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Nitrate Vulnerable Zones

Our over-arching position statement (August 2010) on compliance assessment and enforcement for Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs), and our position statement on livestock slurry storage requirements (December 2010).

This statement describes our approach to assessing and enforcing compliance with the regulations for Nitrate Vulnerable Zones. It applies to both the old (1998) Regulations and the new (2008) Regulations. It also replaces previous position statements.  

  • The term existing NVZ means land that was designated as a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone in or before 2002.
  • The term new NVZ means land that was designated for the first time in 2008.

Some areas of existing NVZ have not been retained under the new regulations and so the new rules will not apply to that land. The definitive boundaries of NVZs are those published by Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government.

Livestock slurry storage

An important requirement of the NVZ regulations is for farmers to provide sufficient storage for livestock slurry.

Slurry storage has to be in place by 1 January 2012 (2013 in some limited areas). We have produced this additional position statement on our approach to enforcement so that those affected will understand their responsibilities and the implications if they do not comply.