The NFU believes the Directive will affect the following sectors:
• Pig and poultry units using boilers for heating livestock buildings;
• Cereal growers using boilers for grain drying;
• Horticultural members using boilers for greenhouse heating;
• Larger dairy units may fall into this directive for water heating
Please note that MCPs which operate less than 500 hours per year will be exempt from the Directive. For MCPs which are part of other regulated facilities, the conditions of the existing permit may need to be amended to apply the requirements of the MCPD.
The MCPD must be transposed into UK law by 19 December 2017. The controls will apply to new plants from December 2018. Existing plants must comply with requirements from 2024 or 2029, depending largely on size. Full implementation will be achieved in 2030.
While many of requirements in the Directive are set, there are options for how to implement it in the UK. It is those options which are the focus of this consultation, and why Defra and the Welsh Government are seeking views.
A copy of the consultation can be found here. The deadline for comments is the 8th February 2017. If you have any comments please email them directly to YW5uYS5zaW1wc29uQG5mdS5vcmcudWs=.
The NFU is still in the process of evaluating the consultation and formulating a draft response.