Civil servants also advise Minister Wiersma against introducing a new nitrogen limit

Civil servants from the Ministry of Agriculture advised their caretaker minister Femke Wiersma (BBB) ​​against relaxing nitrogen calculations. This is evident from official documents that Wiersma published on Wednesday at the request of the Lower House. Despite the criticism, Wiersma wants to continue with the plan to increase the arithmetic lower limit of nitrogen emissions this year. Only after implementation does she want to have the limit tested by a judge and the Council of State. The advisory body previously ruled negatively on the plan , because it is far from certain whether the increased calculation limit will remain in force in court.

Officials within the ministry wrote in an advisory note last month that the lower limit can only be responsibly introduced after a "successful test case" at the administrative law division of the Council of State. If that route is not taken and the lower limit does not hold up in court, there is a chance that victims will file claims for damages. Provinces, which grant the vast majority of nature permits, can also reject the increase in the lower limit.

'Nitrogen lock'

In an attempt to get the Netherlands off the 'nitrogen lock' in the short term, Wiersma referred to research by professor Arthur Petersen at the beginning of this year. According to him, the minimum amount of nitrogen deposition, which is relevant for a permit application, should be 1 mol nitrogen per hectare, due to uncertainties in the RIVM calculation model. That is two hundred times higher than the RIVM calculation model prescribes, which meant that approximately four out of five activities no longer had a permit.

Experts such as Wim de Vries, professor of integral nitrogen effect analysis at Wageningen University, warned of negative effects of an increase in the arithmetic lower limit. "If more nitrogen is released into the air, it always falls from the sky, also on Dutch nature. You don't need a calculation model to know that," De Vries told NRC .