IP/01/1528
Brussels, 30 October 2001
Water pollution by nitrates: Commission takes legal
action against the United Kingdom for noncompliance with Court judgement
The European Commission has decided to send the United Kingdom a socalled "letter of formal notice", a first written warning under the infringement
procedure used to ensure that all EU Member States take necessary
measures to comply with judgements of the Court of Justice, for failure to
comply with a judgement of the European Court of Justice regarding the
Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC). The Court judgement of December 2000
concerned the United Kingdom’s failure properly and comprehensively to
identify ground waters and surface freshwaters affected by nitrate pollution,
as required under that Directive. The Commission has taken similar legal
action against several Member States, either for inadequate water monitoring
provisions, for insufficient designation of “vulnerable zones”, or for
deficiencies in their action programmes. Commenting on the decision, the
Environment Commissioner, Margot Wallström, said: "The Commission’s
action reflects its strong determination to reduce water pollution caused by
nitrates produced from agricultural sources. The United Kingdom is making
welcome progress, but it still needs to do more to comply with the Court’s
judgement."
Background
The Nitrates Directive 91/676/EEC aims to curb the presence of excessive levels of
nitrates in surface waters and ground waters that originate from agricultural fertilisers
and waste. Excessive nitrate levels cause undesirable ecological changes in water
and are a factor behind the proliferation of harmful algal blooms. They can also have
an adverse impact on public health. Water pollution by nitrates has been worsened
by the introduction of intensive farming methods, with increased use of chemical
fertilisers and higher concentrations of animals in smaller areas.
The Directive requires Member States to monitor surface waters and ground waters
in order to identify nitrate-pollution, applying standardised reference methods to
measure the nitrogen compound content. The Member States must establish codes
of good agricultural practice to be implemented by farmers on a voluntary basis.
They were also required to designate “vulnerable zones” (i.e. zones which contribute
to pollution) by December 1993 and to establish action programmes for these zones
by December 1995 in order to control nitrate pollution. These programmes must
include the measures prescribed in the codes of good agricultural practice and
measures to limit the spreading on land of any fertiliser containing nitrogen and to set
limits for the spreading of livestock effluent. Member States have the option of
applying these action programmes on a nation-wide basis instead of designating
specific vulnerable zones.
On 7 December 2000, the European Court of Justice criticised the United Kingdom
for failing to identify its nitrate-polluted waters and to designate nitrate vulnerable
zones in accordance with the Directive (Case C-1999/069).
The United Kingdom had chosen to omit nitrate-polluted ground waters and surface
freshwaters that are not used for the abstraction of drinking water. The areas
identified by the United Kingdom for clean-up operations under the Directive were,
therefore, unacceptably limited.
Since the judgement, the United Kingdom has confirmed that additional areas have
been identified in England and are in the process of being designated as nitrate
vulnerable zones. This could lead to about 80% of England being designated. The
identification of additional areas is also underway in Wales and Scotland, but the
process is less advanced than it is in England. Some questions also remain about
the identification and designation of nitrate vulnerable zones in Northern Ireland.
The Letter of Formal Notice will remind the United Kingdom of its obligation to
complete the identification of all its nitrate-polluted waters.
Legal Process
Article 228 of the Treaty gives the Commission power to act against a Member State
that does not comply with a previous judgement of the European Court of Justice.
The article also allows the Commission to ask the Court to impose a financial penalty
on the Member State concerned.
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