Tension about the follow-up of the Nitrogen Act is increasing

Declaring the nitrogen legislation controversial by the Senate is a nightmare for Bouwend Nederland. And satisfaction for part of the livestock in the Netherlands. But it did not help the thousands of PAS reporters. The agricultural lobby against the Nitrogen Act is in any case full of steam. This time not through trigger actions, but with arguments.

As it now looks like, the Senate will vote on controversial topics on Tuesday January 26, which will no longer be discussed until there is a new government. The discussion of the Nitrogen Act, which was passed by the House of Representatives in mid-December last year, is scheduled for Tuesday 23 February. There is a real chance that the Senate will declare the subject controversial, even if this is extremely rare. It is customary in the House of Representatives for various policy areas to be declared controversial when the cabinet has become resigned.

Critical Vote Ratio
Rarely has there been so much buzz about legislation as about the Nitrogen Act. That is why the Senate can declare the treatment of the Nitrogen Act controversial as an exception to the rule. That is not only 'wishful thinking' on the part of Agractie and Farmers Defense Force, but also based on political relationships. This is because there is by no means a large majority in the Senate for the Nitrogen Act.

Because of the historic election victory of the Forum for Democracy in March 2019, the political relationships in the Senate are very different from those in the House of Representatives. Caretaker minister Carola Schouten thought she had solved this with the support of 50Plus and the SGP, but now that the cabinet has fallen and the elections are approaching, the voting ratios are again coming under pressure.

Internally, much criticism has been expressed within the SGP about the support that the House of Representatives ultimately gave to the Nitrogen Act. It is true that the support of the SGP provided new perspectives for the thousands of PAS reporters, but at the same time spokesman Roelof Bisschop had to swallow ugly bones, he acknowledged. The SGP in the Senate believes that now that the cabinet has been resigned since mid-January and should therefore pause, the Nitrogen Act should be declared controversial. This is what Peter Schalk, leader of the SGP in the Senate, tweeted last night.

This is because the tightened nature objectives are unattainable, and is now also being emphasized by LTO Nederland. Until now, the agricultural advocate has not presented himself as an avowed opponent of the Nitrogen Act. But now that political relations have changed, different accents are being placed. LTO remains disappointed with the enormous impact that the ruling of the Council of State in May 2019 on the PAS legislation has had on the economy and the agricultural sector in particular. Especially in view of the corona crisis, this file should not be so blocking. That is why LTO requires the Senate to remove the tightened nitrogen reduction target to 50% by 2035. The organization does not push for controversial statement. After all, that puts the thousands of PAS detectors in even greater trouble. 

Council of State and highways
The tension about the continuation of the Nitrogen legislation has increased further due to a new ruling by the Council of State in the nitrogen file on the granting of permits for the extension of the A15 motorway through the Gelderse Poort from the Betuwe to the Achterhoek. This is because the Aerius calculation of nitrogen deposition does not take into account the effects further than 5 kilometers from the highway to be constructed on nitrogen deposition in vulnerable nature areas. Bouwend Nederland is concerned about the scope of this ruling.

The Nitrogen Claim Foundation draws attention to another ruling by the Council of State that was published yesterday. In this case, the Brabant Environmental Federation and Natuurmonumenten are demanding the withdrawal of a nature permit from a pig farm in Oirschot. The Council of State has ruled that the provincial government does not have to revoke the permit if other measures can prevent deterioration of nature. 

Nitrogen claim asked lawyer Franca Damen for advice. The foundation concludes from this that so-called 'internal netting' is a relatively simple procedure, but that the government can also withdraw the permit. In the event that the deposition has deteriorated compared to the year in which the permit was granted. Because provinces meanwhile have added vulnerable nature, can this decision of the Council of State on the withdrawal of a nature permit have far-reaching consequences according to Nitrogen Claim† That is why the organization makes an urgent appeal to the CDA and LTO to withdraw the support provided to the Nitrogen legislation. 

Staff outlines 10 shortcomings
In the run-up to the bill being discussed in the Senate, the Agri Facts Foundation (STAF) is increasing the pressure by 10 shortcomings outline the nitrogen policy. According to Staf, one of the shortcomings is that the government has not investigated whether the investment of €5 billion will improve nature. Furthermore, Staf points out the complexity of the Natural Law, which means that a sound legal framework is lacking. The nitrogen policy would also not be verifiable. Moreover, the nitrogen targets set by the Dutch government are unattainable. 

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