Gov't helped Schiphol buy closing farms to compensate nitrogen emissions: report

A special team at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management “actively supported” Schiphol Airport in purchasing closing farms to gain nitrogen space and obtain its nature permit. Officials even briefly considered closing the deal themselves, the Telegraaf reports, based on internal documents from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.

When Schiphol announced the buyout of 12 closing farms at the end of 2022, Minister Mark Harbers of Infrastructure said he couldn’t comment on a deal between two private parties and had no legal option to cancel it. However, internal documents show that the Ministry was actively involved in the purchase of the farms.

Schiphol Airport has been emitting too much nitrogen to qualify for a nature permit for years. The government tolerated that, but that tolerance is only allowed on a temporary basis. At the end of 2021, the government started to panic. Schiphol needed to get a nature permit soon or be forced to shrink. In the worst-case scenario, that would mean cutting half the flight movements—and jobs—at the airport, NRC reported Tuesday, based on documents from the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature, and Food Quality.

Late in 2021, the Ministry of Infrastructure significantly expanded its team already involved with helping Schiphol—the Schiphol Airport Environment Program (POLS). It charged the team with ensuring that Schiphol gets a nature permit, including handling the “purchase of nitrogen rights,” the documents in Telegraaf’s possession show. The documents explicitly mention buying up farms - a mitigation measure that creates nitrogen space to cancel out other emissions.

“My own interpretation of this is that as [the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management] we proactively take the lead on this file with courage and decisiveness and do not allow ourselves to be hindered too much by official opposition,” the newspaper quoted a Ministry official. “So put on the table what is needed based on the contents of the file, even if not everyone agrees. Whether that concerns money, resources, or legislation.”

The team decided that Schiphol would apply for the nature permit, while POLS continues to take measures with other parties involved. “Such as purchasing farmers.” The question of who would pay for the buyouts remained unanswered for some time. In December 2021, officials suggested that “the costs should be part of the budget for the measures.” According to Telegraaf, this suggests that the government considered closing the deal itself.

In a response, the Ministry told the Telegraaf that “all kinds of ideas and thoughts were exchanged within the Ministry, with broad consideration being given to who should take on what responsibility.” The Ministry maintains that it only urged Schiphol to take temporary “mitigating” measures to obtain a nature permit.

Schiphol told the newspaper that it did get an order to comply with the requirements, but that it acted on its own accord and with a commercial steward as an intermediary. “The initiative to obtain nitrogen rights lay entirely with Schiphol.”

On Tuesday, NRC already reported that the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature, and Food Quality relaxed the nitrogen rules for Schiphol so that the bought nitrogen rights would be enough for the nature permit. It exempted Schiphol from a requirement to first check whether released nitrogen rights were needed to restore or maintain nature. Other companies do have to make that check.