Court: France Failing To Uphold Nitrate Regs

A European Union court recently ruled against France on the question of nitrates and water pollution.

"The European Union's top court in Luxembourg ruled [in September] that France had failed to adequately prevent water pollution by nitrates and ordered the government to implement regulation or face penalties," Agence France-Presse reported.

Synthetic nitrate fertilizers are seen as a major culprit, according to the report. Used at large-scale farms, studies have linked them to contaminated water.

"EU regulation requires that designated areas, including farmland near key waterways, should have closed periods when manure and chemical fertilizers cannot be used," the report said.

The court ruling said that France did not implement this rules correctly, the report said. "The European Commission's complaint centers on the minimum prohibition periods and conditions for fertilizer application, the absence of binding rules for calculating the storage capacity of manure and for calculating the exact quantity of nitrates that should be spread," Euractiv reported.

The court also said French regulations are "too vague" for farmers and municipalities to implement effectively, AFP reported.

This is not the first time France has been criticized for its nitrate practices. A ruling last year found "authorities had only carried out an incomplete census to designate vulnerable zones," the AFP reported.

Nitrate pollution is addressed in the European Commission's 1991 Nitrates Directive. The document "aims to protect water quality across Europe by preventing nitrates from agricultural sources polluting ground and surface waters and by promoting the use of good farming practices," according to the European Commission.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has said France will "work to adapt the nitrates directive" and that the text "has clearly shown its limitations," according to Euractiv.

Check out Water Online's Nutrient Removal Solution Center.