The Nutrient Action Programme (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019

Amendment of Schedule 4

19.  In Schedule 4—

(a) after the heading in Schedule 4 insert—

“PART 1”

(b) in Table 1—

(i) for the heading of the fifth column substitute “Chemical fertiliser”;

(ii) for the entry “Distance from spreading area to lake” substitute—

“Distance from spreading area to lake	High	less than 30 metres	less than 30 metres	less than 10 metres
	Medium	30 – 40 metres	30 – 40 metres	10 – 15 metres
	Low	greater than 40 metres	greater than 40 metres	greater than 15 metres”

(c) at the end of Schedule 4 insert—

“PART 2 Risk assessment for fertiliser application to land other than steeply sloping land

1.   If an application of organic manure (including livestock manure) or chemical fertiliser to sloping land is proposed, a risk assessment must be undertaken in addition to meeting all relevant requirements of these Regulations. The factors set out in Table 3 shall be considered in making this risk assessment. Table 4 shall be consulted to ascertain whether fertiliser application is permitted.

Table 3

Risk assessment for fertiliser application to land other than steeply sloping land

Factor	Risk Level	Organic Manures		Chemical Fertiliser
		Grassland	Other land	Grassland	Other land
Slope percentage incline	High	20% or more (See Part 1)	15% or more (See Part 1)	20% or more (See Part 1)	15% or more (See Part 1)
	Medium	10 to less than 20%	10 to less than 15%	10 to less than 20%	10 to less than 15%
	Low	Less than 10%	Less than 10%	Less than 10%	Less than 10%
Distance from spreading area to waterway other than lakes	High	Less than 10 metres (see Note 1)		Less than 2 metres
	Medium	10 to 20 metres (see Note 2)		2 to 5 metres
	Low	More than 20 metres		More than 5 metres
Distance from spreading area to lake	High	Less than 20 metres		Less than 10 metres
	Medium	20 to 30 metres		10 to 15 metres
	Low	More than 30 metres		More than 15 metres
Amount applied per hectare per application	High	More than 50m3 (liquid) or 50 tonnes (solid)		More than 150kg Nitrogen
	Medium	25 to 50m3 (liquid) or 25 to 50 tonnes (solid) (see Note 2)		120 to 150kg Nitrogen
	Low	Less than 25m3 (liquid) or 25 tonnes (solid)		Less than 120kg Nitrogen
Soil conditions at time of proposed slurry application	High	Very wet, compacted soil		Very wet, compacted soil
	Medium	Wet, poached soil		Wet, poached soil
	Low	Dry, firm trafficable soil		Dry, firm trafficable soil
Forecast weather conditions for next 48 hours	High	Heavy rainfall (more than 4mm per hour)		Heavy rainfall (more than 4mm per hour)
	Medium	Moderate rainfall (0.5 to 4mm per hour)		Moderate rainfall (0.5 to 4mm per hour)
	Low	Low rainfall (less than 0.5mm per hour)		Low rainfall (less than 0.5mm per hour)
Arable land only – time to incorporation		Liquid	Solid
	High	More than 48 hours (see Note 3)	More than 5 days	Not applicable
	Medium	12 to 48 hours	3 to 5 days	Not applicable
	Low	Less than 12 hours	less than 3 days	Not applicable

Note 1: If regulation 8(5)(f) applies, for risk level “high” substitute “medium”.

Note 2: During the month of February and the period of 30th September to 15th October each year the distances and quantity in regulation 8(9) apply: spreading must not be done within 15m of a waterway or 5m if regulation 8(5)(f) applies, 30m of a lake and the application rate must not exceed 30m³ or 30 tonnes per hectare.

Note 3: Where organic manure is applied to an established crop, incorporation is not required, for risk level “high” substitute “medium”.

Table 4

Risk Assessment Determination

Risk Level	Number of factors applicable	Is the land application of fertiliser permitted?
High	One or more factors	No
Medium	Three or more factors	No
	One or two factors	Yes
Low	One or more factors	Yes”