Le cadre réglementaire concernant l’azote et le phosphore

• European Directive 91/676/CEE of 12 December 1991 concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources, known as the "nitrates directive", aims to combat diffuse water pollution by nitrates of agricultural origin. It covers nitrogen from all sources (chemical fertilizers, livestock effluents, agrifood effluents, sludge, etc.) and all waters regardless of their origin and use. • Its implementation results in establishing action programs regulating the use of nitrogen fertilizers and promoting appropriate management of agricultural land in areas designated as vulnerable to pollution by nitrates of agricultural origin.

• Groundwaters and fresh surface waters, in particular those used for or intended for water abstraction for human consumption, with a nitrate content exceeding 50 milligrams per liter, • Waters of estuaries, coastal and marine waters and fresh surface waters that undergo eutrophication to which enrichment of water with nitrogen compounds from agricultural sources contributes. • Each department with a vulnerable zone develops an action program establishing requirements to correct the most polluting practices that all farmers in the corresponding vulnerable zone must comply with. This program is reviewed every four years based on the results of a monitoring program evaluating its effectiveness. It is developed in consultation with all stakeholders based on a local diagnosis. • The main measures focus on: • Capping organic nitrogen at 170 kg per hectare spread; • Prohibition of spreading at certain periods and according to soil conditions and slope; • Mandatory maintenance of a provisional manure plan and a record book • Of practices by the affected farm to verify the balance of nitrogen fertilization; • Establishment of sufficient storage capacity to comply with the manure plan; • Obligation to install intermediate crops that trap nitrates; • Obligation to install grass strips along watercourses. • France is divided into 12 major river basins with 7 in metropolitan France. Vulnerable zones are designated by prefectural order at the scale of each basin based on national rules. • As of early 2015, approximately 55% of France's agricultural land is classified as a vulnerable zone: approximately 18,400 municipalities are affected, mainly located in the Adour Garonne, Loire-Brittany, Rhône-Mediterranean and Seine-Normandy basins. • Outside vulnerable zones, a code of good agricultural practices established at the national level is voluntary.

• Phosphorus abundance can cause eutrophication of lakes and rivers and also contributes to eutrophication of coastal areas. The Water Framework Directive aims to achieve good water status. It requires achieving low phosphorus concentrations in waters and reducing eutrophication phenomena. This directive is implemented through master plans for water management and development (SDAGE), which identify actions to be taken to preserve and restore water quality. • Historically, water contamination by phosphorus was mainly due to urban wastewater. However, discharges have decreased significantly since the 1990s following implementation of the 1991 Urban Wastewater Directive and improved treatment in wastewater treatment plants as well as the progressive discontinuation of phosphates in detergents. Thus, agricultural phosphorus discharges are now more apparent and can represent a significant share of phosphorus inputs in surface waters: these are estimated at approximately one-third of total inputs in the Seine-Normandy basin. • There is no specific national regulation on controlling diffuse pollution by phosphorus of agricultural origin. However, local regulations apply depending on local issues where problems related to phosphorus of agricultural origin have been identified. • Furthermore, other regulations contribute to managing risks of water contamination by phosphorus of agricultural origin, including: • Conditions applicable to storage and spreading of livestock effluents in application of nitrate action programs and regulations for facilities classified for environmental protection (ICPE); • Buffer strips along watercourses imposed by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) conditionality and nitrate action programs; • Soil coverage in autumn (intermediate crops that trap nitrates) imposed under nitrate action programs in vulnerable zones. • Local regulation on agricultural phosphorus is mainly defined under the SDAGE adopted in application of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). Thus, the Loire-Brittany SDAGE provides that for spreading by ICPE livestock operations and spreading of wastewater treatment plant sludge and other effluents (subject to water law) subject to authorization, their spreading plans must aim for balanced fertilization