EUROPEAN COMMISSION - PRESS RELEASE
Environment: Commission takes Spain to Court
over urban waste water and river basin plans
Brussels, 16 June - The European Commission is referring Spain to the EU Court of
Justice for breaching two pieces of EU environment legislation. In the first case,
Spain is failing to ensure that waste water from agglomerations with more than
10,000 inhabitants that discharge into sensitive areas is properly treated. The lack
of adequate treatment systems, which should have been in place since 1998,
poses risks to human health, to inland waters and the marine environment. Slow
progress by Spain has led the Commission, on the recommendation of
Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik, to refer the case to the EU Court of
Justice. In the second case, Spain has failed to submit its plans for managing river
basins to the Commission. These plans, due to be adopted by 22 December 2009
at the latest, are essential for achieving the EU's objective of 'good status' for
European waters by 2015. So far only one plan has been adopted in Spain, and the
Commission is therefore taking Spain to the EU Court of Justice.
Urban waste water
EU legislation on urban waste water treatment, agglomerations of more than
10,000 inhabitants are required to have systems for collecting and treating their
waste water in place by 1998. Member States must ensure that water entering
collection systems undergoes a treatment that meets the most stringent quality
standards (known as tertiary treatment) to remove nutrients before they are
discharged into environmentally sensitive areas.
In Spain, at least 39 towns of that size across the country are discharging urban
waste water into environmentally sensitive or potentially sensitive areas without
appropriate treatment. The Commission sent a reasoned opinion on 1 December
2008 urging Spain to comply with the requirements of the Directive (see
IP/08/1802). Since then, Spain has made progress, but 13 years after the deadline,
overall compliance is still poor. The Commission has therefore decided to refer the
case to the EU Court of Justice.
The Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive requires Member States to ensure that
agglomerations (towns, cities, settlements) properly collect and treat their urban
waste water. Untreated waste water can be contaminated with harmful bacteria and
viruses and thus presents a risk to public health. It also contains nutrients such as
nitrogen and phosphorous, which can damage freshwaters and the marine
environment by promoting excessive growth of algae that chokes other life, a
process known as eutrophication.
More follows
IP/11/729
River basin management plans
The EU Water Framework Directive requires Member States to publish a
management plan for each river district by 22 December 2009 at the latest. Spain is
required to adopt 25 plans in total, but has so far only adopted and communicated
one (the Plan de gestión del Distrito de Cuenca Fluvial de Cataluña).
Despite earlier warnings (see IP/11/91), as the plans have still not been adopted
almost a year and a half after the deadline, the Commission has decided to refer
Spain to the EU Court of Justice.
The delay in submitting river basin plans puts the achievement of the Water
Framework Directive's objective – to achieve good ecological and chemical status
by 2015– at risk. According to the classification laid down in the Directive, "good
status" is defined as a slight deviation from reference standards that reflect no or
very low human pressure on the abundance of aquatic flora and fauna, the
availability of nutrients, levels of salinity and temperature and the presence of
chemical pollutants of high concern. River basin management plans give a
comprehensive overview of the main issues for each river basin district and should
include the specific measures needed to achieve set environmental quality
objectives.
In April 2011 the Commission decided to take four other Member States (Belgium,
Denmark, Greece and Portugal) to Court for failing to adopt their river basin
management plans (see IP/11/438).
Further Information
More details on the Urban Waste-water Treatment Directive:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-urbanwaste/index_en.html
For further information on the consultation and adoption status of river basin
management plans, visit:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/participation/map_mc/map.htm
More details on water policy:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/index_en.htm
For current statistics on infringements in general, see:
http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/infringements/infringements_en.htm
See also MEMO/11/408
Contacts :
Joe Hennon (+32 2 295 35 93)
Monica Westeren (+32 2 295 06 68)
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