Flow meters that will be used in manure treatment and processing plants, as well as weighbridges that can be used to a limited extent instead of these flow meters.

Flow meters that will be used by producers of other fertilisers

Draft Decree of the Flemish Government amending the Flemish Environmental Permits Regulation of 28 October 2016 on the use of flow meters in treatment and processing units

The present draft Decree of the Flemish Government contains the further elaboration of the registration obligation, as it already exists for operators of manure treatment and processing units.

In accordance with Article 24, § 3 of the Manure Decree of 22 December 2006, operators of manure treatment and processing units with a treatment or processing capacity for livestock manure or other fertilisers exceeding 300 kg of P2O5 per year must maintain a register of the livestock manure and other fertilisers traded for their operation. The decree amendment of 24 May 2019 stipulates that these operators must use flow meters to substantiate their operation and the records in the register. This section also stipulates that the Flemish Government is to lay down further rules to this end, including rules on where and how many flow meters are to be placed, how the information of the flow meters will be recorded, and how the information from the flow meters will be passed on to the Manure Bank.

The present Decree of the Flemish Government constitutes its implementation, which mainly elaborates where the above-mentioned flow meters are to be installed and which conditions these flow meters must meet concerning the digital registration and transmission of the measured data to the competent administration (i.e. the Manure Bank, department of the Flemish Land Agency). A similar obligation exists for producers of other fertilisers, albeit limited to the installation and use of similar flow meters at the discharge points of liquid fertilisers in support of their declaration, and this concerning the total quantity of other fertilisers produced.