The incorporation of a number of statutory management requirements (SMRs) into the cross compliance conditions attached to Pillar 1 direct payments reinforces existing legistlation relating to (i) environment, (ii) public, animal and plant health, (iii) notification of diseases, and (iv) animal welfare (4.2.1). Some of the directives concerning the first two issues are of particular relevance to soils in an agricultural context.
Environment regulations supported by cross compliance
The Birds Directive (79/409/EEC) aims at long-term conservation of wild bird species across the EU by means of protection, management and monitoring of these species. Member States shall take the required measures to maintain the population of each species at a level corresponding to ecological, scientific and cultural requirements, while taking account of economic and recreational requirements, or to adjust the population of these species to that level. The most suitable territories for wild bird conservation, which include a high proportion of wetlands, are designated as Special Protected Areas (SPAs). Conservation measures include maintenance and re-establishment of biotopes and habitats. Member States shall also take appropriate steps to avoid pollution or deterioration of habitats or any disturbances affecting birds inside the protected areas; even outside these areas, Member States shall strive to avoid pollution or deterioration of birds' habitats. As such, the Birds Directive is likely to have a positive effect on (local and) diffuse soil contamination, e.g. through extensive grassland management.
The ongoing deterioration of natural habitats and the threats posed to certain species (plants and animals) are a major concern of EU environment policy. The Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) is intended to ensure biodiversity by establishing a 'favourable conservation status' for natural habitats and wild species, organised in a coherent European ecological network known as Natura 2000. This network comprises Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and the SPAs (previously mentioned in the context of the Birds Directive). Member States designate the Natura 2000 sites in partnership with the Commission, and have six years to put the necessary management measures in place. In spite of implementation delays (COM(2003) 845), the network will comprise more than 25 000 sites, covering around 20 % of the total land area of the EU, or around 800 000 km2 by the end of 2008 (European Commission, 2008a); however, only a small fraction of this land is in agricultural use. The Directive provides for co-financing of conservation measures by the Community through integrating its funding into other relevant Community policies and the EU's broader land management policies (e.g. RDP-Axis 2). Thus, agricultural land within Natura 2000 sites has to comply with the Habitats Directive requirements to be eligible for payments related to the management of these sites through the Rural Development Regulation.
Protection and conservation of soils are not mentioned explicitly in either the Birds Directive or the Habitats Directive; however, agricultural soil protection can be considered an implicit precondition for the protection or recovery of habitats. Soil biodiversity is likely to benefit from the (extensive) farm practices that the implementation of these Directives induces. The network structure of the Natura 2000 sites (at least where interconnected) provides an additional bonus in this respect. Protecting sites such as forests and peatlands furthermore adds to the soil's carbon pool function.
The Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) is designed to protect the Community's waters against nitrates from agricultural sources, which are one of the main causes of water pollution from
diffuse sources. Intensive livestock farming (poultry, pigs), with its growing density of livestock building and manure/fodder storage facilities, and intensive arable farming are likely to aggravate water pollution by nitrates.
Member States must identify, within their territory, those surface waters and groundwater affected or liable to be affected by pollution (in particular when nitrate concentrations in groundwater or surface waters exceed 50 mg/l), and vulnerable zones that contribute to pollution, that is zones that drain into waters affected by pollution.
Member States must then establish codes of good agricultural practice to be implemented by farmers on a voluntary basis, as defined in Annex II to the Directive. These should cover provisions relating to:
- the use and storage of nitrate fertilisers and livestock manures, for periods when the land application of fertiliser is inappropriate;
- application of fertiliser on steeply sloping ground;
- application of fertiliser to water-saturated, flooded, frozen or snow-covered ground;
- the conditions for application of fertiliser on land near water courses;
- the capacity and construction of storage for livestock manures, including measures to prevent water pollution by run-off and seepage into the groundwater and surface water of liquids containing livestock manures and effluents from stored plant materials such as silage;
- application practices for both chemical fertiliser and livestock manure, including rate and uniformity of spreading, that will maintain nutrient losses to water at an acceptable level.
The code may also include a set of technical measures related to soil management:
- land use management, including the use of crop rotation systems and the proportion of the land area devoted to permanent crops relative to annual tillage crops;
- maintenance of a minimum quantity of vegetation cover during (rainy) periods that will take up the nitrogen from the soil that could otherwise cause nitrate pollution of water;
- prevention of water pollution from run-off and the downward water movement beyond the reach of crop roots in irrigation systems; and
- the establishment of fertiliser plans on a farm-by-farm basis and the keeping of records on fertiliser use.
Member States must define and implement action programmes for vulnerable zones (Annex III). These should include rules relating to the capacity of storage vessels for livestock manure, and limitations of the land application of fertilisers. The latter include prohibited periods for certain types of fertilisers. The limitations should also be consistent with codes of good agricultural practice, take into account the characteristics of the vulnerable zone concerned, in particular (a) soil conditions, soil type and slope, (b) climatic conditions, rainfall and irrigation, and (c) land use and agricultural practices, including crop rotation systems, and should be based on a balance between the foreseeable nitrogen requirements of and supply to (soil, fertilisers) the crops.
