
shall be maintained to provide data on state of nitrate
content
leaving the root zone and entering the
groundwater system.

in water

Article 8

Reporting

1.
The results of the monitoring shall be transmitted every
year to the Commission, with a concise report on evaluation
practice (controls at cattle farm level) and water quality
evolution (based on root zone leaching monitoring, surface/-
ground water quality and model-based calculations). Based on
initial assessment, first results shall be transmitted by October
2005, a second report by October 2006 and a third report by
June 2008.

4.
Crop rotation shall not include leguminous or other plants
fixing atmospheric nitrogen. This will however not apply to
clover
than 50 % clover and to
in grassland with less
barley/pea undersown with grass.

2.
The results thus obtained will be taken into consideration
by the Commission with regard to an eventual new request for
derogation by the Danish authorities, to be assessed in the
framework of
the procedure of Article 9 of Directive
91/676/EEC.

Article 7

Monitoring

1.
Two maps, showing the percentage of cattle farms and
percentage of agricultural land encompassed by the derogation
in each municipality of Denmark, shall be updated every year,
and transmitted to the Commission. The first submission will
take place in the last quarter of 2005.

Survey and continuous nutrient analysis shall be carried
2.
out
catchment national monitoring
in the
programme covering approximately 4 500 ha. The reference
sites shall be chosen on sandy and clay soils.

agricultural

3.
Survey and continuous nutrient analysis shall provide data
on local land use, crop rotations and practices on cattle farms.
These data can be used for model-based calculations of the
magnitude of nitrate leaching from fields where up to 230 kg

Article 9

Validity

This derogation shall apply from 2 August 2004. It shall expire
on 31 July 2008.

Article 10

This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Denmark.

Done at Brussels, 5 April 2005.

For the Commission

Stavros DIMAS
Member of the Commission