Regulation 17 Spreading organic manure near surface water, boreholes, springs or wells

United Kingdom

(1)

A person must not spread organic manure within 10 metres of surface water, except in so far as doing so is permitted by paragraph (2) or (4).

(2)

Livestock manure (other than slurry or poultry manure) may be spread if—

(a)

it is spread on land managed for breeding wader birds or as a species-rich semi-natural grassland and the land comes within paragraph (3),

(b)

it is spread in the period that begins with 1st June and ends with the following 31st October,

(c)

it is not spread directly on to surface water, and

(d)

the total annual amount does not exceed 12.5 tonnes per hectare.

(3)

Land comes within this paragraph if it is—

(a)

notified as a site of special scientific interest under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981^f1, or

(b)

subject to an agri-environmental commitment entered into under Council Regulation (EC) 1698/2005^f2 or Regulation (EU) 1305/2013.

(4)

Organic manure in the form of slurry, sewage sludge or anaerobic digestate (or any combination of those) may be spread, except within 6 metres of surface water, if the spreading equipment used is—

(a)

a trailing hose band spreader or a trailing shoe band spreader,

(b)

an injector which injects the organic manure no deeper than 10cm below the surface of the soil, or

(c)

a dribble bar applicator.

(5)

In paragraph (4)—

“anaerobic digestate” means the product of anaerobic digestion other than from sewage or material in a landfill;
“sewage sludge” means sludge within the meaning of the Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations 1989^f3 the use of which complies with regulation 3 of those Regulations.

(6)

A person must not spread organic manure within 50 metres of a borehole, spring or well.

(7)

This regulation does not apply to land which is covered by a greenhouse.

Annotations

Footnotes

f1: 1981 c.69. See section 28 as substituted by Schedule 9 to the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (c. 37).
f2: Council Regulation (EC) 1698/2005 was repealed by Article 88 of Regulation (EU) 1305/2013 but commitments entered into under it remain in force by virtue of the transitional provision in that Article.
f3: S.I. 1989/1263; see regulation 2.