Anxious Wait for Ruling on Government’s Nitrogen Calculation Method for Permit Applications

• Ties Brock

  news reporter

• Yuri Vugts

  news editor

Politicians in The Hague and licensing authorities are anxiously awaiting a ruling from the Council of State tomorrow. He then decides whether the government can maintain the calculation method for determining nitrogen precipitation in nature reserves.

The Cabinet’s calculation method means that for a project that requires a permit, the nitrogen precipitation must be calculated up to a radius of 25 kilometres. If the precipitation is too great, obtaining a permit is complicated. There is no scientific substantiation for that 25-kilometre limit. Experts therefore expect that the cabinet will not be able to maintain the calculation limit.

By applying the calculation limit, all nitrogen precipitation from projects outside a radius of 25 kilometers around the project is not attributed to the source. In the calculations, a construction project – a stable or the construction of a new road – no longer causes nitrogen precipitation beyond a distance of 25 kilometres. Experts say that about half of the emissions from some projects end up outside a radius of 25 kilometers.

Leen Hordijk chaired a committee that advised on nitrogen calculations in 2021. Like the RIVM, his committee found no scientific basis for a distance limit. It came half a year later. “Nevertheless, the ministry said: we will make it 25 kilometers. I would have preferred that calculations had to be made up to the national borders.”

The minister previously used a more flexible calculation limit of 5 kilometers for road traffic, which the Council of State was also critical of. After that, the calculation limit was increased to 25 kilometers for all sources of emissions.

Both Hordijk and legal experts expect that the calculation limit will not hold. “This method cannot be scientifically substantiated,” says environmental lawyer Rudolf van Binsbergen. “The impact of this is that calculations will have to be made again for many projects. And that will lead to a lot of delays.”

It is expected that permit applicants will be responsible for more nitrogen precipitation in protected nature areas in the new calculations. Then they have to buy more nitrogen space to compensate for their share.

It would be yet another setback for projects waiting for a permit. At the end of last year, the building exemption also expired, which meant that the granting of permits was even more stuck. A nitrogen calculation also had to be made for construction projects.

Offices that make the calculations sometimes no longer know what to expect. “I’m looking for stability, not too many changes. What would help me is that the policy is stricter, so that we won’t be surprised by court rulings,” says entrepreneur Tim Mijzen.

Governments and companies are not waiting for those surprises either, says lawyer Van Binsbergen. “What customers are doing more and more now is looking at the total emissions of their project. They go beyond what is required because they don’t want to be dependent on the whims of the government.”