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widely recognised as needing much attention in Scotland or indeed much of the
UK; contamination associated with livestock grazing in fields, with growing crops
in areas prone to soil erosion, harvesting timber, movements of livestock, access
to watercourses. There are also strategic decisions to be taken in catchment
management, for example recognition that with or without BMPs, there will be more
P and N loss from a field of potatoes than from a grass field or cereal crop: the landuse
decision is the first level for managing pollution risks. A general set of rules could
bring in national measures, but targeting specific high-risk areas of fields for soil
erosion control, lengths of watercourses to be fenced off, etc., would be site-specific
control and likely to be licence territory. It may prove best regulated by an alternative
approach, perhaps using supplementary measures for site-specific circumstances?
Can Regulation be Focused on the Target Areas within a Farm?
The following sections consider how a regulatory approach could ensure use of
BMPs to address rural diffuse pollution problems, and follows the BMP system
used in Campbell et al. (2004) and in the new BMPs Manual produced for SEPA and
stakeholder partners by CEH (Centre for Ecology and Hydrology). Four target areas
are considered: steading, in-field, riparian and planning tools.
Steading controls
Source apportionment studies have shown that steadings (farm buildings, yards
and any other associated roof and hard standing areas) are a significant source of
contamination (Edwards et al. in prep.) The GBRs 10 and 11 in CAR 2005 effectively
provide a statutory basis for managing pollution risks from steading drainage, and also
for surface run-off from other rural developments such as forestry offices, housing
and depots, golf course buildings and car parks, and poultry units, piggeries etc. An
additional requirement in a farm GBR could be to require the use of a biobed where
yard run-off at risk from pesticide handling does not drain naturally onto grassland.
A broad range of controls can be envisaged for managing pollution risks at steadings;
from control at source for high strength, low volume pollution risks (storage and
handling controls) to high volume, relatively low contamination where drainage
infrastructure measures are needed to attenuate the pollutants, such as SUDS and
other BMP drainage features (see Figure 2). Bhamidimarri et al. (in preparation) are
developing design guidance for constructed farm wetlands. The difficulty for steading
drainage from livestock farms in the UK, is at what point on the schematic (what level
of contamination) can dirty water be allowed to drain to a constructed wetland or
onto grass where no drainage system is used, without risking a contravention of the
Silage Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil regulations (SSAFO regulations).
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