Nutrient Action Programme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019 (S.R. No. 81 of 2019).

The Regulations give further effect to Council Directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nutrients from agricultural sources and Council Directive 2003/35/EC on public participation in respect of drawing up of certain plans and programmes relating to environment. The purpose of these Regulations is to give effect to Northern Ireland’s Nutrient Action Programme for the protection of waters against pollution caused by agricultural sources. The measures in these Regulations provide a basic level of protection against possible adverse impact to waters arising from potential agricultural expansion. The Regulations, among other things: impose an obligation on the controller of the agricultural holding to prevent water pollution; provide rules for the application of fertilisers (including restrictions on land application of nitrogen fertiliser, anaerobic digestate, chemical phosphorus fertiliser and organic manure); provide rules for the location of supplementary feeding site; impose certain duties on the controller with regard to fertiliser plans and records on use and storage of fertilisers; require a controller to have regard to any guidance issued by the Department and the Code of Good Agricultural Practice; establish general obligations for the storage of livestock manure and silage effluent, including capacities and standards for storage facilities and the requirement to maintain and manage these facilities to prevent water pollution; establish the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs as the enforcement authority; empower the Department to serve a notice to minimise the risk of water pollution from storage of farm effluents or if any appropriate person is in breach of the Regulations; requires the Department to review the action programme, through a consultative process, every four years.