Simple download service (Atom) of the dataset: Vulnerable areas of the administrative division of Rhine-Meuse Basin 2012 [Historical and obsolete data]

The dataset contains the municipalities mentioned in the decree of the Prefect of Lorraine, coordinator of the Rhine-Meuse basin, signed on 20 December 2012, defining the vulnerable areas of the administrative district of Bassin Rhin-Meuse. At the beginning of October 2014, the Strasbourg Administrative Court annulled the order extending the list of municipalities concerned by the application of the Nitrates Directive to the Rhine-Meuse basin (Audience of 17 September 2014 of the Administrative Court of Strasbourg read on 1 October 2014). ===== Vulnerable areas are the land designated in accordance with Article 3(2) of European Directive No 91-676 whose objectives set out in its first article are to reduce pollution of water caused or induced by nitrates from agricultural sources, and to prevent any further pollution of this type. A vulnerable zone is a part of the territory where water pollution by direct or indirect discharge of nitrates of agricultural origin or other nitrogen compounds which may become nitrates threatens in the short term the quality of aquatic environments and, in particular, the supply of drinking water. Vulnerable areas shall be designated as vulnerable areas where: — surface and groundwater fresh waters, in particular those intended for drinking water, have or are likely to have a nitrate content exceeding 50 mg/l, — estuary waters, coastal or marine waters and surface fresh waters which have undergone or show a tendency to eutrophication which can be effectively combated by reducing nitrogen inputs. An action programme shall be implemented in each department concerned, setting out the requirements to be complied with by all farmers in the corresponding vulnerable area. They are constructed in consultation with all relevant stakeholders, based on a local diagnosis. They aim to correct the most pollution-generating practices. Outside vulnerable areas, a national code of good agricultural practice is voluntary. Each vulnerable area corresponds to a prefectural decree (coordinating basin prefect) after the opinion of the departmental council of Hygiene, the general and regional council and the basin committee. Vulnerable areas are reviewed every 4 years. This decree is the founding regulatory text of the vulnerable area. Each area covers a geographical area consisting of a group of municipalities. In the event that a subsequent order completes the previous order, only the date of the last order will be retained. The list of vulnerable areas is established under the responsibility of the basin DREALs. (definition from: Sandre, Technical and Regulatory Zonages in Water Domain v1.0, January 2013) Additional information on the data batch is available from the “Data Lot Files” section of the metadata sheet. Files contained in the dataset: — ZONEVUL_brm_2012.SHP