Ammonia Assessments in Wales

Ammonia Assessments in Wales are an important tool for protecting air quality, with particular attention given to releases from agricultural activities and the risks they pose to sensitive ecological habitats. For certain agricultural plants, these assessments may be required to determine how the development could affect the surrounding environment.

In February 2024, Natural Resource Wales published updated guidance on Ammonia Assessments for emissions to air for developments that require an Environmental Permit or planning permission. The guidance indicates that any activity with the potential to impact ecologically designated sites, including Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas, Ramsar sites, and Sites of Special Scientific Interest, should be carefully assessed. As a result, Natural Resources Wales may required an Ammonia Assessment to evaluate the possible risks that agricultural developments could present to these protected locations.

Ammonia emissions can arise from sources across agricultural units, from livestock houses, manure and slurry stores, to spreading and grazing activities. Increased ammonia emissions are a concern due to the adverse effects on sensitive habitats. Ammonia can have direct effects such as leaf discolouration, bleaching and changes in species composition of bryophyte and lichen communities. There are also indirect effects as a result of increased nitrogen and acid deposition to the environment, leading to nitrate leaching, soil toxicity, acidification of freshwater systems, and algal blooms. Assessing potential emissions of ammonia is therefore important to limit the potential negative effect on biodiversity of important conservation sites.

Regional Guidance

Natural Resources Wales has produced guidance to support the assessment of potential impacts from atmospheric ammonia emissions on designated ecological sites arising from agricultural developments.

The guidance sets out the key assessment stages to be followed when considering potential impacts from a proposed development. These are summarised as follows:

• Screening to determine the proximity of the installation to protected ecological designations.
• Quantifying additional ammonia emissions to which a protected site may be exposed as a result of the development. This can be undertaken using either the SCAIL tool or detailed atmospheric dispersion modelling.
• Comparing predicted impacts against relevant screening thresholds, both as a standalone development and in combination with other nearby plans and projects.
• Consideration of abatement measures should the relevant screening thresholds are exceeded.

Redmore Environmental has extensive experience in undertaking Ammonia Assessments in line with Natural Resources Wales guidance and can provide robust, evidence-based evaluations to support planning and environmental permitting processes. Assessments can be undertaken for a range of livestock applications, from new housing systems for cattle, pigs, poultry and other livestock types required to expand operations and improve animal welfare standards, to installations of new manure and slurry storage systems to improve waste handling activities. These can be undertaken for all scales of development, from small-scale units to intensive agricultural installations.

The in-house expertise that Redmore Environmental offer provides our clients with confidence that assessments will be undertaken to meet their objectives in line with relevant regulatory guidance. Advice tailored to each application can be provided to help identify suitable mitigation solutions, if required.

Ammonia Assessments in Wales

The success of your planning and Environmental Permitting applications could be aided by Redmore Environmental’s comprehensive experience of undertaking assessments for agricultural applications throughout Wales. You will gain advice on application approaches and discharging conditions to addressing consultation responses. Throughout Wales we have been involved in several exciting agricultural projects in recent years. These include:

• Argoed Farm, Holywell – Ammonia Assessment in support of a slurry lagoon on land at Argoed Farm, Holywell. A comprehensive analysis was undertaken to determine if the development had the potential to affect existing air quality conditions at sensitive ecological designations within the vicinity of the site. Potential ammonia releases were defined based on the size and nature of existing and proposed slurry operations. Impacts at sensitive receptors were quantified using dispersion modelling, results compared with relevant standards and the change defined. The findings indicated that ammonia concentrations and nitrogen and acid deposition were predicted to reduce at all receptor locations as result of the development.
• Land of A5104, Corwen – Ammonia and Odour Assessments in support of a planning application for a new dairy unit inclusive of cubicle housing and a slurry lagoon. The development had the potential to produce ammonia and odour emissions during operation. Dispersion modelling was therefore undertaken in order to quantify impacts at sensitive human and ecological locations. The results indicated effects were below the relevant criteria at all sensitive receptor locations.
• Cefn Gwyn, Chwilog – Ammonia Assessment in support of a planning application for the construction of a new livestock building to provide winter housing for 160 dairy cows and an associated slurry lagoon at Cefn Gwyn, Chwilog. The development had the potential to produce ammonia emissions during normal operation. Dispersion modelling was therefore undertaken in order to quantify effects in the vicinity of the site. The results indicated impacts to be below relevant thresholds at all sensitive locations.

How can we help you?

Redmore Environmental has extensive experience in preparing Ammonia Assessments, as well as wider Ecological Air Quality Assessments, to support a diverse range of agricultural developments across Wales, from small-scale farms to intensive livestock operations. Our work has included direct consultation with Natural Resources Wales in relation to specific planning and environmental permit applications.

Ammonia is just one of several pollutants of concern associated with agricultural activities. Other potential issues include odour, dust, bioaerosols, and emissions from on-farm combustion processes, all of which can impact the health and amenity of nearby communities. Redmore Environmental offers comprehensive assessment services covering all relevant pollutants, ensuring that your application is fully supported by robust evidence.

To discuss your project or learn more about how we can assist with ammonia assessments or related air quality issues, contact one of our specialist Air Quality Consultants today.