News item | 18-03-2025 | 10:28
The Cabinet has decided to submit an information question to the Council of State about setting a lower limit of 1 mol/ha/year for nitrogen calculations. With this step, the government wants to test and strengthen the legal shelf life of this arithmetic lower limit.
Minister Wiersma: “With the submission of the information, we are taking a step forward to realistic and explanatory nitrogen policy under 1 mole/han. That is why we are now asking for information from the Council of State. ”
Therefore an arithmetic lower limit
In many economic activities, such as keeping cattle, housing, infrastructure and energy production, nitrogen is released. Part of it ends up in nature, which requires a nature permit for these activities. At present, an almost zero limit (0.005 mol/ha/year) applies. Scientists[1] State that this extremely low limit leads to false security. It cannot be determined with sufficient accuracy where such small amounts of nitrogen actually precipitate. With the current zero boundary, entrepreneurs are then held responsible for this.
The cabinet finds this unjust. That is why Professor Arthur Petersen, at the request of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (LVVN), has developed a scientific basis for a lower limit in the model. A lower limit of 1 Mol/HA/year has come from this. Nitrogen negrimage below this value is so small that it is no longer measurable and cannot be linked to a source with sufficient scientific certainty. That is why calculations under this border are scientifically insufficiently reliable for decision -making on projects.
Process so far
After a scientific peer review, Petersen further sharpened and strengthened the substantiation. This means a solid, scientific basis for an arithmetic lower limit, which means that projects with nitrogen emissions under 1 mol/ha/year would no longer need a nature permit. This scientific basis has already been shared with the Chamber, and in recent weeks it has been translated into an information question for the Council of State.
Follow-up
The government believes it is important to request the Council of State to request information, since this helps to test and strengthen legal substantiation. Ultimately it is up Administrative Law Division of the Council of State as the highest administrative court to give a definitive answer. This can only happen if the lower limit is presented in a suitable higher professional business. The current information by the Advisory Department The Council of State serves as a legal test in advance to make the substantiation even more robust. The advice thus forms a building block for the final introduction.
The information process usually lasts approximately ten weeks. The Cabinet will request the Council of State to deal with this issue with priority. The information question that is being sent to the Council of State today is also shared with the room.
[1] This is evident from the advice of Hordijk and the studies of TNO and the University of Amsterdam.