Dutch provinces call for nature protections ahead of nitrogen permit change

Dutch provinces are urging the government to guarantee improvements to vulnerable natural areas before raising the nitrogen threshold, a move that could allow small-emission projects to proceed without permits but may increase nitrogen deposition near sensitive habitats.

Caretaker Agriculture Minister Femke Wiersma has proposed raising the so-called “computational floor” in January, which would exempt projects with minor nitrogen emissions from needing a permit. Provinces warn that this could sometimes lead to higher nitrogen levels in areas critical for nature.

“We want to ensure that more nitrogen does not settle on vulnerable nature if multiple entrepreneurs expand in a region together,” said Jelle Beemsterboer, deputy of Noord-Holland and spokesperson for the advisory committee on rural areas of the Interprovinciaal Overleg (IPO), the association of Dutch provinces. “The cabinet should realize that guaranteeing both nature restoration and nitrogen reduction is very important.”

Beemsterboer emphasized the role of science in the decision. “Science says that the government cannot hold permit applicants responsible for nitrogen emissions if the model is too uncertain, and I think it is important to follow the science in this,” he said.

“Nature restoration is also administratively necessary for the IPO," Beemsterboer added. You do not want to risk a repeat of the PAS situation, where entrepreneurs ended up without permits. The government cannot shift responsibility to people who apply for permits based on seemingly certain model outcomes. That is why it is important that the higher computational threshold is implemented quickly, but also carefully.”

The IPO has previously outlined conditions before Wiersma’s proposal can move forward. Following three informal discussions, representatives of the cabinet and provinces met formally for the first time Monday, Beemsterboer said. “We will most likely set a new date. I don’t know exactly when; that is up to the cabinet. But it is possible we could meet the January target.”

Meanwhile, the province of Limburg said it needs clarity on nitrogen reductions already achieved by the national government, particularly from farmers who have exited their operations under government schemes. “It is painful that we have not yet received hard figures,” Limburg officials said. “It gives a murky picture of where we stand and what still needs to be done.”