7 Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR Regs)
Pigs and poultry intensive farming: environmental permits – GOV.UK applies to sites with more than 40,000 poultry, 2,000 production pigs and/or 750 sows
7a
Chapter 2, 2.3.3 Operations, Slurry spreading and manure management planning – off-site activity
requires the operator to maintain written evidence of the arrangements in place when exporting manure including; records of the quantities/date and the date of transfer, the names and addresses and land acreage available when exporting for land spreading. Where a ‘manure agent’ or other third party accepts liability for removing manure or slurry from the installation, operators must provide acceptable confirmation that: as a minimum, the third party will ensure that the manure is spread to land in accordance with the Code of Good Agricultural Practice Code of good agricultural practice | GOV.WALES and Protecting our water, soil and air – GOV.UK Section 2.2 lists the elements of manure and nutrient plans and section 5.2 describes the good practice relating to manure and nutrient planning
Additionally the Recommendations include:
POULTRY (BROILERS/LAYERS) Where manures are exported to other farms in the Wye & Usk catchments, require the recipient to demonstrate that they will only be used in accordance with a nutrient management plan justified by soil test results (which are no more than 5 years old).
7b
Chapter 2, 2.3.4 Operations, Slurry spreading and manure management planning – on-site activity
requires that the operator maintain and implement a manure management plan to include: the nutrient content of the manure and slurry applied to each field and the weight of manure and slurry applied to each field. It also requires slurry and manures to be analysed twice yearly, or once per production cycle where that cycle exceeds six months. Analysis should include; total nitrogen, available nitrogen, total phosphorus. Soil should be analysed for total phosphorus as a minimum, every five years. Records of nutrient sampling and reviews must be maintained.
Additionally the Recommendations include:
POULTRY (BROILERS/LAYERS) / PIGS plan nutrient applications to ensure that manures and fertilisers are applied to meet crop nutrient requirements. Do not build soil phosphorus beyond target indices. Where soil nutrient indices are higher than target levels, consider undertaking a farmgate nutrient balance to identify opportunities to bring the farm into nutrient balance (e.g. exporting surplus manures or reducing bought in feeds).
7c
Chapter 3, Emissions and Monitoring, 3.2 Fugitive emissions requires that drainage from animal housing and water from cleaning out is considered to be slurry and should be collected in a tank or lagoon prior to land spreading or disposal. Also that drainage from yards in regular use by livestock, or likely to be contaminated by manures or slurries should be collected in slurry or dirty water tanks.
