| Guvnor

Enforced by: Environment Agency, DEFRA
Status: In Force
Penalty ceiling: Prosecution 16 of 26 obligations carry an unlimited fine. 10 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.

Does it bind you?

Business-side roles with duties under this instrument.

Occupier19 Any Person3

Plus 4 duties on the regulator, Crown ministers and public bodies — folded into the section list below.

Other Acts binding the same actors

If a role above is yours, these are the other instruments that most often bind it.

Occupier — also bound by 235 other Acts

The Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021 47 duties

Avian Influenza and Influenza of Avian Origin in Mammals (England) (No. 2) Order 2006 46 duties

The Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995 34 duties

Highways Act 1980 23 duties

Housing Act 1985 17 duties

Any Person — also bound by 2340 other Acts

Human Medicines Regulations 2012 184 duties

Merchant Shipping Act 1995 144 duties

Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 104 duties

Communications Act 2003 92 duties

Road Traffic Act 1988 92 duties

What it requires

Regulations creating concrete business duties or carrying penalties, grouped as the instrument is structured. Titles link to the source text — blue means you’re leaving for legislation.gov.uk.

Part 1

0 of 2 sections shown

2 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional

s.001 Citation, commencement and application

s.002 Interpretation

Part 2

1 of 5 sections shown

s.005 Recommendations and proposals Regulated

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator

Secretary of State must notify owners of proposed Nitrate Vulnerable ZonesCrown / Minister / Government department

4 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional

s.003 Designation

s.004 Review

s.006 Appeal

s.transitional periods for new holdings Transitional periods for new holdings

Part 3

2 of 2 sections shown

s.007 Application of livestock manure: total nitrogen limit for the whole holding Prosecution

Limit the total nitrogen from livestock manure applied to your landOccupier

Unlimited fine

s.008 Spreading organic manure: nitrogen limits per hectare Prosecution

Limit nitrogen from organic manure to 250kg per hectareOccupier

Unlimited fine

Part 4

4 of 6 sections shown

s.010 Planning the spreading of nitrogen fertiliser Prosecution

Calculate nitrogen levels and create a fertilisation planOccupier

Unlimited fine

s.011 Additional information to be recorded Prosecution

Calculate and record nitrogen content before spreading manure or fertiliserOccupier

Unlimited fine

s.012 Total nitrogen spread on a holding Prosecution

Limit total nitrogen spread on cropsOccupier

Unlimited fine

s.013 Grass grown for dehydration or for chlorophyll production Prosecution

Limit nitrogen spreading on grass for dehydration and report soil analysesOccupier

Unlimited fine

2 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional

s.009 Exclusion for crops in greenhouses

s.014 Calculating the amount of nitrogen available for crop uptake from organic manure

Part 5

2 of 8 sections shown

s.016 Restrictions on spreading nitrogen fertiliser Regulated

Inspect fields and follow restrictions before spreading nitrogen fertiliserOccupier

