Nitrates Action Programme (Amendment) Regulations, 2018

L.N. 104 of 2018

ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION ACT

(CAP. 549)

Nitrates Action Programme (Amendment) Regulations, 2018

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by articles 54 and 55 of

the Environment Protection Act, the Minister responsible for the

Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change, after

consultation with the Environment and Resources Authority, has made

the following regulations:-

The title of these regulations is the Nitrates Action

Programme (Amendment) Regulations, 2018, and these regulations

shall be read and construed as one with the Nitrates Action Programme

Regulations, hereinafter referred to as "the principal regulations".

Regulation 2 of the principal regulations shall be amended

as follows

(a) immediately after the definition "farmer", there shall

be added the following new definition

"farm structure" means buildings used for the rearing

or breeding of animals/livestock for agricultural production

and shall exclude fields;";

(b) in the definition "fertiliser", the word "vegetation;"

shall be substituted by the word "vegetation:" and immediately

thereafter there shall be added the following new proviso

"Provided that any substance containing a nitrogen

compound with a content of Nitrogen of 0.05% or less confirmed

by a Nitrogen Test shall not be deemed to be a fertiliser for the

purposes of these regulations.";

(c) immediately after the definition "Nitrates Action

Programme", there shall be added the following new definition

" "Nitrogen Test" means a test to determine the

nitrogen content present carried out in accordance with the

Kjeldahl method EN 13654-1 for Soil Improvers and

Growing Media by an accredited body recognised by the

Director;";

(d) the definition "organic fertiliser" shall be substituted

by the following new definition

" "organic fertiliser" means fertiliser which is

obtained directly from livestock manure or which may be

otherwise derived from organic matter with a Nitrogen

content above 0.05% as confirmed by a Nitrogen Test;";

(e) immediately after the definition "slurry" there shall

be added the following new definition

" "soil improver/soil conditioner" means a carbon

rich substance containing a nitrogen compound with a

content of Nitrogen equal to or less than 0.05% as

confirmed by a Nitrogen Test, applied on land to enhance

and improve the soil organic matter content;";

(f) In the Maltese version, the term "ħama", wherever it

occurs in the principal regulations and in the Schedules thereto,

shall be substituted by the term "demel likwidu".

Immediately after regulation 2 of the principal regulations, Adds new

regulation 2A to

there shall be added the following new regulation

the principal

regulations.

2A. (1) The

administration

and

"Administration

and

implementation of these regulations shall be

implementation.

vested in the Department.

(2) The Department shall adopt

administrative procedures as it deems fit to

ensure that the provisions of these regulations

are being adhered to.

(3) In cases where the Director has

reason to believe that any of these regulations

have been breached, he shall have the power to

take action against any person whether

registered in terms of these regulations or not.".

Regulation 3 of the principal regulations shall be amended Amends

regulation 3 of

as follows

the principal

regulations.

(a) in sub-regulation (3) thereof, the words "and 12."

shall be substituted by the words "and 12:" and immediately

thereafter there shall be added the following new proviso

"Provided that these are housed within the farm

structure and/or its adjoining enclosure/s which shall consist of a

yard.";

(b) in sub-regulation (4) thereof the word "apply." in the

existing proviso shall be substituted by the word "apply:" and

immediately thereafter there shall be added the following new

proviso

"Provided further that these are housed within the

farm structure and/or its adjoining enclosure/s which shall

consist of a yard.";

(c) sub-regulation (5) thereof shall be substituted by the

following

"(5) Farmers having one half (0.5) of a tumolo of

agricultural land or less, shall be exempted from the

obligations in regulations 4 and 12

Provided that where the Director has reason to

believe that any farmer is using any of his agricultural land

and, or holding abusively, the exemption shall not apply.";

(d) immediately after sub-regulation (5) thereof, there

shall be added the following new sub-regulation

"(6) Livestock farmers rearing certified organic

animals in terms of the Organic Production and Labelling

of Organic Products Regulations shall be exempted from

the obligations in regulations 5, 7, 8 and 11 and may keep

such livestock in fields which have been certified by the

competent authority in terms of the said regulations, as

organic

Provided that the number of livestock that may

be kept must not exceed the number of animals indicated in

Annex IV to Commission Regulation (EC) 889/2008 of 5

September 2008 laying down detailed rules for the

implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007

on organic production and labelling of organic products

with regard to organic production, labelling and control and

any subsequent amendments thereto.";

(e) immediately after the new sub-regulation (6) thereof,

there shall be added the following new sub-regulation

"(7) Organic fertilisers not included in Schedules

IIA and IIB are to have their Nitrogen content analysed and

established by means of a Nitrogen Test and such results

shall be incorporated in the fertiliser plan.".

In sub-regulation (6) of regulation 5 of the principal Amends

regulations the word "bovines" shall be substituted by the word regulation

5 of

the principal

regulations.

