How new nutrients targets may impact on your development

Next Steps

• The role of the sub-regional Technical Advisory Group (TAG) is to collect, collate, and analyse data used to present options for approval by the Boards. The TAG group works collectively to produce a Nutrient Management Plan for each catchment. The three operational focussed working groups are the TAG Agricultural Working Group, the TAG Citizen Science Working Group and the TAG Monitoring Working Group. For more information and membership please contact chrichards@carmarthenshire.gov.uk
• A River Stakeholder Group has been established, also through the joint West Wales Nutrient Management Boards. This will operate as one cross-region group. Membership of this group is open, and we welcome all contributions to help facilitate constructive and lasting change for river health. If you are interested in joining this group please contact the Nutrient Management Board Support Officer via email - chrichards@carmarthenshire.gov.uk for more information.
• The challenges of addressing excess nutrients are complex, and there is no easy solution. Long lasting solutions will require collaboration with neighbouring Local Authorities, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, the rural land use sector, NRW, Welsh Government and other key stakeholders. Active collaboration and information sharing amongst all parties will be undertaken on a regular basis.
• We are working with the Nutrient Management Boards to produce short educational video on nutrient management in a rural land use setting and citizen science and monitoring.
• We have assisted the Nutrient Management Boards in the production of three Nutrient Management Plans (NMP), one for each river catchment. The goal of a NMP is to identify the sources of excess nutrients in rivers, calculate the necessary nutrient removal required, suggest ways to reduce this pollution, with clear outputs and specific timeframes allocated to each stakeholder. ​An NMP will also identify any gaps in information. The NMPs will provide strategic opportunity areas to align with the quantity of nutrient removal required along with the potential wider benefits that could be provided. It will be a live document that is updated as new information is provided. Platform technology will be embraced to target investments, nudge behaviour change and collect verified ground-truth data.
• Explore a nutrient credit trading platform, payment for ecosystem services and natural capital trading. This will remove many of the mitigation barriers that developers are having to address.
• Seek support from retailers and industry for their role in nutrient mitigation and management and how they can influence behaviour change and success of mitigation strategies. The sustainability objectives of corporates stand to benefit farmers, and farmers are fundamental to the corporates hitting these objectives. Shared investment in platform technology would unlock the asymmetry between data held on farm and budgets held by corporates. We consider this to be the best vector for achieving a farmer-driven system change, financially supported by the corporates whist meeting quantified reporting requirements.
• Engage with market operators, promoters and market policy makers to see how nutrient mitigation strategies can be incentivized and publicised in terms of product marketing. Any corporate intervention on farm must consider the unique context of each farm and support change with appropriate investment and risk sharing.

We recognise that this situation is frustrating for developers - we want to work with you to find solutions that improve the condition of our rivers, that are feasible and can be implemented quickly and successfully. We want to engage with a wide range of people representing homebuilders, employers, the rural land use sector, residents, environmental groups and more to discuss these issues.

Carmarthenshire County Council is working proactively to minimise disruption and provide a solution to this unprecedented issue. We are operating at the forefront, planning strategically and recognise the necessity for fast and effective action, setting an example for the rest of Wales.

NRW have started issuing their review of wastewater treatment works (WwTW) permits. A backstop P limit is being applied to sites that previously had none in the past. Tighter P limits may be placed on WwTW permits where a limit is already present. There may be no change to existing P limits at certain sites. The new backstop limit of 5mg/l applies to sites with a dry weather flow of <20m³/day.