New article on water plans and buffer strips
Partner Søren Stenderup Jensen and Assistant Attorney Sebina Harder have written the article "Water plans and buffer strips: reducing emissions into watercourses", which has been published in the current edition of International Law Office (ILO).
The article contains a brief account of the water plans from December 2011 and the buffer zone requirement. The latter entered into force in September 2012. Both the water plans and the buffer zone requirement have resulted in legal actions being brought against the Danish state by a sustainable farming organisation, Bæredygtigt Landbrug, and the Danish Agriculture and Food Council on behalf of Danish farmers.
Some of the requirements of the water plans are to reduce the nitrogen discharge from the agricultural sector by 9,000 tons in 2015, to reduce the discharge of phosphorus by about 200 tons and to no longer keep up some watercourses.
The buffer zone requirement involves no crop spraying, manuring or cultivation of the land in a zone of 10 meters around lakes larger than 100 square meters and exposed watercourses, the outcome being the reduction of the discharge of nitrogen, phosphorus and pesticides into lakes and watercourses.