s.018 Restrictions on spreading slurry Prosecution

Use compliant equipment when spreading slurryAny Person

Unlimited fine

6 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional

s.015 Risk map

s.017 Spreading organic manure near surface water, boreholes, springs or wells

s.019 Incorporating organic manure into the ground

s.020 Closed periods for organic manure

s.021 Exemption for organic holdings

s.022 Closed period for manufactured nitrogen fertiliser

Part 6

5 of 5 sections shown

s.023 Storage of organic manure Prosecution

Store organic manure safely and away from water sourcesOccupier

Unlimited fine

s.024 Separation of slurry Prosecution

Use mechanical separators or impermeable surfaces for slurryOccupier

Unlimited fine

s.025 Record of size of holding Prosecution

Record the total size of your holdingOccupier

Unlimited fine

s.025 Record of storage capacity Prosecution

Calculate and record livestock manure storage capacityOccupier

Unlimited fine

s.025 Storage capacity Regulated

Provide sufficient slurry and poultry manure storage capacityOccupier

Part 7

8 of 10 sections shown

s.027 Record of nitrogen produced by animals on the holding Prosecution

Record and calculate nitrogen produced by livestockOccupier

Unlimited fine

s.028 Livestock manure brought on to or sent off the holding Regulated

Record livestock manure brought onto or sent off your holdingOccupier

s.029 Sampling and analysis Prosecution

Keep laboratory reports for organic manure analysisAny Person

Unlimited fine

s.031 Records of spreading nitrogen fertiliser Regulated

Record details of spreading nitrogen fertiliserOccupier

s.032 Subsequent records Regulated

Record arable crop yields and grassland management annuallyOccupier

s.033 FACTS advice Prosecution

Keep copies of specialist FACTS adviceOccupier

Unlimited fine

s.034 Keeping records up to date Prosecution

Keep farm and manure storage records up to dateOccupier

Unlimited fine

s.035 Duration of records Regulated

NVZ occupiers must keep records for five yearsOccupier

2 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional

s.026 Annual records relating to storage

s.030 Records of crops sown

Part 8

0 of 3 sections shown

3 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional

s.036 Application

s.037 Determination of application

s.038 Appeal

Part 9

Review

3 of 3 sections shown

s.039 Review of the action programme Regulated

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator

Secretary of State must review and consult on nitrate zone restrictionsCrown / Minister / Government department

s.040 Implementation report Regulated

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator

Secretary of State must publish a four-yearly report on nitrate regulationsCrown / Minister / Government department

s.040 Regulatory review Regulated

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator

Secretary of State must review and report on Nitrate Regulations every 5 yearsCrown / Minister / Government department

Part 10

1 of 3 sections shown

s.041 Offence and penalty Prosecution

Fail to comply with Nitrate Pollution RegulationsAny Person

Unlimited fine

2 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional

s.042 Civil sanctions

s.043 Enforcement

Part 11

0 of 1 section shown

1 other section in this Part — procedural and definitional

s.044 Revocation of consolidated provisions

Schedules

0 of 24 shown

24 other schedules

s.002 Calculating nitrogen in manure

s.sch002 Slurry and other liquid and semi-liquid organic manure

s.sch002 Solid manures

s.sch003 Introductory

s.sch003 Sowing crops following grass

s.sch003 Crop rotation

s.sch003 Recording the size of the holding

s.sch003 Records relating to storage of manure during storage period

s.sch003 Record of nitrogen and phosphate produced by animals

s.sch003 Livestock manure intended to be brought on to or sent off the holding

s.sch003 Records of crops sown

s.sch003 Records of spreading phosphate fertiliser

s.sch003 Recording the date of ploughing

s.sch003 Fertilisation accounts

s.sch003 Limit on application of livestock manure

s.sch003 Planning the spreading of phosphate fertiliser

s.sch003 Other requirements for fertilisation plans

s.sch003 Soil sampling and analysis

s.sch003 Additional information to be recorded during the year

s.sch003 Risk maps

s.sch003 Maintaining holding as grassland

s.sch003 Closed period for ploughing grass

s.sch004 The following regulations do not apply in relation to a...

Help complying

Guvnor’s practical routes through this instrument.

Meet environmental compliance requirements

Navigate your environmental obligations including waste duty of care, pollution prevention, packaging responsibilities, and energy reporting

Starting farming: complete compliance journey

New farmers: everything you need to register, comply, and access funding - from CPH numbers to environmental schemes. Follow this step-by-step journey …

What regulations apply to my farm?

A quick decision-tree navigator that helps you identify which regulations apply to your specific farm based on what you keep, grow, and …

Farm compliance calendar

Month-by-month calendar of key farm compliance deadlines covering SFI scheme declarations, TB testing windows, NVZ closed periods, scheme payments, and tax filing. …

Farmer compliance checklist

A comprehensive compliance checklist for UK farmers covering livestock, environmental, animal welfare, health and safety, financial, and scheme obligations. Includes frequency of …

Comply with Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ) regulations

How to comply with NVZ regulations if your land is in a designated Nitrate Vulnerable Zone. Covers nitrogen application limits, closed spreading …

4 more guides that reference this instrument

Comply with farming environmental regulations Slurry and silage storage compliance (SSAFO) Comply with Farming Rules for Water Understand your farm's regulatory obligations

Duty extraction and severity labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the instrument, not the instrument itself. Always verify against the linked source text.

Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations 2015

Does it bind you?

Other Acts binding the same actors

What it requires

Review

Schedules

Help complying

Meet environmental compliance requirements

Starting farming: complete compliance journey

What regulations apply to my farm?

Farm compliance calendar

Farmer compliance checklist

Comply with Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ) regulations