Urban waste water treatment: Commission moves against Italy, Austria, Germany and Belgium

The European Commission has decided to proceed to the European Court of Justice against Italy, Austria and Germany for their non-respect of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. The Commission will also send a Reasoned Opinion (second warning letter) to Belgium under the same Directive. Member States were required to implement this Directive in national law by 30 June 1993. The Italian case concerns the city of Milan, where urban waste waters are discharged without treatment. The Belgian case concerns, among other factors, the persistent failure by the city of Brussels to treat its waste water.

Commenting on the decision Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström said: "The Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive is a fundamental part of the Community's water protection policy and I am keen to see it correctly implemented. This is crucial to pressure our water resources and protect human health. I am particularly concerned that major cities such as Milan and Brussels are still discharging urban waste waters without treatment ".

The Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (Council Directive 91/271/EEC concerning urban waste water treatment) requires Member States to collect and treat urban waste waters discharged from agglomerations over a certain size and also from certain industrial sectors by 30 June 1993. The Directive also requires Member States to identify and designate so-called sensitive areas by 31 December 1993. Urban waste waters discharging into such sensitive areas are then required to be collected and made subject to appropriate treatment by 31 December 1998 at the latest for agglomerations with more than 10,000 inhabitants.

With regard to Italy, the decision to apply to the Court of Justice is based on the situation in Milan. Urban waste waters emanating from Milan are discharged without treatment into the catchment area which flows into two areas designated as sensitive under the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive and contributes to the pollution of these areas. The Commission is of the opinion that these waters should therefore have been made subject not only to treatment, but stringent treatment, including removal of nutrients, by 31 December 1998.

With regard to Belgium, the decision to issue a reasoned opinion is based on a number of factors. These include the fact that the Flanders Region has failed to identify sensitive areas correctly, that the Walloon Region has failed to apply the treatment requirements for urban waste waters discharged into sensitive areas, that both the Brussels and Walloon Regions have failed to provide the Commission with adequate implementation programmes and that all the Belgian Regions have failed to ensure that appropriate collection and treatment systems have been established. In particular, Brussels has no functioning waste water treatment facilities which means that its waste waters are discharged without treatment.

Austria and Germany have been referred to the Court of Justice failing to transpose the provisions of the Directive correctly. For Austria the failure is with regard to Articles 3(1), 4(1) and 13(1) of the Directive where incorrect deadlines have been set for when discharges from agglomerations and also certain industrial sectors should be made subject to treatment. Whilst the Austrian authorities have submitted partially correct legislation and recently further draft legislation which remedies nearly the whole infringement, difficulties remain with respect to one draft law concerning Article 3 (1) and missing legislation for three industrial sectors concerning Article 13 (1). The Commission therefore decided to apply to the Court of Justice.

The German case concerns the failure of the German authorities to ensure that implementing legislation both at the federal and regional Länder level complies fully with the requirements of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive under Annex I. Furthermore, there is concern that urban waste waters which discharge into the relevant catchment areas of the North and Baltic Seas (which are considered to be sensitive areas) and contribute to their pollution, should be made subject to more stringent treatment. Whilst the German authorities have now provided draft legislation which deals with many of the issues raised, shortcomings still remain, such as lack of proper collecting systems for urban waste water in certain Länder.