Welsh Liberal Democrats take a lead in the Assembly today, bringing forward the first motion of annulment to be tabled in this Third Assembly. They are seeking to annul the Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations 2008 that seek to extend the areas in Wales designated as Nitrate Vulnerable Zones.
In tabling this motion we were not seeking to avoid addressing genuine pollution issues arising from agriculture. The intention was to highlight that we cannot sit back and wave through subordinate legislation, in particular where we do not believe that the action chosen is appropriate or that the least cost effective measures available to deliver the required effect have been selected.
The Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations 2008 have been consistently opposed by the farming unions and farmers across Wales. Nitrates are a valuable and important nutrient for farmers, which farmers have no desire to use indiscriminately or wastefully. Livestock numbers are falling, which has led to a decline in nitrogen fertiliser use by a quarter in the 10 years to 2006, whilst farm yields have continued to grow.
Against this background, these factors combined have led to major progress being made in meeting the objectives of the EU Directive in areas already designated as NVZs and the benefits to be obtained from the implementation of the Nitrates Directive appear slight, while farmers in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones will have to invest heavily in new infrastructure to store slurry and manure that could cost in excess of £50,000.
However, the main reason for tabling this motion today is to raise concerns over specific issues within the regulations, primarily in relation to the appeals process, as we are concerned that the regulations as they currently stand will not allow farmers to make proper appeals against the introduction of new NVZs.
Some appeals are likely to be highly technical in nature and we believe there should be a certain level of expertise amongst those hearing the appeals. Planning Inspectorate Wales officers who will determine NVZ appeals will be asked to rule on issues that are highly technical in their nature and which require considerable expert knowledge. It is crucial that there is genuine expertise in place if farmers are to have a fair hearing.
Related posts:
