Areas contaminated with nitrate according to § 13a DüV (12/2022) and affected field blocks (as of 09/2022) within the areas contaminated with nitrate according to § 13a DüV (12/2022)

According to Section 13a DüV, there are stricter requirements for fertilization on the agricultural areas within the areas contaminated with nitrates for reasons of groundwater protection. The measures are necessary in order to achieve and maintain the targets set out in the EC Water Framework Directive and the Nitrate Directive with regard to nitrate pollution in groundwater. The designation of these “red areas” as of December 2022 was carried out by LANUV NRW in accordance with the requirements of the General Administrative Regulations for the Designation of Nitrate-Contaminated and Eutrophic Areas (AVV GeA) of August 10, 2022. The basis for the designation are the groundwater measuring points of the designation measuring network in accordance with Section 4 AVV GeA. This measuring network contains all measuring points of the WFD quality measuring network (WFD measuring points) and the EEA/nitrate measuring network, provided they meet the requirements of Appendix 1 AVV GeA. According to § 3 and § 5 AVV GeA, when determining the nitrate concentrations in areas in which denitrifying conditions (nitrate degradation) exist in the groundwater, the nitrate content in the groundwater must be calculated before denitrification using the best available methodology in accordance with Annex 2 of the Groundwater Ordinance (GrwV). This value - if higher - must be taken into account instead of the nitrate concentration. The starting areas for the designation are the groundwater bodies in accordance with the EC Water Framework Directive of the third status and trend assessment in which nitrate pollution or a persistently increasing nitrate trend currently exists (data basis WFD measuring points from the 3rd monitoring cycle 2013-2018). In addition, groundwater bodies (GWK) must be taken into account within which a measuring point in the designation measuring network with an agricultural use influence shows that the nitrate threshold value is exceeded or a rising nitrate trend or, taking denitrification (see above) into account, that the nitrate threshold value is exceeded. In the next step, within these affected GWK, a demarcation is made between polluted and unpolluted sub-areas (immission-based demarcation). For this purpose, in addition to the nitrate concentrations measured at the measuring points of the designation measuring network (2016-2019), hydrogeological, hydraulic or hydrogeological and hydraulic criteria based on groundwater level maps, a modeled groundwater surface of the country, and hydrogeological maps are used. The polluted sub-areas defined in this way are designated as nitrate-polluted areas in accordance with Section 13a DüV. If at least 20 percent of an agricultural reference parcel (in North Rhine-Westphalia: field block) lies within a polluted area, its total area is allocated to the nitrate-polluted areas in accordance with Section 7 AVV GeA. The topic “Affected field blocks (09/2022) within the areas contaminated with nitrates (12/2022)” serves to clarify whether individual agricultural areas are affected from December 1st, 2022.