MEPs vote on stronger EU groundwater law
The European parliament has largely backed its environment committee to reject a dilution of a planned new groundwater directive agreed by EU environment ministers
28.06.2006 |Sascha Gabizon
Completing their second reading of the draft law on Tuesday, MEPs in Strasbourg approved an amendment to make mandatory, not voluntary, a requirement to prevent the input of hazardous substances into groundwater. The environment committee saw this as critical to plug a loophole that will emerge when current legislation on the pollution of groundwater by dangerous substances expires in 2013.
MEPs also demanded that the directive's 50 milligrams-per-litre limit on nitrates should apply everywhere, including to nitrate vulnerable zones. Environment ministers decided to exclude such zones on the basis that they are subject to control under the EU nitrates directive. The latter sets slightly weaker requirements.
The parliament supported greater emphasis on prevention rather than restoration of groundwater status. For example, it changed the directive to require member states to focus on reversing pollutant trends which might have environmentally significant consequences.
MEPs also backed stronger harmonisation across EU member states. Dutch MEP Johannes Blokland emphasised the importance of a successful amendment requiring member states to submit their measurement methods for approval to the European commission.
The parliament supported a revision clause to ensure that groundwater quality standards and threshold values are reviewed at regular intervals and that MEPs are involved in this process. The groundwater directive will be subject to a full appraisal by 2015.
However, the parliament did not back a call by the environment committee to delete what it called "weak" wording on diffuse pollution. The committee had proposed removing a clause requiring that diffuse pollution affecting groundwater chemical status "shall be taken into account whenever technically possible".
Follow-up: European parliament, tel: +32 2 284 2111. See verbatim report
of the debate plus amendments adopted. See also reaction by environmental group EEB.
