(1)

By Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/1499 (2) Belgium was granted a derogation allowing it to authorise in the region of Flanders, under certain conditions, the land application of up to 250 kg nitrogen per hectare per year from livestock manure on parcels cultivated with grassland and maize undersown with grassland, with cut grassland followed by maize and with cut rye followed by maize and up to 200 kg nitrogen per hectare per year from livestock manure on parcels cultivated with winter wheat and triticale followed by a catch crop and with sugar or fodder beets.

(2)

The derogation granted by Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/1499 concerned approximately 2 870 farmers and 94 280 ha of land and expired on 31 December 2018.

(3)

On 21 December 2018, Belgium submitted to the Commission a request for a new derogation under the third subparagraph of point 2 of Annex III to Directive 91/676/EEC with regard to the region of Flanders.

(4)

The requested derogation concerns the intention of Belgium to allow the land application in Flanders, in specific holdings, of up to 250 kg nitrogen per hectare per year from grazing livestock manure and treated manure on parcels cultivated with grassland, grassland mixed with clover, maize undersown with grassland and cut grassland or cut rye followed by maize and up to 200 kg nitrogen per hectare per year from livestock manure and treated manure on parcels cultivated with winter wheat or triticale followed by a catch crop and with beet.

(5)

The information provided by Belgium in the context of the derogation granted by Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/1499, indicates that the derogation has not led to a deterioration of water quality. The Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the implementation of Directive 91/676/EEC for the period 2012 to 2015 (3), shows that in the region of Flanders, around 81 % of the groundwater monitoring stations reported mean nitrate concentrations below 50 mg/l and 63 % of groundwater monitoring stations reported mean nitrate concentrations below 25 mg/l. Monitoring data showed a downward trend in nitrate concentration in groundwater as compared to the previous reporting period (2008 to 2011). For surface water, 95 % of the monitoring stations have reported mean nitrate concentrations below 50 mg/l and 75 % of monitoring stations have reported mean nitrate concentrations below 25 mg/l. The majority of monitoring points in surface waters showed a decreasing trend in nitrate concentrations. In the reporting period 2012 to 2015, around 76 % of rivers were classified as either eutrophic or hypertrophic, which is similar to the previous reporting period (2008 to 2011).

(6)

More recent data provided by Belgium for the region of Flanders demonstrate that the quality of ground and surface water in Flanders as regards contamination by nitrates did not improve since 2015.

(7)

Flanders intends to reach the following water quality goals over the action programme for the period 2019 to 2022 for all catchment areas. For surface water, a reduction of the average target distance with 4 mg nitrate per litre with an average concentration above the target distance of 20 mg nitrate per litre; for shallow groundwater, which has a slower recovery rate, a global downward trend of at least 3 mg nitrate per litre has to be reached in all catchments that have an average concentration above 50 mg nitrate per litre or between 40 and 50 mg nitrate per litre with increasing trend.

(8)

In order to reach these goals, Flanders has established a reinforced action programme for the period 2019 to 2022. A review of the designation of area types where strengthened measures are in place is envisaged for the end of 2020 based upon the monitoring results of surface water quality during the winters of the years 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 and groundwater quality during the years 2018 and 2019. The legislation transposing Directive 91/676/EEC for the region of Flanders, the ‘Decree for the protection of water against pollution by nitrates from agricultural sources’ (4) (the ‘Manure Decree’) has been amended in accordance with the action programme for the period 2019 to 2022 on 24 May 2019 and applies in conjunction with this Decision.

(9)

The Manure Decree applies through the whole territory of the region of Flanders.

(10)

The Manure Decree includes limits for the land application of both nitrogen and phosphorus.

(11)

Solid fractions resulting from manure treatment should be delivered to authorised installations for recycling, with the aim of reducing odours and other emissions, improving agronomic and hygienic properties, facilitating handling and enhancing recovery of nitrogen and phosphate.

(12)

The supporting documents presented by Belgium concerning the region of Flanders show that the proposed amount of nitrogen from livestock manure of respectively 250 and 200 kg per hectare per year is justified on the basis of objective criteria such as long growing seasons and crops with high nitrogen uptake.

(13)

The latest data provided by Belgium for Flanders for the period 2015 to 2017 show a decrease in pig numbers of 4,7 %. The numbers of poultry show an increase of 14,3 % between 2014 and 2017. The numbers of cattle remained stable. In order to avoid that the application of the requested derogation leads to intensification of livestock rearing, the competent authorities will limit the number of livestock that can be kept in each farm (nutrient emission rights) in the region of Flanders according to the provisions set out in the Manure Decree.

(14)

The data reported by Belgium concerning the region of Flanders for the period 2012 to 2015 showed a decrease of 4,9 % in the use of nitrogen from livestock manure in the period 2012 to 2014 as compared to the period 2004 to 2007. The latest available numbers for 2015, 2016 and 2017 show a further decrease in the use of nitrogen from livestock manure of 4,0 % between 2014 and 2017, up to a value of 90,6 thousand tonnes in 2017. During the reporting period 2012 to 2015, the use of mineral nitrogen was similar to the period 2008 to 2011. The latest available data for 2015, 2016 and 2017 show that mineral nitrogen use has increased to 48,6 thousand tonnes in 2017, which is an increase of 21 % compared to 2014.

