The load of each of the agriculture target substances entering the water environment through agricultural diffuse pollution which is to be compared with the baseline to determine whether the target in regulation 5 is met by 31st December 2038 is to be measured by determining the load of each of those substances so entering the water environment in the year from 1st January 2038 to 31st December 2038.

When determining the load of each of the agriculture target substances entering the water environment through agricultural diffuse pollution in the year from 1st January 2038 to 31st December 2038, the load must include the load from human activity undertaken on land which was agricultural land when the baseline was determined but which, for land management reasons with environmental, conservation or sustainability objectives, is not agricultural land in 2038.

In paragraph (2), “environmental, conservation or sustainability objectives” means objectives the main purpose of which are to contribute to environmental protection4 or improve the natural environment5.

In this Part—

• “agricultural diffuse pollution” means the transportation of the agriculture target substances into the water environment where the transportation occurs by means of soil erosion, runoff or leaching;

• “agricultural land” means land used for agriculture for the purposes of a trade or business;

• “agriculture” includes—

  1. a

     horticulture, fruit growing, seed growing, dairy farming, livestock breeding and keeping,

  2. b

     the use of land as grazing land, meadow land, osier land, market gardens and nursery grounds, and

  3. c

     the use of land for woodlands where that use is ancillary to the farming of land for other agricultural purposes;

• “agriculture target substances” means the substances specified in regulation 5(a) to (c);

• “the baseline” means the load of each of the agriculture target substances entering the water environment through agricultural diffuse pollution in the year from 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2018;

• “groundwater” means all water which is below the surface of the ground in the saturation zone and in direct contact with the ground or subsoil;

• “leaching” means the process by which the agriculture target substances are washed or drained from soil into the water environment by rainwater or other liquid applied to agricultural land;

• “poaching” means the trampling or treading of agricultural land by livestock resulting in a layer of compacted soil with overlying mud;

• “runoff” means the transportation into the water environment of rainwater or other water running over agricultural land;

• “soil erosion” means soil loss caused by—

  1. a

     runoff or degradation over a single area of agricultural land (whether or not crossing permanent boundary features) of at least 1 hectare, or

  2. b

     poaching adjacent to freshwaters or coastal waters over a single stretch of agricultural land (whether or not crossing permanent boundary features) which is at least 2 metres wide and 20 metres long;

• “the water environment” means—

  1. a

     freshwaters and groundwater in England, and

  2. b

     coastal waters adjacent to England.