Introductory text

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Council Directive 91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991 concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources^f1, and in particular the third subparagraph of paragraph 2 of Annex III thereto,

Whereas:

On 18 November 2002, the Commission adopted Decision 2002/915/EC^f2 granting a derogation requested by Denmark pursuant to Directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources, allowing the application of livestock manure containing up to 230 kg nitrogen per hectare per year on certain cattle holdings within the framework of the Danish action programme 1999 to 2003. The derogation was extended by Commission Decision 2005/294/EC^f3 in connection with the Danish action programme 2004 to 2007, by Commission Decision 2008/664/EC^f4 in connection with the Danish action programme 2008-2012 and by Commission Implementing Decision 2012/659/EU^f5 in connection with the Danish action programme 2008 to 2015.

The derogation granted by Implementing Decision 2012/659/EU concerned approximately (for the period 2014/2015) 1 500 cattle holdings, 425 102 livestock units and 205 165 hectares of arable land, corresponding respectively to 4,0 % of total number of holdings, 18,6 % of total livestock units and 8,2 % of the total arable area in Denmark.

On 4 February 2016, Denmark submitted to the Commission a request for renewal of the derogation under the third subparagraph of paragraph 2 of Annex III to Directive 91/676/EEC.

Denmark has an action programme covering the period 2016 to 2018, in conformity with Article 5 of Directive 91/676/EEC, by means of parts of Order on commercial livestock, livestock manure, silage, etc. no 1324 of 15 November 2016, Consolidated Act on farms' use of fertiliser and on plant cover no 388 of 27 April 2016 and Order on farms' use of fertiliser in the planning period 2016/2017 no 1055 of 1 July 2016, a new targeted catch crop scheme, obligatory part, as stated in Act on farms' use of fertiliser and on plant cover. In addition, Danish legislation includes a new general phosphorus regulation, according to Act on environmental approval etc. of livestock holdings and Order on commercial livestock, livestock manure, silage etc.

The Danish legislation implementing Directive 91/676/EEC includes limits for the application of nitrogen. Legislation limiting the application of phosphorus has been adopted and will enter into force in August 2017.

The Danish report on the ‘Status and trends of the aquatic environment and agricultural practice’ concerning the period 2012 to 2015 show an annual surplus of the national field balance of 80 kg N/ha in 2014 and a total nitrogen discharge to the sea from agriculture at approximately 70 % of the total in 2012. Denmark estimated that the land based nitrogen load to coastal waters needs to be reduced from 56,8 Mt to 44,7 Mt N, to support a good ecological status.

The Danish legislation should include a combined targeted scheme for voluntary and mandatory catch crops for 2017 and 2018. Under this scheme, the obligatory provisions for catch crops should enter into force automatically if the voluntary agreements for catch crops fail to deliver the environmental objectives. The areas under catch crops should be in addition to the national requirement for mandatory catch crops pursuant to the Danish Act on farms' use of fertiliser and on plant cover. These measures are necessary to ensure that the application of the current derogation would not lead to deterioration of water quality.

The information provided by Denmark in the context of the derogation granted by Implementing Decision 2012/659/EU shows that the derogation has not led to a deterioration of water quality as compared to areas not encompassed by the derogation. Data presented by Denmark on the implementation of Directive 91/676/EEC for the period 2012 to 2015^f6 shows that in Denmark for groundwater, around 16 % of monitoring stations have mean nitrate concentrations exceeding 50 mg/l and around 23 % of monitoring stations have mean nitrate concentrations exceeding 40 mg/l. Monitoring data show a stable trend in nitrate concentration in groundwater as compared to the previous reporting period (2008 to 2011). For surface water, most of monitoring points in surface waters shows mean nitrate concentrations below 50 mg/l and a stable trend in nitrate concentrations. The report covering the period 2012 to 2015 states that 2 out of 119 coastal waters were classified in a ‘good’ status.

The Commission, after examination of Denmark's request on the basis of the elements described in the third subparagraph of paragraph 2 of Annex III of Directive 91/676/EEC and in the light of the experience gained from the derogation as provided for in Decisions 2002/915/EC, 2005/294/EC, 2008/664/EC and Implementing Decision 2012/659/EU, considers that the amount of manure envisaged by Denmark, 230 kg nitrogen per hectare per year, will not prejudice the achievement of the objectives of Directive 91/676/EEC, subject to certain strict conditions being met.

In farms authorised to apply livestock manure containing up to 230 kg nitrogen per hectare per year, fertilisation plans are updated in a timely manner to ensure consistency with actual agricultural practices and permanent vegetal cover of arable area and catch crops are used to ensure recovering subsoil autumn losses of nitrates and limit nitrogen winter losses.

Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and the Council^f7 provides for a comprehensive, cross-border approach to water protection organised around river basin districts, with the objective of achieving a good status for European bodies of water by 2015. Reducing nutrients is an integral part of that objective. The granting of a derogation under this Decision is without prejudice to the provisions pursuant to Directive 2000/60/EC and does not exclude that additional measures may be needed to fulfil obligations derived from it.

Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council^f8 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, Denmark, when collecting the necessary data under this Decision should 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^f9.

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: