Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2022)541 - Urban wastewater treatment (recast) - Main contents
Please note
This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2022)541 - Urban wastewater treatment (recast). |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2022)541  |
| date | 26-10-2022 |
Contents
- CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL
- BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS
- 2. LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY5
- 3. RESULTS OF EX POST EVALUATIONS, STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS6
- 5. OTHER ELEMENTS12
- To improve the governance of the sector, wastewater operators will be requested to monitor and make transparent key performance indicators.
- Table 2: Implementation planning for the main measures of the preferred option
- Article 10 - Minimum requirements for producer responsibility organisations (new)
- Former Article 6 has been deleted
- Former Article 7 has been deleted
- Former Article 8 has been deleted
- Annex I
- Annex II
- Annex VII (new)
- Annex VIII (new)
12
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL
• Reasons for and objectives of the proposal
The Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive 1 (UWWTD) was adopted in 1991. The objective of this Directive is to “protect the environment from adverse effects of wastewater discharges from urban sources and specific industries”. Member States (MS) are required to ensure that wastewater from all agglomerations above 2 000 inhabitants is collected and treated according to EU minimum standards. MS also have to designate ‘sensitive areas’ according to criteria included in the Directive for which stricter standards and deadlines apply. In addition, MS report every 2 years on Directive’s implementation. This information is published by the Commission in biennial reports.
An in-depth REFIT evaluation 2 (‘the Evaluation’) of the Directive was concluded in 2019 and confirmed that the implementation of this Directive has lead to a significant reduction of pollutant releases. Across the EU, the wastewaters from around 22 000 cities representing the pollution of around 520 million population equivalents (p.e.) 3 are treated in centralised systems. The effects on the quality of EU lakes, rivers and seas are visible and tangible.
One of the key reasons for the Directive’s effectiveness lies in the simplicity of its requirements, which allows for straightforward enforcement. Today 98% of EU wastewaters are adequately collected and 92% adequately treated, even if a limited number of MS still have difficulties in reaching full compliance. European funds provide essential support in helping MS to achieve the required investments. On average each year EUR 2 billion are devoted to investments in water supply and sanitation in the EU. According to the Evaluation, this approach combining enforcement and financial support has paid off and helped to ensure progressively high levels of compliance with the Directive.
Wastewater operators are mainly (60%) public companies owned by competent public authorities. They can also be private companies operating for a competent public authority or mixed companies. They are part of a ‘captive’ market since people and businesses connected to the public network cannot choose their operators. Both the Evaluation and the consultation process confirmed that the sector is mainly reactive to legal requirements.
The Evaluation identified three main sets of remaining challenges, which served as a basis for the definition of the problems for the impact assessment:
1. Remaining pollution from urban sources: the Directive is focused on pollution from domestic sources collected and treated in centralised facilities. Less attention is given to other sources of urban pollution, which are now becoming dominant (smaller cities below 2.000 p.e., decentralised facilities, pollution from rain-waters). The limit values for the treatment of some pollutants are now outdated compared to technical progress made since 1991 and new pollutants have emerged such as micro-plastics or micro-pollutants, which can be harmful for the environment or public health already at very low level of concentration.
2. Alignment of the Directive with the European Green Deal (EGD) 4 : since the adoption of the Directive, new societal challenges have emerged. The EGD sets ambitious policy objectives to fight climate change, enhance the circularity of the EU economy and reduce environmental degradation. Additional efforts are needed in the wastewater sector to: reduce its GHG emissions (34,45 million tonnes CO2e/year - around 0,86% of the total EU emissions), decrease its energy consumption (around 0,8% of the total energy use in the EU) and make it more circular by improving sludge management (notably by better recover nitrogen and phosphorus and possibly valuable organic) and increasing safely reuse of treated water.
3. Insufficient and uneven level of governance: The Evaluation and OECD studies showed that the level of operator’ performance and transparency greatly varies from one to another. Also, a Court of Auditors report 5 highlighted that the ‘polluter pays’ principle is not sufficiently applied. Monitoring and reporting methods could be improved notably by further digitalisation. Finally, the recent COVID-19 crisis has shown that wastewaters are a very rapid and reliable source of useful information for public health if competent authorities for health and wastewater management are well coordinated.
The revision of the Directive is one of the deliverables of the zero pollution action plan (ZPA). Its main objective is to address the above-mentioned challenges in a cost-effective way while keeping the Directive as simple as possible to ensure proper implementation and enforcement of its requirements.
• Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area
The revision of the UWWTD is expected to further reduce pollution discharges by urban sources. In that sense, it is directly linked to the revision of the pollutants lists under the Environmental Quality Standards Directive 6 and the Groundwater Directive 7 – two ‘daughter’ Directives of the Water Framework Directive 8 (WFD), regulating the acceptable levels of pollutants in surface and ground water bodies. Revision of the UWWTD will have a positive impact on the future reviews of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive 9 ( MSFD ) and on the review of the Bathing Water Directive 10 (BDW). It is also connected to the revision of the Industrial Emissions Directive 11 (IED) and the related review of the E-PRTR Regulation 12 , as some industrial emissions are collected in public collection networks. Additional actions included in the revisuion of the UWWTD to further reduce micro-pollutants and in particular coming from the use of pharmaceuticals and personal care products will contribute to the sound implementation of the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and the Pharmaceuticals Strategy 13 .
The Circular Economy Action Plan 14 clearly indicates that a better integration of the urban wastewater sector with the circular economy is needed. This is particularly relevant for the Sewage Sludge Directive 15 , which regulates the use of sewage sludge in agriculture and has implications for the soil health proposal announced in the EU Soil Strategy for 2030.
There are direct connections with the Biodiversity Strategy as reducing water pollution has a direct beneficial effect to ecosystems. Actions to green cities, such as those stemming from the Nature Restoration Law 16 , can not only create a good habitat for pollinators, birds and other species, but also directly help to control rainwater and related pollution, while improving the overall quality of life. Better management of water quality and quantities in urban areas will also contribute to climate adaptation.
• Consistency with other Union policies
The new geopolitical reality requires the EU to accelerate drastically the clean energy transition to end its dependence on unreliable suppliers and volatile fossil fuels. In line with the objectives of the REPower EU 17 plan and the 2022 legal proposal COM(2022)222 amending the Renewable Directive, which already identifies wastewater treatment facilities as ‘go-to areas’, the revision of the Directive is expected to directly contribute to these objectives by fixing a clear and measurable objective to reach energy neutrality in the wastewater treatment sector by 2040. Experience from the most advanced Member States shows that this can be achieved through a combination of actions to improve energy efficiency, in line with the ‘Energy Efficiency First’ principle, and through the production of renewables, notably of biogas from sludge, which can substitute imports of natural gas.
This objective is fully consistent with the EU climate neutrality objective as included in the EU Climate Law 18 combined with the Effort Sharing Regulation 19 , which requires MS to reduce their GHG emissions from non-ETS sectors according to national objectives. It is also consistent with the recent recast proposal of the Energy Efficiency Directive 20 (EED) which includes an annual reduction target of 1,7% of the energy consumption for all public bodies, with the 2021 proposal for a revision of the Renewable Energy Directive 21 (REDII) and with the REPowerEU Plan which includes an increased objective of 45% of renewable energy by 2030. The initiative could also contribute to REPower EU Plan objective to scale up the production of biomethane in the EU to 35 billion cubic meter in 2030, and to the 2021 Commission proposal COM/2021/805 for a regulation aimed at reducing methane emission .
The revision of this Directive is also fully in lign with the final proposals of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFE), in particular the proposals on tackling pollution, more specifically Proposal 2.7 to ‘Protect water sources and combat river and ocean pollution including through researching and fighting microplastic pollution’.
Finally, this proposal will directly contribute to principle 20 of the European Pillar for Social Rights 22 . The EU is also committed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals, of which SDG 6 on access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all.
2. LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY
• Legal basis
The current UWWTD is based on Article 192(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) 23 , which states that Union policy on the environment shall aim at a high level of protection taking into account the diversity of situations in the various regions of the Union. It shall be based on the precautionary principle and on the principles that preventive action should be taken, that environmental damage should as a priority be rectified at source and that the polluter should pay. Action in the field of wastewater management must therefore be taken according to these key provisions and in light of the shared competence with Member States. This means that the EU can only legislate with due consideration for the principles of necessity, subsidiarity and proportionality.
• Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)
EU action remains essential to ensure that all people living in the EU can draw benefits from improved water quality of rivers, lakes, ground-waters and seas. As 60% of the EU water bodies are transboundary, it is necessary to ensure the same level of protection everywhere and at the same rhythm, to avoid the risk that efforts made by some Member States are jeopardised by the lack of progress by others. The Evaluation has shown that in most MS the Directive was a unique driver for investing in the required infrastructures.
The Evaluation also confirmed that EU action has the potential to further ensure an equal level of environmental and human health protection across all Member States. Over the last 30 years of implementation of the UWWTD, the quality of bathing water sites (hence tourism and recreation), of raw water used to produce drinking water and of water bodies in general has been either preserved or, in several instances, improved. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has shown the interdependence of Member States in terms of virus circulation. Ensuring effective, rapid, and harmonised tracking of pathogenic factors in wastewaters can benefit the whole EU. Without EU harmonised and integrated action, the possibilities of tracking new types of viruses and of surveying other relevant health parameters in wastewaters would only be achieved in a few, likely the most advanced MS.
Improving access to sanitation should be ensured for everyone living in the EU. Equal access to key information (on wastewater operator economic and environmental performances) should also be ensured to for all. All MS are facing the consequences of climate change notably on their hydrological regimes. The rain regimes have changed which – on top of floods - increases the risks of pollution due to untreated rain-waters (storm wateroverflows and urban run off). Similarly, pollutants of emerging concern such as micro-pollutants or micro-plastics are present in all MS. This is also the case for most of the remaining loads from urban sources, which affect water quality in all MS. Also, the drivers for the identified problems are very similar from one MS to another.
Finally, the Evaluation showed that EU standards were a crucial driver for the development of a globally competitive EU water industry. Since the adoption of the Directive, several major worldwide leaders in the field of wastewater treatment have been created and are exporting their services around the world. Further modernising EU standards, for instance with new requirements on micro-pollutants or energy use, would stimulate innovation and ultimately economies of scale.
• Proportionality
The preferred option includes a proportionate package of measures representing the best ‘value for money’ of all possible options (see Section 7.1 of the impact assessment for more details). Careful attention was given to finding an optimal solution based on:
·the costs and the benefits analysis (or the cost-effectiveness analysis in the case of micro-pollutants, in the absence of reliable method to monetised benefits): the monetised benefits are systematically higher than the costs for each individual measure of the preferred option in all Member States;
·administrative burden reduction and enforceability: by targeting only a limited number of facilities or agglomerations, significant results can be obtained on key parameters such as pollution reduction, energy use and GHG emissions while keeping administrative burden at a proportional level and ensuring a high level of enforceability;
·the introduction of a risk-based approach for most of the proposed measures, which will help ensure that investments are taking place where they are needed.
When necessary to reach local optimal solutions, flexibility was left to national or local authorities. This is the case, for instance, for achieving the energy neutrality objective or for reducing emissions from rain-waters thanks to integrated water management plans.
• Choice of the instrument
The initiative’s objective can be best pursued through a recast of the Directive which – as shown in the REFIT Evaluation is the most appropriate legal instrument to regulate the collection and treatment of urban wastewaters.
A directive requires Member States to achieve its objectives and implement the measure into their national substantive and procedural law systems. This approach gives Member States more freedom when implementing an EU measure than a regulation, in that Member States can choose the most appropriate means of implementing the measures in the Directive.
3. RESULTS OF EX POST EVALUATIONS, STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS
• Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation
The REFIT evaluation of the UWWTD was carried out in 2019. On top of the three main challenges identified in the Evaluation (see above), the assessment of the Directive’s effectiveness showed that it has been successful in reducing loads of the targeted pollutants from urban point sources (domestic/urban wastewater and similar industrial pollution). Loads of biochemical oxygen demand, nitrogen and phosphorus in treated wastewater fell across the EU by 61%, 32% and 44% respectively between 1990 and 2014. This has clearly improved the quality of EU water bodies.
The assessment of coherence showed that the Directive is internally coherent overall. The UWWTD works overall in synergy with other pieces of EU legislation and contributes strongly to achieving the objectives of the Water Framework Directive, the Bathing Water Directive and the Drinking Water Directive 24 . There are some limited overlaps in terms of what activities are covered by the UWWTD compared to the Industrial Emissions Directive. In general, there are also no issues of coherence with newer EU polices; however, there may be some scope for improving the consistency between the UWWTD and climate and energy policies.
The analysis of relevance and effectiveness showed the need for continued intervention not least because inappropriately treated or untreated urban wastewater is still one of the main reasons why EU waters fail to achieve at least good status under the Water Framework Directive. Moreover, the scientific community, policy makers and the general public see the growing evidence of contaminants of emerging concern, including micro-pollutants such as pharmaceuticals and micro-plastics in water bodies, as an increasingly important issue.
As regards circular economy potentials, the UWWTD contains limited provisions on wastewater and sludge reuse or recovery of valuable components. These have never been strictly enforced, partly due to the lack of strong harmonised standards at EU level and the potential risks to human health.
The EU added value assessment, which included considering whether the UWWTD complies with the subsidiarity principle, showed wide recognition among stakeholders that the Directive is still needed, and that withdrawing it would have negative impacts. The Directive supports the protection of some 60% of EU transboundary water basins from the adverse effects of wastewater discharges. Lastly, various possibilities to simplify and better use digitalisation were identified in the Evaluation and included in the review of the Directive.
The Evaluation was improved following the suggestions of the Regulatory Scrutinity Board (opinion of 17 July 2019) notably for what relates to the main reasons behind compliance difficulties in some MS, the wider context influencing the quality of the EU waters, the importance of tackling new pollutants. The conclusions were reinforced and more detailes were provided on the situation of each MS.
• Stakeholder consultations
The Evaluation and then the impact assessment underwent a thorough consultation process that included a variety of different consultation activities, as set out in the consultation strategy. The methods selected for consulting stakeholders consisted of semi-structured interviews, interactive workshops a broad online public consultation (OPC) to reach a large range of stakeholders on a variety of topics and a written consultation on factual information and assumptions for modelling. A final stakeholders conference was held to obtain views on the different policy options proposed by the Commission.
The OPC ran for 12 weeks, from 28 April to 21 July 2021. A total of 285 responses were received, and 57 position papers were submitted. The OPC gathered views of the respondents on the problems relating to wastewater pollution and how to best address these problems. Questions required participants to score statements or proposed measures on a scale of one (least agreement/effective) to five (most agreement/effective).
Member States were consulted on several occasions. A specific meeting with MS experts helped to identify best practices and possible options at the beginning of the process. This was completed by a specific consultation of each Member State in 2020 to build a solid baseline (see below). In addition, four online thematic workshops were held in 2021 on (i) monitoring and reporting; (ii) wastewater and sludge; (iii) costs and benefits; and (iv) integrated water monitoring. A virtual stakeholder final conference took place on 26 October 2021 to present the main options and first results of the impact assessment (312 participants from 226 organisations, in 27 Member States).
Overall, there was a broad consensus among stakeholder on the necessity to revise and modernise the Directive and on the main options to be considered for the analysis in the IA. The measures included in the preferred option are overall well supported by the stakeholder, with some nuances depending on the options and the stakeholder groups.
For instance, there was a broad consensus among stakeholders on the necessity to address the issue of micro-pollutants from wastewaters. Apart from some business stakeholders (part of the chemical and pharmaceuticals industry), all stakeholders, including water-related business, supported the requirement to remove micro-pollutants. Most stakeholders also insisted on the importance of measures to be taken at source but also on the need to better apply the ‘polluter pays’ principle by making producers financially responsible for the costs linked to the additional treatments required to treat micro-pollutants. The extended producer responsibility (EPR) approach received a broad support from the majority of stakeholders, except from the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, which are overall not in favour of such a system, notably on the grounds that the financial responsibility should be either shared by all actors involved in the chain (from industry to consumers) or taken by the public authorities.
Energy audits received broad support, while EU-based objectives and targets on energy neutrality were less supported by MS or local authorities than by other stakeholders. Additional feedback received by the most important water industry representatives showed a willingness to have both energy and climate neutrality targets included with a shorter deadline (2030) than the one envisaged in this report. Most advanced MS clearly supported an EU-wide target similar to their own target. Finally, stakeholders also asked for more clarity on some aspects such as the criteria to designate ‘sensitive’ areas subject to eutrophication.
• Collection and use of expertise
Besides the stakeholder consultation, the following main sources of information were used to build the impact assessment:
Models developed by the JRC: Over several years, the JRC has developed models on water quality and quantity in the EU. These models were adapted to the policy questions related to the Evaluation and impact assessment.
Consultation of ad hoc experts: under the co-lead of JRC and the Directorate-General for the Environament (DG ENV), mini consortium of experts was consulted on specific policy questions (Individual Appropriate Systems – IAS, antimicrobial resistance, combined sewer overflows and urban runoff, nutrients, micro-plastics, and greenhouse gas emissions). For each issue, a report was prepared and used directly in the IA or to improve the JRC model. All reports are expected to be published in the coming months.
Support from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD): DG ENV cooperated with the OECD to develop a benefit methodology for the IA. OECD has also produced several reports in support of the REFIT Evaluation. In addition, the OECD provided analysis of the issues related to transparency and governance.
In-depth consultation of the Member States: specific consultation of each MS was organised in 2020 to establish a solid baseline scenario and to gather evidence on the best practices. For each country a fiche was prefilled with the hypothesis JRC intended to use in the context of the modelling. All MS provided ad-hoc inputs during this consultation.
To support the IA, two support contracts were attributed to external consultants, one for the general impact assessment and another on the feasibility of an extended producer responsibility system for micro-pollutants.
• Impact assessment
An impact assessment was carried out. The summary sheet and the positive opinion of the Regulatory Scrutiny Board dated 3 June 2022 are accessible with the following link: Register of Commission Documents (europa.eu)
For each problem raised by the Evaluation, policy options were identified on the basis of best practices in place in the MS and on an in-depth consultation of the stakeholders. Options lacking support from the stakeholders or too complex to implement were discarded at an early stage. Different levels of ambition were developed ranging from low ambition (measures applied only to larger facilities) to high ambition (same measures but applied also to smaller facilities) 25 with an intermediate level of ambitions based on a risk-based approach (measures taken only where there is a risk for the environment or public health).
For some issues, the consultation showed that options are limited – for instance for non-centralised facilities (i.e. IAS), transparency or monitoring health parameters. For other problems (heavy rain waters or energy use), in line with the subsidiarity principle, enough flexibility was left to allow for most cost-effective solutions to be designed at local level.
The impacts of the options were assessed using a model developed by the JRC already developed and used for the REFIT Evaluation. A baseline scenario (assuming full compliance of the existing Directive with additional deadlines for some MS) and a maximum feasible scenario were developed as comparison points.
For each problem, the choice of the preferred option was based on several criteria: costs/benefits, costs/effectiveness, level of contribution to the European Green Deal objectives, water pollution reduction, enforceability and reduction of administrative burden. The preferred option includes a proportionate package of measures representing the best ‘value for money’ of all possible options.
The following main measures will progressively be applied until 2040.
The scope of the Directive will be expanded to agglomerations above 1 000 p.e.
New standards will be developed for decentralised facilities (IAS) while MS will be required to put in place effective inspection for these facilities.
To reduce pollution due to rain waters, MS will be required to establish and implement integrated water management plans in all large agglomerations and in those above 10.000 p.e. where there is a risk for the environment. Priority will be given to preventive measures including green infrastructures and to optimisation of the existing collecting, storage and treatment systems by better using digitalisation based on clearly defined standards and specifications.
Nutrient releases will be further reduced with more stringent limit values to treat nitrogen and phosphorus. These new standards will be systematically applied to all larger facilities above 100 000 p.e. but also in all facilities above 10 000 p.e. located in areas where eutrophication remains an issue.
New limit values will be established for micro-pollutants that require additional treatment. This would apply first for all large facilities and then for facilities above 10 000 p.e. where there is a risk to the environment or public health on the basis of clear and simple criteria.
A system of producer responsibility targeting pharmaceutical and personal care products – the two main sources of harmful micro-pollutants will be set to cover the additional treatment costs for micro-pollutants and incentivise the placing on the EU market of less harmful products. 26
MS will be required to better monitor and track at source non-domestic pollution. This is to increase the possibilities of re-using sludge and treated water, and to reduce the risk of non-treatable substances being discharged into the environment and of treatment plants malfunctioning.
An objective of energy neutrality will be established by 2040 at national level for all wastewater facilities above 10 000 p.e., in line with best practices already in place in some MS; specifically, the energy used by the sector will have to be equivalent to the production of renewables from the sector; to contribute to this objective; energy audits 27 will be required for all facilities above 10 000 p.e.
To improve the governance of the sector, wastewater operators will be requested to monitor and make transparent key performance indicators.
Access to sanitation will be enhanced in a manner fully consistent with the recently adopted revised Drinking Water Directive, where access to water supply was also improved.
Monitoring and reporting will be improved to better use the possibilities offered by digitalisation.
MS will be required to organise cooperation between their health and wastewater competent authorities so that permanent surveillance of key public health parameters, such as the presence of some viruses like SARS-Covid-2 is in place.
The time horizon of 2040 was chosen to give enough time to MS to make the required investments. Interim objectives will be included to ensure progressive implementation of the Directive and ensure that action is taken at an early stage in case of delays in some MS.
By 2040, when all measures are expected to be in place, the main impacts of the preferred option can be summarised as follows:
·In terms of water pollution, compared to the baseline, the total pollution would be reduced by 4,8 million p.e. (or 105.014 tonnes) for BOD, 56,4 million p.e. for N (or 229.999 tonnes), 49,6 million p.e. (or 29.678 tonnes) for P, 77,4 million p.e. for the toxic load of micro-pollutants and 24,8 million p.e. for E. Coli. Micro-plastics emissions would be reduced by 9%, mainly though actions on improved management of rain waters.
·With the planned measures to reach energy neutrality and the additional treatment of nitrogen, GHG emissions would be reduced by 4,86 million tonnes (37,32 % of the avoidable emissions from the sector) which is in line with the objectives of the EU Climate Law and the ‘Fit for 55’ climate package.
·As from 2040, the total cost would amount to EUR 3,848 billion per year, below the expected monetised benefits (EUR 6,643 billion per year by 2040). This conclusion is valid at EU level but also for each MS. These additional costs are expected to be covered by a combination of water tariffs (51%), public budgets (22%) and the new system of producer responsibility (27%) for the treatment of micro pollutants.
In terms of who is affected, wastewater operators are responsible for collection, treatment, monitoring and proper discharge of different waste streams. Changes to the UWWTD will have direct impacts on them. Additional investments will be needed notably to better manage nutrients but also to treat micro-pollutants. Investments will also be needed to meet energy neutrality even if these investments will be profitable on the mid/long run.
The population is affected since water tariffs and taxes are paid by the population to support the wastewater treatment sector. By 2040, the expected average increase in water tariffs would amount to 2,3% at EU level, with some differences between MS depending on their financing strategies. As detailed in the IA, this expected increase will not affect the overall affordability of water services in any MS. It is essential to ensure transparent access to information on wastewater treatment activities including on the water-energy-climate nexus.. The public will benefit from clean drinking and bathing water, improved ecological status of waters, preserved biodiversity and improvements in public health reactiveness to possible outbreaks.
The water and treatment technology industry will directly benefit from stronger standards and from measures to expand the Directive’s scope to smaller agglomerations, optimise operations and reduce energy use and GHG emissions. New business opportunities to develop new treatment techniques while reducing energy use and GHG emissions will emerge from the preferred option. Innovation will be boosted, maintaining a comparative advantage for the EU water industry. Personal care products and pharmaceutical industries will have to set up new ‘producer responsibility’ organisations and finance their operations. These industries will have the choice either to pass these new costs on in the price of their products (max increase of 0.59%) or reduce their profit margins on them (average maximum impact of 0.7%).
• Regulatory fitness and simplification
In line with the conclusions of the REFIT Evaluation, some clarifications and simplifications will be introduced in the revised Directive. This is the case for instance for rain waters and IAS, for which the new requirements will clarify what is expected from Member States. Some obsolete articles will be removed from the text such as the possibility to designate ‘less sensitive’ areas or to reduce the requirements in coastal zones – two possibilities only used in one region of one MS. Efforts were also made to limit reporting to essential elements which then will be used for assessing compliance or tracking progress on emission reductions. These efforts combined with the use of digital tools are expected to limit administrative burden while improving the quality and the rapidity of collected data.
• Fundamental rights
The proposal is expected to improve fundamental rights by improving access to sanitation particularly for marginalised and vulnerable people in a manner fully consistent with the recently revised Drinking Water Directive (including similar provisions for access to water).
4. BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS
The financial statement related to the budgetary implications and the human and administrative resources required for this proposal are integrated in the legislative financial statement for the zero pollution package which is presented as part of the proposal for revision of the lists of pollutants affecting surface and groundwaters.
5. OTHER ELEMENTS
• Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements
The implementation planning for the main actions included in the preferred option are summarised in Table 2 below. By 2025 additional monitoring activities would be in place: these concern non-domestic releases, health-related parameters, key performance operator indicators, together with actions to improve transparency. National and EU databases including all the elements necessary to check compliance will be in place, and ‘vulnerable and marginalised people’ will be identified together with actions to improve access to sanitation.
Different indicators to measure success can be extracted from Member State reports:
·the existing compliance rate and distance to target per MS and per treatment level, which provide an excellent overview of the Directive’s implementation;
·the number of facilities equipped with additional treatment for N/P and micro-pollutants, and the related reduction of N/P releases and toxic load;
·the energy use by MS and the related GHG emissions;
·the number of agglomerations covered by integrated management plans for storm water overflows and urban runoff and their compliance with the EU objective;
·the measures taken by MS to improve access to sanitation and better control IAS, and a summary of the main health indicators surveyed in the MS.
Other data will be used to measure specifically the impacts of the UWWTD. These include most notably data coming from the Water and the Marine Framework Directives on the water quality of the receiving waters (rivers, lakes and seas). More details on possible parameters to be reported for assessing compliance and measure the success of the Directive are provided in Annex 10 to the impact assessment.
A first in-depth evaluation of the revised Directive can be expected by 2030, when most investments should have been made in larger facilities. This first evaluation would make it possible to assess the revised Directive’s success and remaining challenges linked with its implementation. If need be, corrective measures could be envisaged to ensure the full implementation of the revised Directive. Another evaluation could be considered before 2040 to prepare a possible review of the Directive.
| 2025 | 2030 | 2035 | 2040 | |
| Storm water overflows and urban runoff (rain waters) | Monitoring in place | Integrated plans for agglo. > 100.k p.e. + areas at risk identified | Integrated plans in place for agglo. at risk between 10 and 100k p.e. | Indicative EU target in force for all agglomerations > 10.000 p.e. |
| Individual appropriate systems | Regular inspection in all MS + Reporting for MS with high IAS | EU standards for IAS | ||
| Small-scale agglomerations | New thresholds of 1.000 p.e. | All agglo.> 1.000 p.e. compliant | ||
| Nitrogen and phosphorus | Identification of areas at risk (agglomerations 10 to 100k p.e.) | Interim target for N/P removal in facilities > 100 000 p.e. + New standards | N/P removal in all facilities above 100k p.e. + Interim target for areas at risk | N/P removal in place in all areas at risk (between 10 and 100k p.e.) |
| Micro-pollutants | Setting up extended producer responsibility schemes | Areas at risk identified (10 to 100k p.e.) + Interim target for facilities above 100.k p.e. | All facilities > 100k p.e. equipped + interim targets for areas ‘at risk’ | All facilities at risk equipped with advanced treatment |
| Energy | Energy audits for facilities above 100k p.e. | Audits for all facilities above 10k p.e. Interim target | Interim target for energy neutrality | Energy neutrality met and related GHG reduction met |
• Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal
Article 1 – Subject matter
The objectives of the Directive were expanded to include in addition to environmental protection, the protection of human health, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, improving the governance and transparency of the sector, better access to sanitation and – following the recent COVID crisis – the regular monitoring of parameters relevant to public health in urban wastewater.
Article 2 – Definitions
In line with the conclusions of the REFIT Evaluation, existing definitions have been slightly clarified. Several definitions related to the new obligations of the Directive have been added, such as ‘urban runoff’, ‘storm water overflows’ (SWOs), ‘combined and separate sewers’, ‘tertiary and quaternary treatments’, ‘micro-pollutant’, ‘sanitation’, ‘antimicrobial resistance’, etc.
Article 3 – Collecting systems
The obligation to set up urban wastewater collecting systems is extended to all agglomerations with a p.e. of 1.000 or more. A new obligation is introduced to make sure that households are connected to collecting systems where they exist.
Article 4 – Individual or other appropriate system (IAS) (new)
This is a new article that partially replaces former Article 3. The possibility of using IAS is maintained but limited to exceptional cases. To that effect, new obligations have been introduced:
IAS must be properly designed, approved and controlled;
Detailed justifications for their use must be provided when they represent more than 2% of the reported load treated in agglomerations of 2 000 p.e. and more.
Article 5 – Integrated urban wastewater management plans (new)
This new article introduces the obligation to establish locally integrated urban wastewater management plans to combat pollution from rain waters (urban runoff and storm water overflow). The indicative content of the plans, as well as their indicative objectives to be adjusted to local circumstances, is based on the best practices in place and is detailed in Annex V. The plans will need to be drawn up for all agglomerations with a p.e. of 100 000 or more and for all agglomerations with a p.e. of between 10 000 and 100 000 p.e. where storm water overflow or urban runoff poses a risk to the environment or human health.
Article 6 – Secondary treatment (former Article 4)
The obligation to apply secondary treatment to urban wastewater before it is discharged into the environment is extended to all agglomerations with a p.e. of 1.000 or more (compared to 2.000 p.e. and more in the existing Directive).
Article 7 – Tertiary treatment (former Article 5)
The main obligations of this article have been amended so that tertiary treatment is now mandatory for all larger facilities treating a load equal to or greater than 100 000 p.e. Tertiary treatment will also need to be applied to discharges from agglomerations with a p.e. between 10 000 and 100 000 p.e. in areas identified by Member States as sensitive to eutrophication.
Member States will have to identify areas sensitive to eutrophication on their territory by updating their current list of ‘sensitive areas’ developed under the former Article 5. The other obligations of this Article have been maintained and updated.
Article 8 – Quaternary treatment (new)
This new article introduces the obligation to apply additional treatment to urban wastewater in order to eliminate the broadest possible spectrum of micro-pollutants. This treatment will be applied to all urban wastewater treatment plants treating a load equal to or greater than 100 000 p.e. by 31 December 2035 at the latest. By 31 December 2040, it will also be applied to all agglomerations with a p.e. between 10 000 and 100 000 in areas where the concentration or accumulation of micro-pollutants poses a risk to human health or the environment. Member States will have to identify those areas on their territory according to criteria specified in this article.
Article 9 – Extended producer responsibility (new)
This new article introduces the obligation for producers (including importers) to contribute to the costs of the quaternary treatment provided for in Article 8 of the Directive in cases where they place on the national market of the Member States products which at the end of their life lead to the pollution of urban wastewater by micro-pollutants. This financial contribution will be established on the basis of the quantities and toxicity of products placed on the market.
This Article establishes the minimum requirements for Producer Responsibility Organisation that are required under Article 9(5).
Article 11 – Energy neutrality of urban wastewater treatment plants (new)
This new article introduces the obligation to achieve energy neutrality at national level in all treatment facilities above 10 000 p.e. By 31 December 2040, Member States will have to ensure that the total annual renewable energy produced at national level by all urban wastewater treatment plants is equivalent to the total annual energy used by all such urban wastewater treatment plants. To help reach this objective, energy audits of urban wastewater treatment plants will be carried out at regular intervals, with particular focus to identify and utilise the potential for biogas production, while reducing methane emissions.
Article 12 – Transboundary cooperation (former Article 9)
This article has been slightly amended: a new paragraph 2 is added, requiring – where necessary the Commission to be invited to support discussions between Member States. Paragraph 1 has been amended to add the obligation of immediate notification in case of incidental pollution in order to take into account the recent ‘Odder river’ incident.
Article 13 – Local climatic conditions (former Article 10)
The article has only been updated due to the new numbering of the articles.
Article 14 – Discharges of non-domestic wastewater (former Article 11)
This article has been amended to ensure that before issuing an authorisation of discharges of non-domestic wastewater into urban wastewater collecting systems, the competent authorities consult the operator of urban wastewater treatment plants affected by these discharges. In addition, regular monitoring of the non-domestic pollution in the inlets and outlets of the treatment facilities must be ensured so that appropriate measures are taken to identify and address the source(s) of possible pollution. These include, if necessary, the withdrawal of the authorisation issued.
Article 15 – Water reuse and discharges of urban wastewater (former Article 12)
Paragraph 1 has been amended: Member States will be required to systematically promote the reuse of treated wastewater from all urban wastewater treatment plants.
In paragraph 3, the obligation to establish authorisation for discharges from urban wastewater treatment plants is extended to include now all agglomerations of 1.000 p.e. and above.
Article 16 – Biodegradable non-domestic discharges (former Article 13)
Paragraph 1 has been updated (new numbering). Paragraph 2 has been amended to ensure that requirements established at national level for these discharges are at least equivalent to the requirements set under part B of Annex I to the Directive.
Article 17 – Urban wastewater surveillance (new)
This new article establishes a national urban wastewater monitoring system to monitor relevant public health parameters in urban wastewater. To that end, Member States will have to set up, by 1 January 2025 at the latest, a coordination structure between the authorities responsible for public health and urban wastewater treatment. This structure will determine which parameters to be monitored and frequency and the method to be applied.
Moreover, until the competent public health authorities establish that the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is not a risk for the population, urban wastewaters from at least 70% of the national population will be monitored.
Finally, for all agglomerations of 100 000 p.e. and more, Member States will also have to regularly monitor antimicrobial resistance in the outlets of urban wastewater treatment plants.
Article 18 – Risk assessment and management (new)
This is a new article. Member States have the obligation to assess the risks caused by urban wastewater discharges to the environment and human health, and, where necessary, take additional measures on top of this Directive’s minimum requirements to address these risks. These measures should include, where appropriate, the collection and treatment of wastewater from agglomerations smaller than 1.000 p.e., the application of tertiary or quaternary treatment in agglomerations below 10.000 p.e., and additional action to reduce the pollution of rain waters in agglomerations below 10.000 p.e.
Article 19 – Access to sanitation (new)
This is a new article. Member States will be required to improve and maintain access to sanitation for all, in particular for vulnerable and marginalised.
By 31 December 2027, Member States will also have to identify categories of people without access or with a limited access to sanitation, assess the possibilities for improving access to sanitation facilities for such people and encourage the establishment of freely and safely accessible sanitation facilities in public spaces for all agglomerations of 10.000 p.e. or above.
Article 20 – Sludge (former Article 14)
The article has been updated: sludge will have to be treated, recycled and recovered whenever appropriate in accordance with the waste hierarchy as defined in the Waste Framework Directive 28 and with the requirements of the Sludge Directive 29 , and disposed of in accordance with the requirements of the Waste Framework Directive. To ensure high recovery rates notably for critical materials such as phosphorus, the Commission will be given a mandate to fix minimum recovery rates.
Article 21 – Monitoring (former Article 15)
New obligations have been introduced: Member States will now have to monitor pollution from urban runoff and storm water overflows, concentrations and loads of the regulated pollutants in this Directive in the outlets of urban wastewater treatment plants, and the presence of micro-plastics (including in sludge). In addition, in line with Article 13, certain non-domestic pollutants will have to be regularly monitored in the inlets and outlets of the wastewater treatment plants.
Article 22 – Information on monitoring of implementation (former Article 16)
This is a new article. Provisions related to reporting are simplified and replaced by a new system, which does not involve actual reporting but a regular update of a national data set accessible for the European Environmental Agency and the Commission. This will ensure that the system is made more effective by avoiding a long time lag between reference date of the data reported and the actual date of reporting.
The article requires Member States to establish data sets gathering data relevant for urban wastewater under this Directive. This can be achieved for instance by monitoring results of the parameters listed in the Annexes to this Directive, antimicrobial resistance, relevant health parameters, etc., but also measures taken to ensure access to sanitation, etc.
The establishment of these data sets must be consistent with those established under Article 18 of the recast Drinking Water Directive 30 . Provision is also made for the European Environmental Agency to provide support.
Article 23 – National implementation programme (former Article 17)
The Article has been amended. The obligation to draw up a national programme for the implementation of this Directive is maintained, and the minimum content of that programme is prescribed. These programmes must include at least: (i) an assessment of the level of implementation of the Directive in relation to its various obligations; (ii) the identification and planning of investments necessary for such implementation; (iii) an estimate of the investments needed to renew existing urban wastewater treatment infrastructures; and (iv) identification of potential sources of funding.
