This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Highland farmers prepare to discuss NVZs
07/02/2002
The Executive is determined to work with the local farming community to secure a high quality water environment for the Highlands, the Minister for Environment and Rural Development, has said in advance of tomorrow's public meeting in Inverness.
The meeting is being organised in conjunction with the NFUS to coincide with the publication of a consultation paper on the designation of new Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs).
Ross Finnie said:
"The Scottish Executive is committed in its Programme for Government to safeguarding and improving Scotland's environment - and that applies in the Highlands as much as anywhere else. Scottish waters are a vital component of Scotland's image as a healthy and clean environment. The majority of our rivers, lochs and burns are of good or excellent chemical and biological quality. However, one area of concern is nitrate pollution in watercourses and groundwaters from farming.
"That is why we have organised a joint meeting with the NFUS to be held in Inverness on Thursday 7 February to address the concerns of local farmers. We want to work with farmers to find solutions that are good for farming and good for the environment."
The public meeting in Inverness takes place at the Ramada Jarvis Hotel at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday February 7 . The meeting has been organised by NFU Scotland.
The EC Nitrates Directive aims to reduce water pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources and to prevent further such pollution. It obliges EC Member States to identify waters polluted by nitrates, or in danger of becoming polluted, and designate any land draining to these waters as Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ's) where mandatory Action Programmes for farmers must be established. These promote best practice in the use and storage of fertiliser and manure.
There are currently two Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) in Scotland, the Balmalcolm NVZ in Fife designated in 1996 and the Ythan NVZ designated in May 2000. However, the UK was been found to be in breach of the Directive by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in December 2000. The UK had taken the view that this Directive applied to surface freshwaters and groundwaters only where necessary to protect drinking water sources. In the course of proceedings culminating in the ECJ judgement, the UK admitted that this interpretation was wrong and that the Directive applied to the protection of all freshwaters on the surface and underground.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency's (SEPA) has extended its water-monitoring networks to cover all surface and groundwaters. Supporting research was also commissioned from the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute and the British Geological Survey. Monitoring of the surface water network has identified elevated levels of nitrate in waters in Angus and the Borders. However, these catchments are subsumed by larger polluted groundwater catchments which have been identified. The proposed new NVZs are:
- Aberdeenshire, Banff and Buchan;
- Parts of Strathmore;
- Fife;
- Mid and East Lothian and parts of the Borders; and
- Nithsdale (Dumfries and Galloway)
Further monitoring data to validate assessments of a high risk of nitrate pollution are being obtained for:
* The Black Isle and Moray Coast;
* parts of Strathmore;
* West Lothian; and
* Falkirk
and if the data supports it, these areas will also be designated as NVZs.
A consultation paper was issued on Monday January 14 to all farmers in the proposed NVZs, and other interested parties, inviting views on the proposals. Consultation on Action Programmes for the new NVZs including a full Regulatory Impact Assessment will also take place.