THE former environment minister Mark H Durkan has said it would be "folly" for his successor to agree to an Ulster Farmers Union's (UFU) proposal that he previously rejected on the grounds that it could have "bent the rules" on farm pollution.
Mr Durkan was speaking after it was confirmed that the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) has begun negotiations with the powerful farming lobby over a new enforcement regime that would see officials adopt a more lenient approach to low level farm pollution.
The former SDLP minister said he had no regrets about vetoing the so-called memorandum of understanding last year.
Speaking to The Irish News on Monday, Mr Durkan said he blocked the UFU plan after two years of negotiations with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) because he it would have had a "negative impact on the environment".
He said it would have also led to the agency dropping a number of prosecutions against farmers for pollution incidents.
"While I believe something needs to be done, I remain of the opinion that the proposed memorandum of understanding would not have helped reduce pollution from agricultural sources and would have had a negative impact on the environment," he said.
"I don't subscribe to the view that if you adopt a more lenient approach to something it somehow helps eradicate it."
Mr Durkan said education was required alongside enforcement and that the UFU could play a greater role in getting the necessary information to its members.
"The UFU has been very active lobbying for this memorandum but if they channelled some of that energy into educating their members about how pollution occurs and how it can be prevented, then we'd be in a much better place," he said.
The Foyle MLA said Agriculture and Environment Minister Michelle McIlveen should follow his example and reject the proposal.
"I believe it would be folly to put this agreement in place at a time when the wider public is crying out for tougher penalties for polluters," he said.
The proposed memorandum of understanding rejected by Mr Durkan would have seen NIEA officials adopt a more lenient approach to farm pollution incidents where there was no significant environmental damage.
Rather than face the courts the farmers responsible could be encouraged to put measures in place to ensure the pollution did not reoccur.
Over the past decade falling water quality standards have prompted a crackdown on agricultural pollution, leading to scores of prosecutions.
The UFU believed the agreement would have delivered "better environmental outcomes in ways that reduce conflict and support farm profitability".
It is understood that when the European Commission was consulted on the proposal it concluded that it would have breached environmental regulations and jeopardised funding from Brussels.
