Consultation display

The Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee gathered views on the Welsh Government’s agricultural pollution regulations.

The Welsh Government introduced new regulations to control agricultural pollution in January 2021. The Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021 came into force in April and designated the whole of Wales as a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ), meaning farmers across Wales must comply with rules on the application of nitrates (slurry and fertiliser) on their land. Previously only 2.4% of the land area of Wales was designated as NVZs. In June the Senedd voted to call upon a relevant Senedd committee to urgently review the regulations.

The Committee asked for views on any or all of the issues covered in the terms of reference, and in particular on the following questions:

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>>>the positive aspects of the current all-Wales approach;

>>>the negative aspects of the current all-Wales approach;

>>>the process for developing the current approach;

>>>the alternatives to the current approach; and

>>>if an all-Wales approach were to be retained, how the current approach could be improved.

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The deadline for submissions to this inquiry was 10 September 2021.

For clarity, there was no designated form for submissions.