> Return address: PO Box 20401, 2500 EK The Hague
Directorate-General for
Agriculture
The President of the House of Representatives of the States General
Plant Supply Chain and Food
Binnenhof 4
Quality Department
2513 AA THE HAGUE
Visiting address
Bezuidenhoutseweg 73
2594 AC The Hague
Postal address
PO Box 20401
2500 EK The Hague
Government organisation
identification number
00000001858272854000
T +31 70 379 8911 (general)
F +31 70 378 6100 (general)
www.government.nl/lnv
Date
Subject Progress report on the Enhanced Manure Enforcement Strategy and
Handled by
update on water quality on derogation farms
Dear Madam President,
Our reference
On 24 September, I informed the House of Representatives of the progress of
DGA-PAV / 19257363
talks with the European Commission on extending the derogation (Parliamentary Your reference
Paper 33 037, No. 363). To assist the European Commission's decision-making
on the derogation, reports have been compiled on the progress on implementing Appendices
2
the Enhanced Manure Enforcement Strategy and on the latest developments in
water quality on derogation farms. This letter is to inform the House of
Representatives of these reports, which I am sharing with the European
Commission at the same time.
2019 Progress report on the Enhanced Manure Enforcement Strategy
The Enhanced Manure Enforcement Strategy was adopted and sent to the House
of Representatives in September 2018 (Parliamentary Paper 33 037, No. 311). In
anticipation of the adoption of this strategy, area-specific enforcement had
already commenced in the De Peel region (East Brabant and North Limburg) in
2018. In June 2019, I informed the House of Representatives of the results
achieved in 2018 in the 2018 progress report on the enforcement and
implementation of manure policy (Parliamentary Paper 33 037, No. 358). The
enclosed progress report is to inform the House of Representatives and the
European Commission of the progress in implementing the Enhanced Manure
Enforcement Strategy in the first half of 2019 (see Appendix 1).
Naturally, the results for the first half of 2019 build on those of 2018. The
progress report reveals that we are well on track with implementing the Enhanced
Manure Enforcement Strategy. The additional use of capacity at the Netherlands
Enterprise Agency and the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety
Authority (NVWA) has resulted in an increase in the number of inspections in the
three at-risk areas, without this being to the detriment of activities in the rest of
the Netherlands. The risk-oriented approach for intermediary businesses appears
to be effective. Here, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency is mainly focusing on
smaller investigations with a short duration and opportunities for enforcement
against repeat offenders. The figures reveal that the risk-oriented approach has
allowed the Netherlands Enterprise Agency to act more effectively: as a result of
targeted checks at at-risk businesses, more violations were detected and fines
imposed than in previous years. In addition to its normal supervision activities,
Page 1 of 4
Directorate-General for
Agriculture
Plant Supply Chain and Food
Quality Department
the NVWA now also undertakes larger and more complex investigations
(preferably in cooperation with other bodies such as environmental services, the
Our reference
Police and the Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) and
DGA-PAV / 19257363
coordinated by the Public Prosecution Service), including at intermediary
businesses and their client base. Aside from administrative fines, this approach
has resulted in cases where the courts have imposed custodial sentences of four
and two years on operators of intermediary businesses. Such sentences are a
powerful signal that fraud involving manure is unacceptable. Several major cases
are currently ongoing. I am unable to release any further information in the
interest of those investigations.
However, the progress report for the first half of 2019 also reveals that there are
practical problems and obstacles that remain to be overcome. The additional
capacity that has been made available has not immediately delivered the desired
effects everywhere. While the area-specific enforcement was being set up, it
turned out that the process of learning to work effectively with regional partners
took more time and energy than was originally anticipated. Moreover, much time
and energy has been invested in elaborating measures to make better use of
modern risk analysis technology during inspections and to introduce real-time
accounting for manure transports. The investments in both projects should result
in an increased likelihood of being caught and increased compliance. However, the
downside of this is that the NVWA had less deployable capacity for physical checks
in the first half of 2019. The challenge, then, is to strike a sound balance between
the additional inspections in the field required in the short term and the
deployment of additional capacity for cooperation, so that enforcement can be
smarter and more effective in the coming years.
