Nitrate Sculpture

In order to fulfil the objective of the Federal Fertilisation Ordinance of 26 May 2017 (BGBl. I p. 1305), as last amended on 10 August 2021 (BGBl. I p. 3436), which provides for the resource-efficient use of plant nutrients and compliance with the requirements of water protection, the First Ordinance amending the Thuringian Fertiliser Ordinance (Thüringer Düngeverordnung) entered into force on 30.11.2022. This is based on the revised General Administrative Regulation on the designation of nitrate contaminated areas (AVV GEA; a new area setting for the protection of waters from nitrate pollution came into force on 17.8.2022 in order to reduce the nutrient input from agriculture in these polluted areas. The recast of the AVV GEA amends and further harmonises the approach criticised by the European Commission for the designation of areas contaminated with nitrate in order to implement the EU-Nitrate Directive. Agricultural land shall be designated as a nitrate contaminated area according to the amended AVV GEA if they are located within a groundwater body contaminated with nitrate in accordance with the Groundwater Ordinance and at the same time the areas are within the interpolated limits of the Simik+ process or in the adjacent catchment area of drinking water or medicinal sources collection points and have a land share of at least 20 % in the area determined. The declared agricultural land is the reference parcels in accordance with the Thuringian Regulation implementing the Common Agricultural Policy as amended. Within this setting, additional or supplementary requirements according to DüV and ThürDüV must be implemented. The cut-outs of the reference parcels are adjusted annually on 01.02. and published in digital form in the Geoportal Thuringia. Changes in cuts of the reference parcels between the reference dates thus affect the attribute only from the following 01.02..