If it is up to environmental group Mobilization for the Environment (MOB), the nature permits of at least forty farmers will be withdrawn. According to the group, a number of livestock farmers in Brabant should also stop. MOB wants the government to take tougher action against large nitrogen emitters. If that does not happen, the environmental group will go to court.
At the moment, the approach of the provinces is still too noncommittal. MOB will let it know NRC. The environmental group focuses on a total of forty livestock farmers in Brabant, Gelderland, Limburg and Overijssel. It is still unclear how many farmers are involved in our province.
MOB does mention vulnerable nature areas that are at stake. These are the Brabantse Wal, Kampina, the Oisterwijkse Vennen, the Grote Peel and the Deurnsche Peel. In these areas, ‘quick action is needed’ because nature there suffers greatly from the nitrogen deposition, MOB argues.
If the provinces do not comply with the demand, the MOB will go to court. That wouldn’t be the first time though. Earlier, the group, led by chairman Johan Vollenbroek, successfully challenged the Nitrogen Approach Program (PAS). As a result, the business operations of hundreds of PAS reporters became illegal. These farmers did not have to apply for a permit under the PAS scheme. A notification was enough.
Stripe through cabinet plans
Should the MOB now again be proven right by the court, this will mean a major problem for the current government approach to buying out peak loaders. This is aimed at buying out the so-called peak loaders, initially voluntarily. That process could therefore be punctured by such a ruling.
What exactly happens when such a nature permit is revoked, tells independent lawyer Arjan van Delden. “Entrepreneurs then actually have to stop their business, because there is no longer a permit for emissions.” They therefore do not benefit from the advantages that come with a (voluntary) squeeze-out arrangement or expropriation. “In that case, they have little left. No full compensation and a business that cannot continue.”