Member States will be required to update their national implementation plans at least every 5 years and communicate them to the Commission, unless they can demonstrate that they comply with Articles 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8 of this Directive.
Article 24 – Information to the public (new)
This is a new article. Member States will have to ensure that adequate and up-to-date information on urban wastewater collection and treatment is available online. Key information such as the level of compliance of the urban wastewater treatment infrastructures with the requirements of this Directive, the volume of urban wastewater collected and treated per year for the household, etc. must also be accessible at least once a year to all persons connected to a collecting system, in the most appropriate form, for instance on the invoices.
Article 25 – Access to justice (new)
This new article is in line with Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and implements the Aarhus Convention with regard to access to justice. It should be possible for the public and NGOs to legally review the decisions taken by MS under this Directive.
Article 26 – Compensation (new)
A new article on compensation is introduced, with the aim of ensuring that where damage to health has occurred fully or partially as a result of a breach of national measures adopted pursuant to this Directive, the public concerned is able to claim and obtain compensation for that damage from the relevant competent authorities and, where identified, the natural or legal persons responsible for the violation.
Article 27 – Exercise of the delegation (new)
This is a new standard article for the adoption of delegated acts.
Article 28 – Committee procedure (former Article 18)
This is a new standard article for the adoption of implementing acts.
Article 29 – Penalties (new)
This new article specifies the minimum content of penalties, so that they are effective, proportionate and dissuasive, without prejudice to Directive 2008/99/EC on the protection of the environment through criminal law 31 .
Article 30 – Evaluation (new)
This new article sets the framework for future evaluations of the Directive (as provided for of the Commission’s Better Regulation guidelines). The first evaluation is envisaged no sooner than 10 years after the end of this Directive’s transposition period.
Article 31 – Review (new)
At least every five years, the Commission shall present a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of this Directive, accompanied, where appropriate, by relevant legislative proposals.
Article 32 – Repeal and transitional provisions (new)
This article is new and introduces provisions to take into account the specific situation of Mayotte, and to maintain the level of environmental protection imposed under the former Article 5 until the new requirements of Article 7 apply.
Article 33 – Transposition (former Article 19)
This article follows the standard template.
Article 34 – Entry into force (new)
This article follows the standard template. Provision is made for the Directive to enter into force 20 days after publication in the Official Journal.
Article 35 – Addressees (former Article 20)
The article remains unchanged.
This article has been deleted for the sake of simplification, as the option of designating ‘less sensitive areas’ is rarely used in practice by Member States. In addition, retaining this option in the revised text of the Directive would reduce the general level of environmental protection sought by the revision of the Directive.
The obligation to apply appropriate treatment to urban wastewater before discharge means that Member States must comply with existing EU law, so the relevance of this provision is (legally) limited. The objective of ensuring appropriate treatment of urban wastewater by 31 December 2027 is maintained only in respect of Mayotte, as a transitional provision.
This article has been deleted because it is now obsolete – today Member States will need to comply with the requirements of Article 4. This article was also linked to ‘less sensitive areas’, a concept that has been removed from the Directive.
Part A – Collecting systems
Remains unchanged.
Part B – Discharge from urban wastewater treatment plants to receiving waters
Updated with new references, and minimum requirements with regard to secondary (Table 1), tertiary (Table 2) and quaternary treatments (new Table 3).
Part C – Non-domestic discharges
Amended and now laying down the minimum conditions under which authorisations for non‑domestic discharges referred to in Article 13 may be issued. The link with the Industrial Emissions Directive 32 is made.
Part D – Reference methods for monitoring and evaluation of results
Requirements for monitoring of urban wastewater treatment discharges have been updated. For agglomerations of 100.000 p.e. and above, at least one sample per day is required.
This Part A corresponds to the former Annex II criteria for identifying ‘sensitive areas’ – they have been maintained and updated. A list of areas to be considered as sensitive to eutrophication by Member States has been also added.
Annex III – List of products covered by Article 9 on extended producer responsibility (new)
Products covered by Article 9 on extended producer responsibility are those falling within the scope of one of the EU legislation listed in this Annex (pharmaceuticals and cosmetics).
Annex IV – Industrial sectors
Former Annex III – it remains unchanged.
Annex V – Content of integrated urban wastewater management plan under Article 5 (new)
This annex lists the minimum content of the integrated urban wastewater management plan prepared pursuant to Article 5. These plans must include an analysis of the initial situation in the drainage area of the urban wastewater treatment plant, the definition of objectives for the reduction of pollution from storm water overflows and urban runoff for that area and the identification of the measures to be taken to achieve those objectives.
The objectives must include: (i) an indicative target that storm water overflows do not represent more than 1% of the annual volume and load collected of urban wastewater, to be calculated in dry weather conditions; and (ii) the phasing out of untreated discharges of urban runoff through separate collection systems, unless it is demonstrated that they are of sufficient quality not to have adverse effects on the quality of receiving waters.
Annex VI – Information to the public (new)
This annex details the information to be provided to the public under new Article 24.
This is a standard annex which lists the repealed Directive and its successive amendments, as well as their dates of transposition and application.
This is the new table of correspondence between Council Directive 91/271/EEC and the new recast Directive proposal.
91/271/EEC (adapted)