Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/696 of 29 April 2022 granting a derogation requested by Ireland pursuant to Council Directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources (notified under document C(2022) 2596) (only the English and the Irish texts are authentic)

Ireland shall as soon as possible and at the latest by the end of 2028 complete the environmental assessments pursuant to Article 6(2) and (3) of Directive 92/43/EEC and Article 4(1) of Directive 2000/60/EC, taking into account the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in case C-531/24, and, where feasible within the same timeframe, put in place mitigation measures, inter alia, through the Irish Action Programme to ensure that the authorisations do not undermine the attainment of the objectives of those directives.

Ireland shall review, as appropriate, the conditions in the Irish Nitrate Action Programme as soon as possible, and at the latest by the end of 2028, after the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in case C-531/24.

As of 2026, Ireland shall implement measures to ensure that on all dairy farms with lands distributed over a wider area and with a very high stocking rate on the land closest to the farmyard, referred to as the milking platform, cattle slurry produced on the holding is applied outside the milking platform and across the farms lands or otherwise a lower chemical fertiliser allowance applies.

As of 1 October 2028 at the latest, Ireland shall increase the required storage capacity for livestock manure and soiled water on all dairy farms in line with current knowledge reflecting developments in dairy breeding and associated farming systems.

Grassland farmers who want to benefit from a derogation shall, each year, submit an application for an authorisation to apply livestock manure containing up to 250 kg nitrogen/ha per year to the competent authorities. The application shall contain a declaration stating that the grassland farmer will submit to the controls provided for in Article 11.

In the application referred to in paragraph 1, the applicant shall undertake, in writing, to fulfil the conditions laid down in Articles 6 to 9.

The amount of livestock manure from grazing livestock applied to the land each year on grassland farms, including by the animals themselves, shall not exceed the amount of manure containing 250 kg nitrogen/ha per year, subject to the conditions laid down in paragraphs 2 to 6 of this Article. From 2024, as a consequence of the two-year review, this maximum amount shall not exceed 220 kg nitrogen/ha per year in the areas referred to in Article 12.

The total nitrogen inputs shall neither exceed the foreseeable nutrient demand of each crop nor the maximum fertilisation rate applicable to grassland farms as established in the Nitrates Action Programme, and shall take into account the supply from the soil. Total nitrogen application shall be differentiated on the basis of the stocking rate and grassland productivity.

A fertilisation plan shall be prepared and kept for each grassland farm. The fertilisation plan shall describe the crop rotation of the farmland and the planned application of manure and other fertilisers. That plan shall be available on the grassland farm for each calendar year, before 1 March of that year. That plan shall include at least the following:

Livestock manure shall not be spread in the autumn before grass cultivation.

At least 50 % of slurry produced on the grassland farm shall be applied by 15 June. Low-emission slurry spreading equipment shall be used for all slurry applications.

The stocking rate allowance on commonage areas shall not exceed 50 kg nitrogen/ha. Chemical fertiliser shall not be permitted on commonage areas.

The stocking rate allowance for land located outside a 30 km radius from the grassland farm’s hub shall not exceed 170 kg livestock manure nitrogen per hectare per year, unless the competent authority finds that there is demonstrable evidence that that land is being farmed at a stocking rate greater than 170 kg livestock manure nitrogen per hectare per year.

Periodic nitrogen and phosphorus analysis in soil shall be done for each grassland farm.

Sampling and analysis shall be carried out at least once every 4 years for each type of area with similar features with regard to crop rotation and soil characteristics.

At least one analysis per every five hectares of grassland farm shall be carried out.

The results of the nitrogen and phosphorus analysis in soil shall be available for inspection at the grassland farm.

Farmers who wish to plough grassland shall do so between 1 March and 31 May.

Ploughed grass on all soil types shall be followed by a crop with high nitrogen demand immediately and no later than 3 weeks after ploughing grass.

Crop rotation shall not include leguminous or other plants fixing atmospheric nitrogen. This shall, however, not apply to clover in grassland with less than 50 % clover and to other leguminous plants that are undersown with grass.

All new grass reseeds on the grassland farm shall incorporate at least 1,5 kg/ha of naked clover seed or at least 2,5 kg/ha of pelleted clover.

Parcels shall be equipped with fences ensuring a minimum distance of 1,5 metres between livestock and watercourses, and drinking points shall be installed at a minimum distance of 20 metres from a watercourse.