(15)

On parcels with soils with low P-availability (class I) and soils within the target zone (class II), there may be a need to apply additional phosphate from chemical fertiliser. Such fertilisers should not be used on parcels with soils with a moderate P-availability (class III) and soils with a high P-availability (class IV).

(16)

Flanders has a dense network of water quality monitoring stations. That network can be used as an alternative to the current derogation monitoring network and should allow to observe the performance of farms benefitting from an authorisation in accordance with the derogation requested by Belgium in comparison to farms that do not benefit from such an authorisation, and to monitor whether the objectives of Directive 91/676/EEC are achieved. Further research should be done in order to better understand the connection between nitrate losses on parcel level and the nitrate concentration in surface water and ground water at the level of a (sub) catchment, in order to calibrate and validate the nutrient emission model.

(17)

After examination of the request it can be considered that the proposed amounts of respectively 250 and 200 kg per hectare per year of nitrogen from grazing livestock manure and treated manure, will not prejudice the achievement of the objectives of Directive 91/676/EEC, subject to certain strict conditions being met, which should apply in addition to the reinforced measures taken in the action programme for the period 2019 to 2022.

(18)

Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (5) lays down general rules aimed at the establishment of the Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the Union for the purposes of environmental policies of the Union and policies or activities which may have an impact on the environment. Where applicable, the spatial information collected in the context of this Decision should be in line with the provisions set out in that Directive. In order to reduce the administrative burden and enhance data coherence, Belgium, when collecting the necessary data under this Decision should, where appropriate, make use of the information generated under the Integrated Administration and Control System established pursuant to Chapter II of Title V of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6).

(19)

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,

(a)

‘farms’ means agriculture holdings with or without livestock rearing;

(b)

‘parcel’ means an individual field or a group of fields, homogeneous regarding cropping, soil type and fertilisation practices;

(c)

‘grassland’ means permanent or temporary grassland (generally temporary lies less than four years);

(d)

‘crops with high nitrogen demand and long growing season’ means any of the following:

(e)

‘grazing livestock’ means cattle (with the exclusion of veal calves), sheep, goats and horses;

(f)

‘manure treatment’ means the processing of manure in two fractions, a solid and a liquid fraction, performed to improve land application and enhance nitrogen and phosphorus recovery;

(g)

‘treated manure’ means the liquid fraction resulting from manure treatment;

(h)

‘effluent with low nitrogen and phosphate content’ means treated manure with a maximum nitrogen content of 1 kg per ton effluent and a maximum phosphate content of 1 kg per ton effluent;

(i)

‘soil profile’ means the soil layer below ground level to a depth of 0,90 m, unless the average highest groundwater level is shallower; in this latter case it shall be to a depth of the average highest groundwater level.

(j)

‘fertilisation plan’ means an advance calculation about the planned use and availability of nutrients;

(k)

‘fertilisation account’ means the nutrient balance based on the real use and uptake of nutrients.

(a)

maps showing the percentage of farms, percentage of livestock, percentage of agricultural land and local land use, as well as data on crop rotations and agricultural practices in farms benefiting from an authorisation pursuant to Article 5, as referred to in Article 10(1);

(b)

the results of water monitoring, including information on water quality trends for ground, surface waters, and waters flowing to the North Sea, as well as the impact of the derogation on water quality as referred to in Article 10(3);

(c)

an evaluation of the nitrate residue in soil profile in autumn for the parcels benefiting from an authorisation pursuant to Article 5 and a comparison with nitrate residue data and trends on parcels that are not benefiting from such an authorisation for similar crop rotations. Parcels that are not benefiting from an authorisation pursuant to Article 5 should include parcels on farms benefitting from a such an authorisation and parcels on other farms;

(d)

an evaluation of the soil phosphorus status for parcels benefiting from an authorisation pursuant to Article 5 and parcels that are not benefiting from such an authorisation;

(e)

information on nitrate and phosphorus concentration in water leaving the root zone referred to in Article 10(5);

(f)

the data collected on local land use, crop rotations, agricultural practices, nutrient use and manure production, and the results of model-based calculations of the magnitude of nitrate and phosphorus losses from farms benefiting from an authorisation pursuant to Article 5, as referred to in Article 10(6);

(g)

an evaluation of the implementation of the conditions for an authorisation, on the basis of controls at farm and parcel level, as well as controls on manure transport, and information on non-compliant farms, on the basis of the results of the administrative and field inspections;

(h)

information on manure treatment, including further processing and utilisation of the solid fractions, and detailed data on the characteristics of treatments systems, their efficiency and composition of treated manure;

(i)

information on the number of farms benefiting from an authorisation pursuant to Article 5 and the number of parcels on which treated manure and effluent with low nitrogen and phosphate content has been applied as well as the volumes of that manure and effluent;

(j)

the methodologies to assess the composition of treated manure, the variations in composition and treatment efficiency for each farm benefiting from an authorisation pursuant to Article 5, as referred to in Article 6(3);

(k)

the inventory of manure treatment installation as referred to in Article 6(5);

(l)

a summary and an evaluation of data obtained from the area specific monitoring as referred to in Article 10(5);

(m)

trends in livestock numbers for each livestock category in Flanders region and in farms benefitting from an authorisation pursuant to Article 5.