L 94/34 Official Journal of the European Union 13.4.2005 COMMISSION DECISION of 5 April 2005 concerning a request for derogation under point 2(b) of Annex III to and Article 9 of Council Directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources (notified under document number C(2005) 1032) (Only the Danish text is authentic) (2005/294[EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Directive 91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991 concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources (1), and in particular point 2(b) of Annex IIl thereof, Whereas: (1) The amount of manure that a Member state intends to apply per hectare each year, which is different from the one specified in point 2 of Annex Il and point (a) of Annex III of Directive 91/676/EEC, must be fixed so as not to prejudice the achievement of the objectives specified in Article 1 of that Directive and must be justified on the basis of objective criteria, such as, in the present case, long growing seasons and crops with high nitrogen uptake. (2 On 18 November 2002, the Commission adopted Decision 2002/915/EC (%) concerning a request for dero- gation under point 2(b) of Annex III to and Article 9 of Directive 91/676/EEC. The derogation was applicable within the framework of the Danish action programme adopted for the year 1999 to 2003 and valid until 1 August 2004. It allowed the application of livestock manure containing up to 230kg of nitrogen per hectare per year on specific cattle holdings. (3)  On 8 January 2004, Denmark requested an extension of the derogation. This request was completed by technical documents dated 2 February 2004, 2 April 2004, 23 April 2004, 14 June 2004, 2 August 2004, 14 September 2004 and 4 October 2004. (4 Danish legislation transposing Directive 91/676/EEC can be considered to be in compliance with Directive and its provisions apply equally to the notified derogation. () OJ L 375, 31.12.1991, p. 1. Directive as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (O] L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1). (3 OJ L 319, 23.11.2002, p. 24. () In December 2003 Denmark completed the evaluation of its second Action Plan on the Aquatic Environment which indicated the achievement of the reduction target for nitrate leaching of 48 % in the period 1985 to 2003. The Danish Parliamentary agreement on the third Danish Action Plan on the Aquatic Environment 2005 to 2015 set the objectives for a further reduction of nitrate leaching by 13 % in the period 2005 to 2015 and for a reduction of the phosphate surplus by 50 %. In conformity with Article 5 of Directive 91/676/EEC, Denmark has set action programmes that will ensure compliance with the objective of a maximum of 50mg/l of nitrates in groundwater as set out in that Directive. Results of monitoring and controls show that, in period 2002 to 2003, 1 845 cattle holdings, 213 617 livestock units and 123 068 hectares, corresponding respectively to 4%, 11% and 5% of the total in Denmark, were encompassed by the derogation, set in Decision 2002/915/EC. Calculations on nitrate leaching based on survey and nutrient analysis in agricultural catchments, in reference sites on sandy and clay soils, show that, in the period 1990 to 2003, nitrate leaching has been reduced by 42 % in loamy soils and by 52 % in sandy soils. This reduction is confirmed for 2002/2003. Trend analysis of measured nitrate concentration in water leaving the root zones shows that it has decreased steadily and is now approaching 50 mg/l, with a yearly decrease of 3,1 and 6,1 mg/l respectively for loamy and sandy soils. Nitrate concentration in streams in agri- cultural catchments decreased by 29% in the period 1990 to 2003. In 2003, nitrate average concentration in upper groundwater was below 50mg/l, both in sandy and loamy soils.