Summary
An investigation into whether the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs’ (DAERA) Standing Advice on Livestock Installations and Ammonia fails to comply with environmental law.
More Information
Commonly known as the ‘Operational Protocol’, DAERA’s ammonia guidance provided advice to local planning authorities and applicants seeking planning permission for certain livestock developments. The planning authorities were then responsible for carrying out assessments based on this advice to ensure planning decisions took account of the environmental impacts of ammonia-emitting developments.
In May 2023 the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) temporarily paused its use of the Operational Protocol. However, DAERA subsequently lifted this pause in September 2023.
Following an OEP judicial review pre-action letter to DAERA and NIEA in November 2023 the department announced in December 2023 that the Operational Protocol would no longer be used by NIEA. Instead NIEA was to provide local authorities with case and site-specific guidance using the new ‘Interim Framework’, that is currently still in place.
On 7 October, the OEP closed its investigation and issued an investigation report in which it found that:
• DAERA failed to comply with environmental law in relation to its previous ammonia advice
• The guidance that has since replaced the Operational Protocol, known as the ‘Interim Framework’, does not amount to a failure of environmental law
DAERA is expected to publish a new operational protocol alongside its Ammonia Strategy. The OEP’s investigation report also makes recommendations to be considered by DAERA in its development of its future operational protocol.