No later than the end of the second year availing of the authorisation subject to this Decision, the grassland farm shall:

The grass produced annually on the grassland farm shall be recorded with at least 20 grass measurements for each grassland parcel each year using appropriate software technology as accepted by the competent authority. A minimum of five days shall be observed between grass measurements.

The grassland farm shall adopt at least one of the following measures:

From 1 January 2028, the annual maximum grassland fertilisation rate from chemical fertilisers on holdings with an authorisation shall be reduced so that as of 2028 the rates are 5 % lower than the rates published in the Irish Action Programme as implemented in Statutory Instrument No 42 of 2025, European Union (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulation 2022, as amended. If a revision of the fertilisation norms sets lower values, those lower values shall apply.

From 1 January 2028, on holdings with an authorisation, chemical fertilisers shall not be applied to grassland within 4 meters of any surface waters, unless the Irish Action Programme sets out stricter requirements, in which case those stricter requirements shall apply. From 1 January 2028, organic fertilisers, including manure and soiled water, shall not be applied to land in the same areas within 8 meters along any surface water and within 20 meters of any surface waters where the land has an average incline greater than 20 % towards the water, unless the Irish Action Programme sets out stricter requirements, in which case those stricter requirements shall apply.

The competent authorities shall ensure that maps are drawn up every year showing the following:

The competent authorities shall monitor root zone water, surface water and groundwater. They shall also, both under derogation and non-derogation conditions, provide the Commission with data on nitrogen and phosphorus in the root zone and nitrate concentrations in surface and groundwater.

The monitoring shall be carried out at farm-field scale and in agricultural monitoring catchments. The monitoring sites shall be representative of the main soil types and levels of intensity, the prevalent fertilisation practices and the main crops.

The competent authorities shall conduct reinforced water monitoring in agricultural catchments located in proximity to the most vulnerable water bodies.

The competent authorities shall carry out surveys on local land use, crop rotations and agricultural practices for grassland farms covered by authorisations.

Information and data collected from nutrient analysis, as referred to in Article 7(1), (2) and (3), shall be used for model-based calculations of the magnitude of nitrate and phosphorus losses from grassland farms covered by authorisations.

The competent authorities shall carry out administrative controls in respect of all applications for authorisation to assess compliance with the conditions set out in Articles 6 to 9a. Where it is demonstrated that those conditions are not fulfilled, the application shall be refused and the applicant shall be informed of the reasons for the refusal. Every year, the competent authorities shall carry out administrative controls for at least 10 % of the grassland farms covered by authorisations with regard to land use, livestock number and type and manure production and export.

The competent authorities shall establish a programme for field inspections of grassland farms covered by authorisations on a risk basis and with appropriate frequency, taking account of the results of controls of the previous years and the results of general random controls of legislation transposing Directive 91/676/EEC and any other information that might indicate non-compliance with the conditions set out in Articles 6 to 9a. Every year, field inspections shall be carried out in at least 10 % of the grassland farms covered by authorisations to assess compliance with the conditions set out in Articles 6 to 9a.

Where it is established, in any year, that a grassland farm covered by an authorisation does not fulfil the conditions set out in Articles 6 to 9a, the holder of the authorisation shall be sanctioned in accordance with national rules and shall not be eligible for an authorisation the following year.

The competent authorities shall be granted the necessary powers and means to verify compliance with the conditions for an authorisation granted under this Decision to verify compliance with the conditions set out in Articles 6 to 9a prior to and after granting an authorisation under this Decision.

The competent authorities shall submit, by 30 June 2023, with the report described in Article 13, corresponding to the year 2022, an annex containing the results of monitoring as regards the nitrates concentrations of groundwater and surface waters and the trophic status of surface water bodies, based on the monitoring network and requirements of the Nitrates Directive 91/676/EEC and including at least maps showing those areas draining into waters where monitoring data reveal:

For the elaboration of the annex referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the data used shall be taken from the monitoring network set up under Directive 91/676/EEC.

As from 1 January 2024, in areas draining into polluted or at-risk-of-pollution waters or presenting worsening trends, additional measures shall be applied under the Nitrates Action Programme. For farms that have been granted an authorisation pursuant to this Decision and located in such areas, the amount of manure that may be applied to the land shall not exceed 220 kg nitrogen/ha per year.

The competent authorities shall inform the Commission, by 30 September 2023, of the outcomes of this two-year review, and in particular on the areas and farms with an authorisation where the maximum amount of manure to be applied is 220 kg nitrogen/ha per year and of the additional measures to be applied within the Nitrates Action Programme.