Difficulties in the Nitrates Directive Implementation in Romania

The EU Nitrates Directive (Council Directive 91/676/EEC) forms an integrate part of the Water FrameworkDirective and is one of the key instruments in the protection of waters against agricultural pressures [6]. The NitratesDirective aims to protect water quality across Europe by reducing water pollution caused or induced by nitrates fromagricultural sources and by promoting the use of good agricultural practices. Implementation of this directive hasproved to be a major challenge for Member States, demanding vast technical resources for the characterization and riskassessments and for developing and operating the associated monitoring programmes, in order to quantify the efficiencyof the implemented measures. The 2010 EC's report on the implementation of the Nitrates Directive shows that thepressure from agriculture with respect to surface and groundwater nitrate pollution has decreased in many MemberStates, although still, agriculture contributes largely to nitrogen loads to surface and ground waters [7]. However,despite these encouraging trends, the report reveals a number of regions where nitrate levels, according to monitoringdata, are worrying; one among them is also the southern part of Romania. Although major pollutant sources such aslarge intensive rearing of poultry and pig farms ceased or conformed to the IPPC directive, achievement of the Nitratesdirective goals is still far away from realization due to livestock husbandry farms bad waste management and due to thelack of waste water treatment stations in rural settlements. Accomplishment of the nitrates directive demands has to berealized, in the case of Romania, by a concertated array of measures aimed at reducing pollution both at major and lessimportant sources [9], [10].