Rural Payments and Services

The aim of this item is to improve water quality and help mitigate climate change by ensuring sufficient slurry storage capacity is available on a farm for the equivalent livestock units.

This will allow the plant nutrients within the slurry to be used more efficiently and reduce the need for inorganic fertilisers, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the potential for the leaching of nutrients to water.

Note that grant aid is not available for slatted tanks.

This option is not available in areas that are designated as Nitrate Vulnerable Zones

This option must not be used to increase slurry storage capacity to accommodate an increase in livestock numbers from that currently farmed by the business or to change from a straw based system to a slurry based one:

• The holding must currently have livestock on a slurry-based system
• The holding* must not have received funding for slurry storage under Rural Priorities from the 2007–2013 Scottish Rural Development Programme or under AECS. * Holding in this context means all the production units farmed by the applicant business.

Map of target area - Slurry storage

This item is available within the target area shown on this map.

You can check if this item is available on your holding using the search targeting tool.

Applicants must prepare a Manure & Slurry management plan / storage calculation and a drainage plan for the steading in accordance with the supporting guidance for this item. The templates for these documents are in slurry storage supporting guidance.

The manure & slurry management plan must identify all sources of dirty water and slurry at the steading and this must be presented on a map or diagrams within the plan. The manure & slurry management plan should identify the additional storage capacity that is required in order to provide six months slurry storage, including identifying any actions that are required to minimise the production of dirty water. The final storage capacity required must take account of the identified actions to minimise the production of dirty water being implemented.

A slurry storage calculator has been developed to assist you in the production of your manure and slurry management plan. The calculator and guidance can be accessed from the links below

Slurry Storage Calculator

Slurry Storage Calculator Guidance

• New or enlarged slurry storage facilities must meet the building design requirements of Schedule 2 of The Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021.
  
  You must notify SEPA no later than 30 days prior to commencing the works. The notification must be accompanied by an engineering plan for the works to be carried out,

• Steps must be taken to avoid unnecessarily collecting clean water within the slurry storage facilities, as demonstrated via the steading drainage plan
• Where funding is used to replace an existing store which has been built prior to 1 September, 1991, the old store must be removed
• On completion of the works, a minimum of six months slurry storage capacity must be achieved across the holding. Note: Scottish Rural Development Programme funding cannot be used to create storage capacity beyond six months
• Any slurry lagoons must be fenced to protect people and livestock
• Any slurry lagoons must be lined with a proprietary liner which meets the requirements of The Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021
• Building warrants should be obtained where applicable
• On competition the works must be sign-ed off by an engineer and the engineer’s sign-off certificate must be retained for inspection by SEPA on request.

Note that successful applicants to the AECS Slurry Storage in 2023 will be issued with contracts from April 2023. The expectation is that work must be completed and claimed by the 31/03/2024. There is no ability to defer the work to a future financial year. Applicants must consider their ability to complete the work before 31/03/2024 before applying for slurry storage.

Payments will be based on the following standard costs:

• £15 per cubic metre capacity created. Funding will be restricted to a maximum 2000 cubic metres of storage
• Associated equipment for above-ground storage tanks:
  - base drainage sealed pipe assembly to external discharge including double lockable sluice valves: £1250
  - galvanised ladder and platform: £1100
  - fixed over-rim riser pipe with jetting nozzle and terminal connection: £1900
• Tractor-driven slurry pump and associated pipe, assemblies and connections with shaft and mountings: £4000
• Below-ground reception tank with cover lid: £235 per cubic metre (restricted to a maximum size of 36 cubic metres)

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency inspector will check:

• New or enlarged slurry storage facilities meet the building design requirements of The Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021
• The volume of the additional storage provided
• Any ancillary equipment, such as sluice valves, ladders, reception tanks and slurry pumps
• Slurry lagoons are fenced to protect people and livestock
• The works were notified to SEPA 30 days prior to construction commencing and the engineer’s sign off certificate is present
• Building warrants have been obtained, where applicable

Supporting guidance is available for this item.

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