Analysis Nitrogen
The bait call swamp also sounds for the latest nitrogen plan
Minister for Nature and Nitrogen Christianne van der Wal has announced a new offensive to buy out peak loaders. She wants to buy up 3.000 companies for a price of up to 120% of the market value and thus kill two birds with one stone: relieve nature and free up nitrogen space. She could also help PAS detectors with the freed-up space.
Agricultural organization LTO sees something in such a purchase at a bonus price. It also seems attractive to other parties. The question is whether it is possible. Van der Wal runs into legal obstacles with her plan, for which there is no solution yet. Buying at a price above market value is called state aid if the government is the buyer.
Judgment Supreme Court
Nitrogen explorer Johan Remkes said at the presentation of his latest report at the beginning of October that a good discussion with the European Commission could solve this problem, but what he might not have thought of is that a few years ago a judgment of the Supreme Court where such a thing is declared illegal.
Appropriate criteria for appropriate assessment
Yet this is not even the biggest problem for the minister. Even if it could buy out peak loaders, it would probably be unable to do anything with the supposedly released emission allowance. That's because of a recent judgment of the European Court of Justice. This is about a permit from a Danish fish farmer near a nature reserve. The general thrust of that ruling is that an appropriate assessment is required for all nature and nitrogen permits, while it is not clear what exactly constitutes an appropriate assessment. There is no clear assessment framework for this. In other words: there are no appropriate criteria for an appropriate assessment.
That is not only a problem for Van der Wal, but for the entire business community. It means that essentially every nature permit is outlawed, including the irrevocable permits, according to lawyers who have examined the matter. The statement has not gone unnoticed in activist circles either. At a club like MOB, the knives are already being sharpened. Whether this also undermines the further policy to be published will soon become apparent.
Aerius from cork to poison pill
For the Netherlands, the situation is further complicated by the use of Aerius for the purposes of legislation. Also for the identification of peak loaders and other individual situations. In a recent hearing in the House of Representatives, director Charles Wijnker of the RIVM said that Aerius is not intended for that, but the legislator has not yet taken any notice of it. Aerius is the cork on which Dutch emissions policy floats, but it is becoming less and less satisfactory. Lawyers and advisers have discovered a goldmine in it, because it can be endlessly litigated and advised. As a result, a large and expanding legal quagmire has been created, with no way out. As a result, Aerius is increasingly becoming a poison pill for the government.
Klaas van der Horst
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