Guidance

Prevention of Environmental Pollution From Agricultural Activity (PEPFAA Code) – Code of Good Practice.

The purpose of the PEPFAA Code is to provide practical guidance for farmers and those involved in agricultural activities, on minimising the risks of environmental pollution from farming operations. SEPA works alongside the Scottish Government Environment Directorate, the National Farmers Union Scotland, and the Scottish Agricultural College in producing and monitoring the code.

There are two versions of the PEPFAA code external link available, the full version and the shorter, PEPFAA do’s and don’ts guide external link. Both versions of the code, and the 13 sections of it, are accessible via the links.

The full version of the code is a technical document containing more detailed guidance aimed primarily at agricultural advisors and consultants. The Do’s and Don’ts Guide contains key points from the full version, and is designed as an easy to use, quick day-to-day reference for farmers, crofters and those directly involved in agricultural activities.

Both versions are divided into 13 separate sections and are designed to be read separately.

Each section contains a list of relevant Do’s and Don’ts and indicates which are mandatory (i.e. legal requirements), which are requirements for receipt of the Single Farm Payment (SFP) and which are voluntary good practice measures. In the full version, each section goes on to discuss each topic in more detail and give a summary of the relevant legislation.

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)

Where organic materials, e.g. slurry, manures or silage effluent, enter a watercourse the micro-organisms within the aquatic environment begin to break them down. This process uses up the available oxygen within the water environment and effectively suffocates other aquatic life such as invertebrates, plants and fish.

BOD is a measure of the amount of oxygen required by these micro-organisms to break down the organic material. This can be used as a gauge to measure the polluting potential of organic materials - the higher the BOD the more pollution can be caused. The table below illustrates the BOD levels of some common pollutants.

Material BOD (mg/l of oxygen)
Milk  80,000 - 120,000
Silage effluent  60,000 - 70,000
Pig slurry  20,000 - 30,000
Cattle slurry  15,000 - 20,000
Dairy washings  1,000 - 2,500
Raw sewage  300 - 400
Clean river sewage  less than 5

The 4 Point Plan (4PP)

This contains simple guidance for livestock farmers which aims to reduce the risk of pollution occurring from the management of manures and slurries. It also provides advice on how to reduce dirty water around the farm. Full details are available at:

The 4 point plan pdf link (1.06mb). SEPA is represented on the steering group by the project officer in water resource management, and has provided significant input to the development of this guidance. 

The plan s divided into 4 sections:

Section 1 – Minimising Dirty Water around the Steading

This section contains a ’steading dirty water audit’, allowing farmers to identify practices which may contribute to the production of dirty water. Advice is offered on how to minimise dirty water around the steading, thereby reducing the amount of water that must be collected and stored. 

Section 2 – Better Nutrient Use

Financial and environmental benefits can be achieved by taking account of nutrients applied to land as slurry or manure. By calculating the quantity of nutrients already available in the soil through the application of slurry and manures etc., and comparing this to the nutrient requirements of the crop, the need for additional inorganic fertilisers can be accurately measured.

The application of fertilisers beyond requirement is wasted money, and can result in excess nutrients seeping or leaching through the soil to watercourses or groundwater, causing pollution. Section 2 illustrates how farmers can calculate both the quantity and nutrient value of slurries and manures produced on their farm. 

Section 3 - A risk assessment for manure and slurry (RAMS)

To get the maximum benefit from the use of manures and slurries, and to minimise pollution risks when spreading these, it is important that factors such as weather, soil type, field conditions, slope, proximity to watercourses etc., are considered.

This section demonstrates how farmers can draw up a plan for their farm, which can identify areas where spreading should NOT take place, e.g. areas within 10m of a watercourse. The remaining land is further split into low, medium and high risk areas, in relation to the risk of pollution which can occur as a direct result of manure or slurry spreading.

Section 4 – Managing Water Margins

The water margin is the area or strip of land next to ditches, burns or rivers and this section describes the benefits of protecting these areas from spreading operations and access by livestock. It also offers practical guidance on measures that can be introduced to establish and protect water margins.

The Farm Soils Plan

The Farm Soils Plan pdf link (1.61mb) offers basic guidance for all farmers and crofters throughout Scotland, this is produced by the project officer in water resource management, which SEPA is closely involved in, together with WWF (Scotland), SAC, NFUS, SNH and Scottish Government Environment Directorate. The guidance covers:

  • assessing soil types;
  • recognising and rectifying poor soil conditions;
  • targeted nutrient application;
  • reducing soil erosion and protecting water quality.

Assessing compliance with the soil aspects of Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC) can help farmers to protect their Single Farm Payment (SFP), a guide is contained within this plan.