HC Deb 31 January 2002 vol 379 cc470-2W
Mr. Jack

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the reasons for signing the Water Framework Directive. [31179]

Mr. Meacher

The UK played a leading role in drafting many aspects of the Water Framework Directive during and after its presidency of the European Union 1998. The directive will help ensure protection and improvement of our inland and coastal waters for the benefit of generations to come, thereby contributing to sustainable development.

The Directive introduces a common approach to environmental objectives for all groundwaters and surface waters within the Community as well as a common implementation method, based around the principle of river basin management.

Mr. Jack

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the differences are between current methodology employed to map nitrate vulnerable zones and that used when nitrate vulnerable zones were designated in 1996. [31177]

Mr. Meacher

Identification of discrete area nitrate vulnerable zones as presented under Option 2 of the current consultation paper "How should England implement the 1991 Nitrates Directive?", published on 20 December 2001, has required assessments of the status of several different types of water bodies.

For surface waters, the primary differences between current and past methodology are that the proposed designations are the result of the application of a more robust statistical methodology used to assess nitrate concentrations, coupled with the use of a more extensive water quality sampling network. Following the European Court of Justice (ECJ) judgment in 2000 that we failed to fully implement the nitrates directive, we were required to cover all waters, not just those used for drinking water supplies. The entire Environment Agency GQA monitoring network is now used. Statistical assessments of nitrate concentrations have been based on a minimum of five years of data, compared to a single year of data in the past. For the first time, trend-analysis has also been used to cover the requirement to protect those waters which may be subject to unacceptably high nitrate pollution in the future.

For groundwaters, the 1996 designations of groundwater NVZs were based on monitoring data taken from Public Water Supply boreholes and delineated by groundwater catchments. Following the ECJ judgment, we were required to ensure that the new methodology identifies all groundwater vulnerable to agriculturally-derived nitrate and not just the catchments (zones of contribution) for Public Supply Wells. This was accomplished by combining a statistical assessment of groundwater data with a groundwater vulnerability model derived from an examination of the risk factors associated with land use, rainfall, soil and geological characteristics. The spatial distribution of nitrate values from the monitoring network was used in conjunction with the vulnerability map to define nitrate vulnerable zones.

The nitrates directive also requires designation of nitrate vulnerable zones draining into estuarine areas which have been adjudged to be eutrophic and where a significant proportion of nitrogen arises from diffuse agricultural sources. Such areas are identified in England under the proposals for Option 2 for the first time.

Mr. Jack

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the overlap between the water framework and nitrates directives. [31180]

Mr. Meacher

Measures required under the nitrates directive are also "basic" measures which must be included in "programmes of measures" under article 11 of the water framework directive. These programmes of measures have to be published in draft by December 2008 as part of proposed comprehensive River Basin Management Plans.

Action required under the nitrates directive will also therefore contribute to meeting environmental objectives set by the water framework directive. These objectives are due to be met by 2015.

DEFRA published a consultation document on 20 December 2001 setting out options for implementing the nitrates directive, in order to comply with a European Court of Justice judgment issued in December 2000. These proposals would apply measures required under the nitrates directive in new areas from 19 December 2002.

Mr. Jack

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reason the methodology for mapping groundwaters in relation to proposed nitrate vulnerable zones has been changed from that applied on nitrate vulnerable zones designated in 1996. [31178]

Mr. Meacher

Identification and designation of groundwater nitrate vulnerable zones (NVZs) in 1996 was based on monitoring data from Public Water Supply boreholes. Following the European Court of Justice judgment that we have failed to fully implement the nitrates directive, we were required to extend the methodology to cover all groundwaters, not just drinking water supplies. The Environment Agency therefore used in addition to all available private borehole monitoring data and developed a modelling methodology, calibrated to best fit available borehole monitoring data, to identify vulnerable groundwaters. Further details are in Annexe A of the current consultation document "How should England implement the 1991 Nitrates Directive?" (PB6269) published on 20 December 2001.