The Council of State (RvS) came up with a surprising ruling this week: the 25-kilometre limit that the cabinet uses for the precipitation of nitrogen is not against the rules. The government may disregard nitrogen that falls further than 25 kilometers from the source when granting permits.
Good news for at least 29 farms in Groningen, all PAS reporters. Their licensing problems have been solved immediately, it seems. The farmers – around Eemshaven and Delfzijl – are more than 25 kilometers from the nearest nature reserve that suffers from excessive nitrogen concentrations. After the ruling of the Council of State, their restrictions are no longer valid. They do not need a nature permit, according to the province of Groningen.
Poultry farmer and arable farmer Lammert Westerhuis cannot believe his luck:
Farmer Westerhuis could not believe the verdict
Farmer Westerhuis wants to adapt his farm. “It’s an expansion of the floor space, not more animals, but adapting the houses. To give my chicks more space.” Since he no longer needs a permit, he can continue with his plans. “You have an idea of how you should develop and grow your company. I always have a positive attitude, but of course you never know. And now I have more clarity. My nitrogen does not affect the nature reserves.”
Happy farmers, but experts say that about half of the nitrogen emissions from some projects end up outside a radius of 25 kilometers. “The Council of State has really made a choice and said that the calculation model we use is reliable up to 25 kilometers. And so it is justified to set that limit at 25 kilometers,” says attorney for administrative and environmental law Christine Visser.
Peak loaders
Naturally, nitrogen effects will also occur outside the 25-kilometre zone, but the calculation tool is not good enough to properly link those effects to an individual project, says Visser. “For companies that are outside the 25-kilometer limit, this ruling is now over. They are no longer obliged to make a calculation for nitrogen.”
Visser thinks that the focus should now be on activities close to a nature reserve. “Even though, according to experts, the calculation model as an instrument is actually not well suited for the assessment of individual projects, I think that an alternative that is suitable for licensing is still a long time coming. Until then, we have that 25-kilometer limit” .
Nothing has changed for the government as a result of the ruling, says Visser. “The government’s task is to help or tackle companies that are located near a nature reserve in their nitrogen emissions. That obligation was already there. The cabinet is currently also working on this and work is being done on the peak loaders. That will not change with this statement. So on balance, I think, the effect will not lead to more nitrogen.”
That is also the expectation of farmer Westerhuis. “It’s all about the critical deposition value. It has to go down. And that’s what every farmer wants. We can move forward. It’s now arranged for the 29 PAS reporters.”