In addition, the judgement of the Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal (CBb)
(ECLI:NLCBB:2018:187) on the levels of precision that are applied in establishing
violations and calculating fines was a setback which had an effect on the results of
the risk-oriented approach by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency and the NVWA. I
informed the House of Representatives of this judgement on 24 October
(Parliamentary Paper 33 037, No. 365). As a result of the judgement, the
Netherlands Enterprise Agency had to revoke partly or fully 138 fines that were
appealed in 2019. It also led to delays to checks in pig farming in particular,
because fines could not be imposed for possible violations until the levels of
precision had been clarified. In the meantime, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency
has published a document on its website to explain clearly to all parties how fines
for manure violations are determined. This has satisfied the requirements of the
judgement and supervision and enforcement can now continue in full. Meanwhile,
I am working on simplifying and refining the fines policy. I refer you to my letter
of 24 October for further details on this matter as well.
We are therefore well on track, but it is essential to remain focussed on the
diligent implementation of the enforcement strategy. I will continue to prioritise
this fully and invest in it. In addition to the NVWA's current efforts and capacity, it
is currently recruiting 20 FTE inspectors to work in the manure domain. This
reinforcement of the NVWA's capacity should contribute to building on the results
that have already been achieved in 2020 and beyond. I will also continue to invest
in the diligent implementation and expansion of area-specific enforcement in the
Page 2 of 4
Directorate-General for
Agriculture
Plant Supply Chain and Food
Quality Department
three at-risk areas. In an administrative consultation with administrators from
Brabant and Limburg, we recently agreed that 20 joint checks would be
Our reference
conducted in the De Peel area before the end of this year. Discussions with the
DGA-PAV / 19257363
aim of getting up to speed are also planned with the administrators of the other
two areas.
Update on water quality on derogation farms, autumn 2018 and winter
2018–2019
The manure policy focuses on improving water quality. To aid decision-making on
derogation, the European Commission has also asked for the most up-to-date
impression possible of the water quality. To this end, the report entitled 'Update
on trends in nitrate concentrations at derogation farms in the Netherlands' has
been compiled (see Appendix 2). The data in this report are taken from the
National Monitoring Network on the Effects of the Manure Policy (LMM). These are
emphatically provisional results; although the data have been subjected to an
initial check, they have not been fully validated and reviewed yet. By
consequence, the report gives an indicative impression only. The definitive results
will be presented in the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment
(RIVM)'s annual derogation report, which will be published halfway through next
year.
Since monitoring started in 2007, the nitrate concentrations in water being
leached from the rooting zone have decreased. The average nitrate concentrations
on derogation farms are below the 50 mg/l nitrate limit in the clay, peat and sand
region 250. Since 2014, the average nitrate concentrations have also fallen below
this limit in the loess and sand region 230. However, the Derogation Monitoring
Network results for 2018 and winter 2018–2019 show an increase in the nitrate
concentrations comparable with the results in the RIVM's Basic Monitoring
Network (which covers all types of businesses). This can be seen in the loess
region in particular and to a lesser extent in the sand region 230. There was a
local drought in these regions in 2017. In the summer of 2018, the drought
affected the whole of the Netherlands. This drought was more severe than any
previously experienced in the country. This is reflected in the increase in nitrate
concentrations in the clay and peat regions in winter 2018–2019.
A drought affects the nitrate concentrations in the groundwater in several different
ways:
1) As groundwater levels decrease, the soil becomes richer in oxygen and there
is a reduced breakdown of nitrate (less denitrification), as a result of which
more nitrate leaches into the groundwater.
2) Slower-growing crops consume fewer nutrients. As a result, more nutrients
are left behind in the rooting zone, which increases the risk of leaching.
3) Due to the high level of evaporation, there is less recharging of groundwater
and the nitrate concentration is higher in the water that does leach into the
groundwater.
4) In low-lying areas, water from storage basins is allowed to enter the polders
to keep the groundwater level high, as a result of which water that may
contain higher concentrations of nutrients is introduced into the area.
Page 3 of 4
Directorate-General for
Agriculture
Plant Supply Chain and Food
Quality Department
Evidently, I believe the increase in nitrate concentrations and the decline in water
quality associated with this to be undesirable. At the same time, we must bear in Our reference
mind that this is the result of extreme weather conditions. Such weather
DGA-PAV / 19257363
conditions cannot, of course, be attributed to farmers and the Netherlands was
not unique in this in Europe. Fortunately, we did not experience a repeat of the
extreme summer of 2018 this year. I am therefore confident that the water
quality will recover and we will be able to continue the improvement curve from
recent years. The measures from the Sixth Action Programme of the EU Nitrates
Directive contribute to this and I will therefore continue to implement them in full.
Page 4 of 4