§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of research results which have shown that nitrate does not cause eutrophication in rivers and estuaries; and if she will make a statement on the source of the research upon which her Department's policy is based. [29084]
§ Mr. MeacherThe Department's current proposals to reduce nitrate pollution from agriculture arise from the requirement to comply with the European Court of Justice judgment that implementation of the Nitrates Directive is currently incomplete in the UK.
The Department is aware of many sources of research relevant to eutrophication in rivers and estuaries. Two fundamental reports which have shaped both UK and 99W world wide opinion are those published by the OECD: "Scientific Fundamentals of the Eutrophication of Lakes and Flowing Waters" published in 1968 and "Eutrophication of waters: Monitoring, assessment and Control" published in 1982. Other recent reports are the Environment Agency's publications: "An environmental strategy for the millennium and beyond" published in 1997 and "Aquatic eutrophication in England and Wales: a proposed management strategy" published in 1998.
The Department's assessment of this body of scientific information is that it supports the view that in the UK's freshwater systems, phosphorus is generally the key nutrient limiting the eutrophication process, although nitrates may also contribute to eutrophication. In marine waters, nitrate is generally the key limiting nutrient.