The Nitrates Action Programme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010

Requirements as to the manner of land application of nitrogen fertiliser to any agricultural land

7.—(1) The land application of nitrogen fertiliser shall be done in an accurate and uniform manner in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (10).

(2) The land application of nitrogen fertiliser shall not be permitted when—

(a) soil is waterlogged;

(b) land is flooded or likely to flood;

(c) the soil has been frozen for 12 hours or longer in the preceding 24 hours;

(d) land is snow-covered;

(e) heavy rain is forecast within 48 hours; or

(f) the land is steeply sloping land and where, taking into account factors such as proximity to waterways, soil condition, ground cover, rainfall and, in the case of land other than grassland, the time taken to incorporate organic manure, there is a significant risk of causing water pollution.

(3) The land application of nitrogen fertiliser shall not be permitted on any land in a location or manner which would make it likely that the nitrogen fertiliser will directly enter a waterway or water contained in any underground strata.

(4) The land application of chemical fertiliser shall not be permitted within 2 m of any waterway.

(5) The land application of organic manure shall not be permitted within—

(a) 20m of lakes;

(b) 50m of a borehole, spring or well;

(c) 250m of a borehole used for a public water supply;

(d) 15m of exposed, cavernous or karstified, limestone features (such as swallow-holes and collapse features); or

(e) 10m of any waterway, other than lakes, including open areas of water, open field drains or any drain which has been backfilled to the surface with permeable material such as stone/aggregate; except that

(f) the distance for (e) may be reduced to 3m of any waterway where the land has an average incline less than 10% towards the waterway and where—

(i) organic manure is spread by bandspreader, trailing hose or trailing shoe or soil injection; or

(ii) the adjoining area is less than 1 hectare in size or not more than 50m in width.

(6) The maximum land application of solid organic manure shall be 50 tonnes per hectare at any one time provided this does not exceed the limits set out in regulation 8(1) and 9(3) and a period of at least 3 weeks shall be left between such land applications.

(7) The maximum land application of slurry shall be 50 m³ per hectare at any one time provided this does not exceed the limits set out in regulation 8(1) and 9(3) and a period of at least 3 weeks shall be left between such land applications.

(8) The maximum land application of dirty water shall be 50 m³ per hectare at any one time and a period of at least 2 weeks shall be left between such land applications.

(9) The land application of slurry shall only be permitted by spreading close to the ground using inverted splash plate spreading, bandspreading, trailing hose, trailing shoe, soil injection or soil incorporation methods.

(10) The land application of dirty water shall only be permitted by spreading close to the ground using inverted splash plate spreading, bandspreading, trailing hose, trailing shoe, soil injection, soil incorporation or irrigation methods.