Public consultation

Public consultation Policy decree on implementation of Article 44 of Regulation (EC) No. 1107/2009 regarding structural exceedances of the authorisation criterion in surface water

Surface water monitoring data have shown that exceedances of authorisation standards occur for a number of active substances in plant protection products. To address structural exceedances, the Ctgb wants to tighten the operational method for including monitoring data in the authorisation of plant protection products. Structural exceedances of authorisation standards may require amendment of the authorisation, while incidental exceedances indicate other causes, such as incorrect use. The Ctgb decided October 23, 2024 on the drafted policy decree defining criteria for such 'structural' exceedances.

The Ctgb considers it important to be able to intervene in the authorisations of products in the interim if there is justification to do so. According to Article 44 of Regulation 1107/2009, authorisations of plant protection products can be reviewed at any time. The proposed policy decree provides an operational method for reviewing such authorisations. The policy decree also has the effect of tightening the processing of pending applications, especially for minor uses.

The proposed policy decree only looks at authorisation standards for surface water from Regulation (EC) No. 1107/2009. The policy decree does not concern legislation such as the Water Framework Directive and subsequent WFD and groundwater standards; regarding the discrepancy between authorisation standards and WFD standards, the Ctgb previously submitted advice to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature.