. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/TBT/Notif.99.81
3 March 1999
(99-0826)
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade
NOTIFICATION
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6.
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  THE NETHERLANDS
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):           
2. Agency responsible:  Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment
Agency or authority designated to handle comments regarding the notification shall be
indicated if different from above:  National Enquiry Point - EC WTO-TBT Enquiry Point
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10.1 [    ], 5.6.2 [    ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:           
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):  The regulation relates to the
re-use of slightly polluted excavated soil as soil.
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:  Regulation Issued by the
Minister for Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment Regarding the Exemption from
Certain Requirements Pursuant to the Buildi ng Materials Decree on Soil and Surface Water
Protection with Regard to the use of Slightly Polluted Excavated Soil as Soil (Regulation on
Exemptions for Transfer and Reuse of Excavated Soil).
6. Description of content:  The aim of the regula tion is to allow the use of slightly polluted soil
within the framework of active soil management by exempting this use from a number of
stipulations in the Building Materials Decree.  The stipulations require that the soil should not
be mixed with the ground and that it should be removed in due course.  This regulation,however, does impose a number of requirements by way of substitution.
An alternative is added to the requirement to establish the quality of the soil in the way as
referred to in the Building Materials Decree.
The purport of the regulation is to ensure that the current practice of active soil management is
not thwarted by full application of the Building Materials Decree.
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable:  The
policy framework to handle slightly and heavil y polluted soil is currently under review.  This
review has been prompted mainly by changes that accrued over the last couple of years to soil
sanitation policy as well as to the way polluted soil is handled.  A key component of the new
policy is active soil management.  Active soil management, which focuses on the use of the
soil in a responsible and sustainable manner (mai ntaining and, if possible, improving the soil's
application value), mainly pertains  to handling slightly polluted soil.G/TBT/Notif.99.81
Page 2
An increasing number of provinces and municipalities appear to adopt active soil
management.  The proposed future policy framework  has been laid down in the short term in a
policy memorandum entitled 'A second look at soil: handling polluted soil in a responsible
manner'.  One of the major proposed changes in  the soil cycle policy is that within the
framework of active soil management, the re-use of (slightly) polluted soil as foundation soilis permitted subject to certain conditions.  The regulation refers to specific aspects of the
Building Materials Decree.  The provisions ma de in the Building Materials Decree to ensure
that foreign manufacturers of building materials are not worse off than their Dutch
counterparts shall remain fully in force.  Th e ministerial exemption regulation does not add
any new requirements which c ould discriminate against building materials from other
Member States, either directly or indirectly.
8. Relevant documents:  Building Materials Decree on the soil and surface water protection.
(Bulletin of Acts and Decrees 1995, 567). (D raft) Memorandum: A second look at soil:
handling polluted soil in a responsible manner.
9. Proposed date of adoption:
Proposed date of entry into force: } 1 July 1999
10. Final date for comments:  26 April 1999
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [X] or address, e-mail and telefax number of
the other body: