Britse riolen voldoen niet aan EU-standaarden: Commissie waarschuwt Londen (en)
The European Commission has decided to pursue legal action against the United Kingdom over a breach of EU rules for the collection and treatment of urban waste water.
The UK has received a final warning before possible Court action for a case which concerns insufficient collection and treatment facilities for four urban centres (London, Torbay, Whitburn and Kilbarchan). This results in untreated urban waste water being discharged directly into rivers or sea, causing pollution of the environment and health hazards.
Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas i said: "To ensure that the health of citizens and the environment in the United Kingdom is protected, it is key that adequate collection and treatment facilities for sewage are put in place."
The Commission's action addresses inadequate collecting and treatment facilities for urban waste water in four agglomerations: London, Torbay and Whitburn in England; and Kilbarchan in Scotland. In each case, where the capacity of the existing facilities to deal with flows of urban waste water is exceeded, overflow systems are used, resulting in substantial amounts of untreated waste water being discharged into the receiving waters (rivers or the sea) on a regular basis. The frequency of these overflows can in certain cases exceed 80 times per year, causing millions of cubic meters of untreated waste water to be released. As a result, large scale fish kills may occur and the use of waters for recreational purposes, such as bathing or water sports, is prevented.
The Commission considers that this is in violation of the EU's Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive[1]. This Directive aims at curbing pollution caused by urban waste water (sewage). Discharges of urban waste water causes pollution and threatens the survival of fish. By introducing potentially harmful bacteria and viruses, the discharges also pose human health risks.
The UK received first written warnings for these violations in April 2003 (with respect to Torbay, Whitburn and Kilbarchan) and March 2005 (with respect to London). The UK authorities responded with information on proposed actions to increase the capacity of the collection and treatment facilities. However the problems regarding discharges remain and as a result a second written warning will now be sent.
Legal Process
Article 226 of the Treaty gives the Commission powers to take legal action against a Member State that is not respecting its obligations.
If the Commission considers that there may be an infringement of EU law that warrants the opening of an infringement procedure, it addresses a "Letter of Formal Notice" (first written warning) to the Member State concerned, requesting it to submit its observations by a specified date, usually two months.
In the light of the reply or absence of a reply from the Member State concerned, the Commission may decide to address a "Reasoned Opinion" (final written warning) to the Member State. This clearly and definitively sets out the reasons why it considers there to have been an infringement of EU law, and calls upon the Member State to comply within a specified period, usually two months.
If the Member State fails to comply with the Reasoned Opinion, the Commission may decide to bring the case before the Court of Justice. Where the Court of Justice finds that the Treaty has been infringed, the offending Member State is required to take the measures necessary to conform.
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.
For current statistics on infringements in general see:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/sgb/droit_com/index_en.htm#infractions
For rulings by the European Court of Justice see:
http://curia.eu.int/en/content/juris/index.htm
[1] Directive 91/271/EEC on urban waste water treatment