Nitrate Vulnerable Zones

Time is Running Out!

Livestock farmers within an NVZ are required to have 5 or 6 months’ slurry storage in place by 1st January 2012.

The new Nitrates Regulations came into force in 2009 and have increased storage requirements applying in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ). Now many farmers need to provide more storage for slurry and poultry manure. All farmers within NVZ are required to have 5-6 months’ slurry storage in place by 1st January 2012. This is extended to 1 January 2013 in a few areas of England (deferred slurry storage areas). Construction of these stores must comply with the Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil Regulations (SSAFO). For those whose land is not in an NVZ, there are still requirements to provide slurry storage in accordance with SSAFO.

What does this mean for farmers?

It’s not all bad news; with the right storage, farmers are able to save money by using their organic fertilisers at the optimum time to make the most of their nutrient content. This means they can replace more of the increasingly expensive bag muck with home grown fertiliser. There are a number of ways farmers might meet the requirements of the legislation. These include investment in storage and perhaps in equipment such as slurry separators, but also in simple and cheaper measures such as reducing dirty yard area, roofing of yards, and separating clean and dirty water. They can also consider options which reduce the amount of slurry produced or stored on the farm. The final plan might include more than one of these choices.

What is the legislation and why is it there?

Nitrates legislation is designed to help reduce the amount of nutrients in rivers, estuaries, lakes and groundwater. Excessive nitrate causes algal blooms in some rivers and coastal waters, harming fishing and biodiversity. There are also strict limits on the amount of nitrate allowed to be in drinking water. Around 60 per cent of the nitrate in water in England and Wales comes from agriculture.

“Applying slurry or other high nitrate material in closed periods is less efficient as more nitrate is leached away compared to applications in spring and summer. Closed periods vary with soil type and whether grass or tillage (detailed in the guidance).”

The SSAFO Regulations were first made in 1991 in response to a substantial rise in pollution incidents from on-farm silage-making and slurry systems. At one time there were thousands of incidents each year. Happily that number is now substantially down, but there are still many incidents each year, including one or two serious pollutions each week.The SSAFO Regulations set out minimum standards of design and construction, which must be met when silage, slurry or oil storage is used. We can serve an improvement notice when farms are operating without proper storage and creating a significant risk of pollution. The SSAFO Regulations were renewed in April 2010 and include a requirement that farmers notify us at least 14 days before new silage, slurry or fuel oil stores are used.

SSAFO and the NVZ regulations have slightly different requirements for slurry storage capacity:

• SSAFO requires 4 months storage, but this must also take account of ‘likely rainfall' defined as above-average rainfall that is likely to happen once in five years. This means that enough storage volume must be provided to cope safely with heavy rainfall events even towards the end of the winter.

• NVZ rules require 5 months storage for cattle or 6 months for pigs, accounting for average rainfall.

A farmer will need to conform to the higher of these storage requirements if operating within an NVZ. In most cases meeting the NVZ requirements will satisfy the SSAFO capacity requirements. The SSAFO regulations will still set the standard for location, design, and construction of stores inside and outside Nitrate Vulnerable Zones. Detailed guidance on both Nitrates legislation and SSAFO can be downloaded from the DEFRA or Welsh Government (WG) websites.

Proper slurry storage reduces the risk that the farm will cause a pollution incident. Farmers can be very distressed to find they have caused serious damage to the environment. Under the Environmental Liability Directive they can be liable for clean-up costs that can run to tens of thousands of pounds.

Key Environment Agency contacts:

DEFRA NVZ information

Welsh Government NVZ information

DEFRA SSAFO information (.pdf)

Welsh Government SSAFO information