Sarah Boyack announced today.
An Action Programme will be drawn up to prevent pollution from agricultural sources. The measures required, such as restrictions on land application of manures and fertilisers, will be compulsory within the Zone.
Sarah Boyack said:
"The Scottish Executive is committed in its Programme of Government to safeguarding and improving Scotland's environment. One area of concern is nitrate pollution in watercourses from agricultural sources.
"In 1997 it was decided not to designate the Ythan catchment as a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone under the EC Nitrates Directive because the evidence of pollution was not conclusive. In the light of new evidence of elevated levels of nitrates in the Ythan catchment and our obligations under the Directive, we have taken a decision to designate the whole catchment and estuary of the River Ythan.
"Work is in progress to identify the precise boundaries of the proposed Zone. We will consult fully with farmers in the area, and with other interested parties, about the designation of the Zone and an appropriate Action Programme to limit inputs of nitrates. We will then work with farmers to phase in the required measures.
"The Scottish Environment Protection Agency is putting in place an extended network to monitor nitrate pollution more generally. We will consider further NVZ designations in the light of the results of that."
NOTES FOR NEWS EDITORS
1. 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 (NVZs) where mandatory Action Programmes for farmers must be established. These promote best practice in the use and storage of fertiliser and manure.
2. In Scotland, the only existing NVZ is at Balmalcolm in Fife. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) recommended in 1997 that two additional designations should be made, the Ythan in Aberdeenshire on the basis of eutrophication of the estuary (a process by which nutrient enrichment of waters results in growth of plants and/or algae causing a disturbance to the balance of the environment) and at Kinneswood in Perth and Kinross on the basis of rising nitrate concentrations. At that time neither recommendation was implemented, because the evidence of eutrophication at the Ythan Estuary was inconclusive, and the results of sampling from the Kinneswood borehole were inconsistent with those from adjacent boreholes. However, it was made clear at the time that the position would be kept under review.
3. The European Commission has since put it to the Scottish Executive that the evidence from the Ythan merited designation of a NVZ. The Scottish Executive has reviewed the data now available. Evidence from SEPA's surface water monitoring sites has revealed several tributaries of the Ythan with levels of nitrate concentration exceeding the maximum permitted level of 50mg/litre. Nitrate levels from other sites are also high, while waters in the main spine of the river demonstrate a rising trend of nitrates over a considerable period of time. On that basis, it has been decided that the Ythan catchment should be designated as an NVZ.
4. A consultation paper will be issued later this year inviting views of interested parties about the proposed Zone and the Action Programme.
News Release: SE0823/1999
6 Oct 1999
Questions:
- Why was the Ythan Estuary not designated an NVZ in 1997?
- State what the EC Nitrates Directive obliges member states to do.
- Name the organisation responsible for monitoring pollution levels in Scotland.
- State the maximum permitted level of nitrates in river water.
- Suggest a way that farmers could reduce the level of nitrates in the River Ythan.