New pollution control certificates are costing pig producers about £6,000 to get and are expected to cost £10,000 a year to keep, according to BPEX.
And some farmers are put to unnecessary expense by Environment Agency inspectors who misinterpret the rules of Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPCC), claim BPEX.
The only farmers so far required to get IPCC clearance – under a rule ai
med mainly at heavy industry – are large-scale pig and poultry farmers. The Environment Agency has just completed the first year's inspections.
A BPEX summary of the experience says: "One farmer, who has had lorries delivering feed in the night for over 30 years, and never had a burst bin, was told he should install steel posts to protect the bins, which in his view were far more hazardous and likely to burst the delivery tanks.
"The alternative was to put kerbstones down, which the farmer has installed, but now finds his staff constantly tripping over them. A sensible risk assessment would surely find both measures not viable."
The application fee for an IPCC permit is £3,300 and annual renewal is set at £2,300. The rest of the costs come in hours on paperwork and remedial works required. A BPEX specialist in environmental law, Nigel Penlington, says £10,000 a year is a modest estimate of on-going cost.
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