Immediately after regulation 9 of the principal regulations Adds new

regulation 9A to

there shall be added the following new regulation

the principal

regulations.

(1) Holdings

producing

soil

"Soil

improver/soil

improver/soil conditioner shall apply to the

conditioner.

Director for approval prior to each movement

from the holding of such soil improver/soil

conditioner.

(2) Applicants who apply in terms of

sub-regulation (1) shall for each movement

(a) carry out Nitrogen Tests to

confirm the nitrogen content and submit

the results thereof to the Director

Provided that the expenses

related to such tests shall be borne by the

holding.

(b) submit to the Director for his

approval a contingency plan which

clearly indicates the alternative disposal

solutions in the event that the soil

improver/soil conditioner no longer

meets the ≤0.05 % Nitrogen threshold.

(3) The Director may carry out an

inspection on the holding where samples may

be taken for testing prior to giving a decision in

terms of sub-regulation (1).

(4) Holdings producing soil improver/

soil conditioner shall be exempted from

regulations 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 of these

regulations.".

7. Regulation 13 of the principal regulations shall be Substitutes

regulation 13 of

substituted by the following

the principal

regulations.

(1) Any person responsible for

"Registration.

agricultural land and/or holdings shall register

as such with the Department.

(2) In cases where a person applies to

register in terms of sub-regulation (1) on an

agricultural land and/or holdings which is/are

already registered on another person, the

Director shall refrain from registering the

second person until the matter is definitely

resolved

Provided that in such cases the

Director shall request from the persons

claiming to be responsible for the land and/or

holdings to indicate by means of a declaration

made by a notary public, the title under which

they are holding the land, with a view to

resolving the matter

Provided further that if the matter is

not resolved, the dispute regarding who is

responsible for the agricultural land and/or

holdings shall be settled by the persons

themselves by arbitration.

(3) In cases of agricultural land and/or

holdings that remain unregistered, the Director

may avail of any available information from

other relevant authorities in an effort to identify

the person responsible for such agricultural

land and/or holdings.".

8. Immediately after regulation 13 of the principal regulations

there shall be added the following new regulation

(1) Any person who wishes to

"Training of

fertiliser users.

make use of organic or inorganic fertilisers

may be required by the Department to attend a

training course on land application of fertiliser.

(2) The Department shall keep a

register of persons and respective agricultural

land and/or holdings making use of fertilisers

and shall only permit the use of fertilisers to

such registered users.".

9. Regulation 18 of the principal regulations shall be

substituted by the following

"18. The Department shall draw up and maintain a

National Nitrates Database containing the following

information

(a) registered persons responsible for agricultural

land and/or holdings;

(b)

registered persons making use of fertilisers;

(c) information

concerning

the

holdings

and

agricultural land;

(d) information concerning livestock buildings and

storage facilities on a holding, including a link with the

National Livestock Database;

(e) information

concerning

land

management

practices;

(f) information

concerning

the

landscape,

including the presence of any karstic features and natural

topography, soil types, water sources and water courses;

(g) information on checks conducted by other

authorities;

(h) findings of monitoring and controls by the

Department;

(i)

list of advisors and technical experts;

(j)

list of manure transporters.".

10. Sub-regulation 2(c) of regulation 19 of the principal Amends

regulation 19 of

regulations shall be deleted.

the principal

regulations.

11. Immediately after regulation 20A of the principal Adds regulation

20B to the

regulations there shall be added the following new regulation

principal

regulations.

(1) In the cases mentioned in

"Responsibility

for adhering to

regulation 13(2) of these regulations, the

Regulations in

person responsible to ensure that a particular

certain cases.

piece of agricultural land and/or holdings is/are

in line with these regulations, shall be the

person registered with the Department and any

breaches shall be attributed to the person

registered with the Department at the time of

the breach.

(2) In case of agricultural land and/or

holdings which have not been registered in terms

of regulation 13, on which the Director has reason

to believe that an offence against these regulations

has been committed, the Department shall publish

an enforcement notice in terms of regulation 19 in

the Government Gazette and may implement the

required intervention indicated in the said notice at

its own expense after thirty (30) days from the

publication date of the notice

Provided that for instances which in

the opinion of the Department admit of no

delay, the Department shall implement the

required intervention immediately

Provided

further

that

the

Department shall have the right to recover any

expenses incurred once the person responsible

for that agricultural land and/or holdings is

identified.".

12. Schedule IV of the principal regulations shall be amended

as follows

(a) the words "Regulation 4(3)" shall be substituted by

the words "Regulation 3(3) and Regulation 3(4)";

(b) the words "[ideally males only]" shall be deleted and

substituted by the words "[males and/or castrates only]" and the

words "[if at all]" shall be deleted;

(c) the words "Over 2 years" shall be substituted by the

words "Up to 2 years";

(d) the words "Up to 5" shall be substituted by the words

"Up to 20".

€0.63