Paragraph 7 - Treatment of land for agricultural improvement or ecological benefit

What the legislation says

• Paragraph 7 legislation (Word, 50KB)
  View the full wording of this exemption. Read through this before you read through the summary below.

What Paragraph 7 exemption permits

Paragraph 7 allows the beneficial properties of certain wastes to be used to treat land and enhance its agricultural or ecological quality. You can only use those wastes:

• that are listed in the table
• from the source which appears alongside that waste in the left hand column.

The table is divided into two parts. You can use any of the wastes listed in Parts 1 and 2 to treat agricultural land in order to improve its agricultural value. The wastes in Part 1 of the table can be used to enhance the ecological value of other land types such as:

• operational land of a railway
• light railway
• water undertaker
• internal drainage board
• British Waterways board or the Agency
• forest
• woodland
• park garden
• verge
• landscaped area
• sports ground
• recreation ground
• churchyard or cemetery

The exemption permits the storage of 1,250 tonnes of waste for up to a year. This only applies to the waste which is used to treat the land and it must be stored at the place where it will be used. Its position must be selected carefully so that it is not within specific distances of any:

• watercourses
• springs, or
• wells.

The distances are listed in the legislation under Paragraph (4).

The exemption limits the volume of waste to be used to 250 tonnes per hectare. There are only two exceptions, these are annual limits of:

• 1500 tonnes per hectare for waste sugar beet soil, and
• 5000 tonnes per hectare of dredging spoil.

Paragraph 7 is one of the higher risk exemptions. As such, before we can register this exemption, you need to:

• complete a form, and
• provide us with a range of extra information to support your proposal.

The exemption is chargeable and requires annual renewal and the payment each year, of a renewal fee.

Questions and answers

The following section may cover questions you still have regarding the Paragraph 7 exemption.

Q. What is meant by agricultural benefit and ecological improvement?
A. Ecological improvement might involve:

• maintaining or providing new habitats for wildlife, or
• developing existing habitats to support greater biodiversity.

Agricultural improvement could involve the physical, chemical or nutrient enhancement of soil to support crop growth.

Q. Is there a limit on the area of land that this exemption can apply to?
A. The exemption applies to a maximum 50 hectares of land although this need not be continuous. It can apply to several separate fields at the same farm which together have an area of 50 hectares or less but which do not share common boundaries. If the area of land to be treated amounts to more than 50 hectares you need to notify us of more than one exemption.

Q. Can more than one waste be spread on the same area of land under a Paragraph 7 exemption provided it is selected from the correct section of the Table?
A. Yes, provided that the use of each waste in the treatment of the land can be justified on its own merits. There should be a clear case for each of the wastes being used under the terms of the exemption, mixing for the purposes of diluting undesirable properties is not permissible.

Q. If I intend to treat separate fields at the same farm, under one exemption, can I store 1,250 tonnes in each field?
A. No - 1,250 tonnes is a maximum storage tonnage at one location. You may store in more than one place at that location but you cannot exceed the maximum storage volume when all the storage points are taken together. All of the storage points must be outside the proximity limits in Paragraph 4.

Q. The legislation mentions Animal By-products. What do I need to know about this?
A. If you intend to spread any waste which may contain animal by-products you must be sure that they were previously treated to standards required by the Animal By-Products Regulations 2003 and that you have an authorisation number from the treatment site.

Example of an activity that is suitable for registration under a Paragraph 7 exemption

A farmer imports sugar beet soil from a processor in order to improve the cropping value of an area of land.
Provided the farmer is able to comply with all the requirements and limits of the exemption, this activity could be registered as a Paragraph 7 exemption.

Example of an activity that would not be suitable for registration under a Paragraph 7 exemption

A farmer intends to take compost from a waste compost site but would be obliged to take volumes which are above the maximum permitted storage volumes set out in the exemption, during periods when it cannot be spread.
This proposal could not be accepted as exempt as the farmer would be unable to comply with the exemption limits and the volumes of compost could be in excess of the amount needed to bring about agricultural improvement.

Who do I speak to if I want a notification form to be sent to me by post, or if I still have a query about this exemption that is not covered here?

For general enquires, or to request a notification by post, you should phone our National Customer Contact Centre on 0370 8506506. If they cannot answer your query, they may pass you to someone in our area offices who will assist with more technical enquiries.

If you think that you can meet the requirements of the Paragraph 7 exemption and wish to proceed with the registration, please use the forms below:

Do not try and use these forms to notify a new site. They can now only be used to renew an existing exemption.