S.L. 549.66 Art. 2Interpretation.

For the purposes of these regulations and unless the context otherwise requires:

"the Act" means the Environment Protection Act;

"agricultural activity" means the production, rearing or growing of agricultural products including harvesting, milking, breeding animals and keeping animals for farming purposes, or maintaining the land in good agricultural and environmental condition; "agricultural products" means the products listed in Annex I to the Treaty establishing the European Community, with the exception of fishery products, and includes cotton; "authorised person" means a person duly authorised by the Director to carry out inspections and other functions with a view to the attainment of the objectives of these regulations;

"crop nitrogen requirement" means the amount of nitrogen fertiliser in kilograms (kg/Ha NO3) which it is reasonable to apply to land in any year having regard to the foreseeable nitrogen requirement of the crop growing or to be grown on the land and the nitrogen supply to the crop from the soil and from other sources, including any nitrogen already present in the soil pool; "deep litter system" means an animal housing system whereby repeated layers of straw, sawdust or other dry similar materials are spread for the animals to use as bedding and to defecate in. As the litter is soiled, new layers of litter are continuously added by the farmer; "Department" means the Directorate responsible for agriculture;

"Director" means the Director of Agriculture or any authorised officer duly appointed by him; "farmer" means a natural or legal person, or a group of natural or legal persons responsible for a holding and who exercises an agricultural activity; farm structure" means buildings used for the rearing or breeding of animals/livestock for agricultural production and shall exclude fields;

"fertiliser" means any substance containing a nitrogen compound applied on land to enhance growth of vegetation:

Provided that any substance containing a nitrogen compound with a content of Nitrogen of 0.05% or less confirmed by a Nitrogen Test shall not be deemed to be a fertiliser for the purposes of these regulations. "fertiliser plan" means a plan drawn up in terms of regulation 4; "holding" means all the production units managed by a farmer;

"inorganic fertiliser" or "chemical fertiliser" means any nitrogenous fertiliser which is manufactured by an industrial process; "land application" means the addition of materials to land, whether by spreading on the surface of the land, injection into the land, placing below the surface of the land or mixing with the layers of the land;

"livestock" means all animals kept for use or profit; "livestock manure" means waste products excreted by livestock or a mixture of litter and waste products excreted by livestock, even in processed form;

"livestock unit" means a value quantifying amount of livestock in relation to production of manure;

"organic fertiliser" means fertiliser which is obtained directly from livestock manure or which may be otherwise derived from organic matter with a Nitrogen content above 0.05% as confirmed by a Nitrogen Test; "Nitrates Action Programme" means the programme published by the Government in terms of regulations 5(b) and 6 of the Protection of Waters against Pollution caused by Nitrates from

Agricultural Sources Regulations; "Nitrogen Test" means a test to determine the nitrogen content present carried out in accordance with the Kjeldahl method EN 13654-1 for Soil Improvers and Growing Media by an accredited body recognised by the Director;

"Nutrient Management Plan" means a plan drawn up in terms of regulation 10;

"slurry" means -

(a) excreta, including any liquid fraction, produced by livestock whilst in a yard or building; or

(b) a mixture consisting wholly of or containing such excreta, bedding, feed residues, rainwater and washings from a building or yard used by livestock, dungsteads or manure heaps, high level slatted buildings and weeping wall structures or any combination of these, provided such excreta is present, of a consistency that allows it to be pumped or discharged by gravity at any stage in the handling process and containing a liquid fraction greater than 70% and a solid fraction which is less than 30%; "soil improver/soil conditioner" means a carbon rich substance containing a nitrogen compound with a content of Nitrogen equal to or less than 0.05% as confirmed by a Nitrogen Test, applied on land to enhance and improve the soil organic matter content;

"year" means any period of twelve months ending with 31st December.