In addition, Member States must monitor water quality, applying reference methods to measure the nitrogen compound content. Member States must report regularly on the implementation of the Directive and eventually revise their farm management requirements.
The Nitrates Directive primarily targets water quality. However, it is expected to have positive effects on local and diffuse soil contamination. In particular cases, even soil
compaction might be positively affected, as fertiliser spreading is banned in the winter period (with prevailing wet or water-saturated soils).
The European Union regulates the use of sewage sludge in agriculture by means of the Sewage Sludge Directive (86/278/EEC). Sewage sludge contains large amounts of nutrients, and is therefore regarded as a good fertiliser for agriculture. However, sludge can also be contaminated with heavy metals, bacteria, viruses and a number of organic substances. Due to harmful or even toxic effects of these substances to human beings and plants (e.g. crop contamination by pathogens), the Directive sets limits on the concentrations of certain substances in sludge, bans the use of sludge in certain cases and regulates its treatment. Thus, in using sewage sludge, account must be taken of the nutrient needs of the plants without, however, impairing the quality of the soil and of surface and groundwater. The Directive specifies that it aims at 'establishing certain initial Community measures in connection with soil protection'. It addresses the decline of organic matter and soil contamination through regulating the use of sewage sludge on agricultural land, while encouraging its correct use.
The Groundwater Directive (80/68/EEC) and new Groundwater Directive (2006/118/EC) prohibit or limit the discharge of certain toxic, persistent and bio-accumulable substances (especially pesticides and fertilisers) into groundwater, and establish systematic monitoring of the quality of such water. They will be repealed by the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) as of 21 December 2013.
There are two lists of dangerous substances drawn up for the protection of groundwater:
- List I: substances, including organohalogen, organophosphorus and organotin compounds, mercury and cadmium and their compounds, and hydrocarbons and cyanides;
- List II: substances, including certain metals such as copper, zinc, lead and arsenic, and other substances such as fluorides, toxic or persistent organic compounds of silicon, and biocides and their derivatives not appearing in List I.
Direct discharges of substances in List I are prohibited, while indirect discharges of substances in List I as well as all direct and indirect discharges of substances in List II are subject to prior authorisation as specified in the Directive. Nevertheless, the Directive provides for exceptions, under certain conditions, to the ban on direct discharges of substances in List I.
Monitoring compliance with these conditions and the effects of discharges on groundwater is the responsibility of the competent authorities of the Member States. Again, this Directive is likely to reduce diffuse soil contamination and may have positive side-effects on soil biodiversity.
Costs of compliance with environmental SMRs
Jongeneel et al. (2007) estimated the costs of compliance with environmental SMRs, obtaining the figures shown in Table 4.13. Different approaches have to be used to estimate these costs, and it is not clear to what extent the estimates are method-dependent. Therefore, although the figures give some indication of costs, overall the picture is rather tentative.
Table 4.13: Costs of compliance with environmental SMRs
Source: Jongeneel et al. (2007), pp. 77-78 Legend: n.a., not available
Public, animal and plant health regulations supported by cross compliance
The Plant Protection Products Directive (91/414/EEC) concerns the authorisation, placing on the market, use and control within the EU of plant protection products in commercial use.
Member States shall ensure that a plant protection product is not authorised unless its active substances (as listed in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC) are authorised for incorporation in plant protection products and any related conditions are fulfilled. Companies wanting to introduce a product on the market should apply to one Member State for the inclusion of its active substance(s) in Annex I. The application dossier (according to the requirements outlined in Annex II to Directive 91/414/EEC) should provide the information necessary for evaluating the foreseeable risks, whether immediate or delayed, which the substance may entail for humans and the environment. With respect to the environmental effects, the document should include a description of the fate and residue behaviour of plant protection products in the soil, such as rate and route of degradation, adsorption-desorption and mobility in different soil types, as well as extent and nature of the bound residues (point 7.1). The report should also cover eco-toxicological studies on the active substance (point 8), including toxicity to earthworms and to other soil non-target macro-organisms. This Directive will be replaced with a regulation once the Commission proposal (COM(2006) 388 final) is adopted by the Council and the European Parliament.
In 2002, the EU launched a Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides to address risks entailed by the actual use of pesticides (mainly plant protection products and biocides). It includes a Communication (COM(2006) 372 final) and a legislative proposal for
a Framework Directive (COM(2006) 373 final), which is intended to complement Directive 91/414/EEC, and is accompanied by a detailed impact assessment. The responsible parties adopted the Communication on 12 July 2006. Discussions on acceptance of the (amended) proposal for a Framework Directive are ongoing.
A similar approach has been adopted in the Directive on Biocidal Products (98/8/EC), aiming inter alia at providing a high level of protection for the environment, including soils.
This Directive has however not been included among the SMRs under cross compliance.
Nevertheless, given the above provisions, both Directives are expected to have repercussions for soil contamination and soil biodiversity.