What Council Directive 91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991 concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources requires
This EU Directive requires Member States to reduce and prevent water pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources. Member States must identify waters affected by pollution or that could be affected, using criteria in Annex I, and designate Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) within two years of notification, with revisions every four years. For all waters, a general level of protection is required through a code of good agricultural practice, established within two years, to be implemented voluntarily by farmers. Within two years of NVZ designation, action programmes must be established and implemented within four years, containing mandatory measures from Annex III: these include rules on fertilizer application periods, storage capacity for livestock manure, and a limit on livestock manure application to 170 kg N per hectare per year (with a possible 210 kg N for the first four-year programme and the ability to fix different amounts based on objective criteria such as long growing seasons or high nitrogen uptake crops). Monitoring of nitrate concentration in freshwaters must be conducted over one year within two years, then every four years (or every eight years if nitrate remains below 25 mg/l). Eutrophic state of fresh surface waters, estuarial, and coastal waters must be reviewed every four years. Member States must submit reports every four years containing information outlined in Annex V, including a map of waters and vulnerable zones, summary of monitoring results, and summary of action programmes. The Commission publishes summary reports within six months of receiving Member State reports.
Pillar: Water & Environmental Resources · Authority: European Commission (DG ENV) · Version: 1.0.0 · Last updated:
Primary source: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:31991L0676
SHA-256 integrity: 70b3d843eb093227afa6305bfb7a05811ffc75c0f4ba56daaa25aee50fb54e53
Primary Citations — 7 traced to source
- Council Directive 91/676/EEC, 1991 (European Communities) - Article 1: Objective to reduce and prevent water pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources.
- Council Directive 91/676/EEC, 1991 (European Communities) - Article 3: Identification of waters and designation of Nitrate Vulnerable Zones within two years, with revisions every four years.
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