The judge ruled in favor of environmental organizations that object to the nitrogen policy of the province of Overijssel in a large number of lawsuits.
Mobilization for the Environment and the Environment Association had filed 29 lawsuits concerning emissions from farms. In all cases, the Overijssel court agreed with the environmental organizations yesterday. That is another blow to nitrogen policy in the Netherlands.
The farms are close to the Natura 2000 areas. The nitrogen problems in many of these nature reserves have been going on for some time, but since the PAS ruling by the Council of State in 2019, no extra nitrogen may end up in those vulnerable areas, because too much nitrogen precipitation harms nature. The judge finds that the province of Overijssel has not taken this into account sufficiently.
Emissions from stables
Eleven of the cases involved incorrectly issued nitrogen permits. Farmers who want to expand are only allowed to do so if it does not cause additional damage to nature. In theory, by using techniques that separate manure and urine from each other in the barn, less nitrogen ends up in nature.
In practice, the judge finds that not convincing enough. According to the judge, there is doubt whether low-emission housing systems lead to the expected reduction in nitrogen emissions in these cases. Therefore, the court annuls the permits and the province has to look at it again.
Grazing and fertilizing
In eight lawsuits, the question was whether or not nitrogen emitted outside the barn counts. The national government and provinces believe that farmers only need a nitrogen permit for animals that are kept in stables. The nitrogen emissions from livestock in the pasture or the storage or application of manure on the land do not count on paper.
Because farmers do not have a permit for nitrogen emissions outside the barn, the environmental organizations repeatedly asked the province to take action. The province refuses to do so, but according to the judge, it does not substantiate this sufficiently. The province must now investigate whether negative effects of grazing and fertilization on the protected nature areas are excluded.
PAS detectors
The other cases concern so-called PAS reporters. The group of about 3300 agricultural companies throughout the Netherlands does not have a nitrogen permit, because according to the government this was not necessary. A notification was sufficient for these mostly agricultural companies, because they emit little nitrogen. Due to the PAS ruling in 2019, these companies suddenly operated illegally.
Because the PAS detectors will receive a permit in the future and emit little nitrogen, the government tolerates the companies. The judge believes that the province of Overijssel should provide better arguments for why enforcement is not necessary. This is not the first time, because the judge previously ruled that the province must act against a number of other PAS reporters.
The province of Overijssel says in a response that it is studying the rulings “to then consider what effect it should give to these rulings”.
Earlier this year, the province asked nitrogen minister Van der Wal to speed up its nitrogen approach. Overijssel is not the only province with nitrogen problems. Other provinces and the central government are also struggling with nitrogen policy, which means that new road and housing projects, for example, are increasingly being squeezed.
–
