The transition period for providing animal housing with manure storage will be extended

The Ministry of Agriculture (MA) has prepared a new draft regulation on special environmental requirements for the performance of polluting activities in animal housing. The new draft regulation establishes an extension of the transition period for providing animal housing with a manure storage facility.

Until now, it was stipulated that farmers had to ensure the storage of manure in environmentally friendly storage facilities by 27 July 2014. Given significant circumstances, including the economic crisis and the fall in agricultural product prices, many farms were unable to ensure the fulfillment of these requirements. The Ministry of Agriculture has appealed to the EC with a request to find a possibility to extend the deadline for fulfilling this requirement.

The regulations provide that in animal housing from 15 animal units and in particularly sensitive areas from 10 animal units, storage must be provided by 31 December 2016, while in animal housing from 10-15 animal units and in particularly sensitive areas from 5-10 animal units - by 31 December 2017. This extension of the implementation period does not apply to those animal housings where liquid or semi-liquid manure is obtained.

Considering that there are a large number of small farms in Latvia with less than 10 livestock units and less than five livestock units if the animal housing is located in particularly sensitive areas, requirements for the storage of manure are also set for these farms. When storing manure near the animal housing, a base will need to be created to protect the liquid contained in the manure from seeping into the ground and runoff, as well as a specially constructed tank for storing slurry.

The draft regulations provide that in an animal housing facility where manure is stored in a deep barn and in a farm where beef cattle and wild animals are permanently kept outdoors in a confined environment or place for production purposes, a storage facility for manure storage is not required. It is also stipulated that manure stored in a deep barn, ensuring a dry matter content of at least 45%, may be stored outside the animal housing facility for no longer than 24 months. When storing manure outside the animal housing facility (deep barn), the base of the manure storage area shall be made of waterproof material. The draft regulations also require that when constructing a lagoon-type storage facility, drainage must be installed in order to ensure monitoring of the storage facility by measuring the quality of groundwater.

The draft regulations have been developed to ensure the appropriate application of the requirements of the EC Directive on the protection of waters against pollution by nitrates originating from agricultural activities in Latvian legislation.

It is expected that the new draft regulations will replace the currently in force Cabinet of Ministers (CM) Regulations No. 628 of 27 July 2004 “Special Environmental Requirements for Carrying Out Polluting Activities in Animal Shelters”. More information about the draft Cabinet Regulations “Special Environmental Requirements for Carrying Out Polluting Activities in Animal Shelters”, which was announced at the State Secretaries’ meeting on Thursday, 6 November, is available on the CM website: linkThe draft regulations will still be considered by the government.

Source: Ministry of Agriculture