§ Mr. Bill WalkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to reduce agricultural pollution of water.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonI have today laid before the House regulations made under the Control of Pollution Act 1974 which, from 1 March 1991, will set minimum standards that must be met by silage, slurry and agricultural fuel oil installations. The Government's decision to legislate received a strong welcome in the public consultation exercise last year and the regulations take into account the responses received from a wide range of organisations representing environmental, agricultural, building and local authority interests. They are designed to strengthen the efforts already being made on a voluntary basis by the majority of farmers to reduce water pollution from agricultural sources and to implement an important commitment in the environment White Paper.
The regulations will apply to all new or substantially enlarged or reconstructed installations. The river purification authorities will also be able to require that existing installations meet some or all of the standards in cases where there is a significant risk of pollution.
These regulations represent one of a number of measures being taken by the Government to reduce farm pollution. They include the availability of generous grant-aid towards waste-handling facilities and the provision of free initial advice to help farmers avoid pollution.
We shall keep the operation of the regulations under review and introduce further measures if necessary.