Dr. Elaine McGoff:

The first thing I would do is look at the science and engage in an honest assessment of what the impact is going to be. There is a certain amount of fudging, although that sounds like too strong a word. There is a lack of honesty about what we are achieving with the measures that are being put in place. If the derogation was going to stay I am not of the view that the derogation and good water quality are mutually exclusive. There are some catchments where nitrates are not a problem, and derogations could very well exist there. We must, however, come back to the basic science and the catchment picture. Like all rivers, it can only take a certain amount of nitrogen. We can start from there. It can take that amount of nitrogen, so how are we going to divvy it up. That is a political decision. It is potentially a toxic political decision, but we must start with the ecological reality that there is only so much nitrogen that a catchment can take.