New research results in the short term

The State Secretary for Economic Affairs and the State Secretary for Infrastructure and the Environment announced in a letter to the House of Representatives on Thursday 1 June that new results will be announced soon in the 'Livestock farming and health of local residents (VGO)'.

The same letter discusses the emissions of fine dust from poultry houses. Consultations with the poultry sector about a package of measures failed. The cabinet will now initiate the implementation of the package of measures itself. The package focuses on the following items:

• Tightening of the standards for particulate matter emissions from poultry houses;
• A sectoral research and innovation program for low-emission poultry farming;
• A social innovation program for sustainable livestock farming;
• Accelerating new particulate matter-limiting measures.

Decision-making is for the new cabinet
The decision-making on the statutory measures is left to the new cabinet. These measures will probably also be aimed at organic poultry farms (for which no emission requirements currently apply).

The letter also states the following:

• Each livestock chain will be invited to draw up "accelerating agendas" aimed at sustainability;
• A "Guide to Livestock Farming and Public Health" is being drawn up;
• Work is underway on a modeling tool for endotoxins;
• The Health Council has been asked for advice on the effects of secondary particulate matter as a result of ammonia emissions on public health and the role of particulate matter from livestock farms in the occurrence of cardiovascular disease and lung cancer.

Smell is not a problem
Specifically with regard to smell, it is also important that State Secretary Sharon Dijksma announced on Thursday 1 June that the various nuisance perception studies no unequivocal national relationship can be deduced between odor load and nuisance perception (compared to the national standards).

Partly in view of the scope that the Environment and Planning Act will offer municipalities, the State Secretary sees no reason to conduct research into new odor standards. The State Secretary refers to the current legal option for local policy (local standards). At the same time, the State Secretary does not rule out the possibility that amendment of the odor rules will become part of the "Integral approach to making livestock farming more sustainable".

Paul Bodden

Paul Bodden is a lawyer at Hekkelman. He focuses on providing legal aid. He also wrote a preliminary recommendation for the Association for Agrarian Law and is a member of the editorial board of the Tijdschrift voor Agrarisch Recht.

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