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(2004/C 65 E/167)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2437/03

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(22 July 2003)

Subject:   Construction of a polluting factory

People living in Tabacô, Arcos de Valdevez, Portugal, are concerned at the construction of a factory belonging to the plastics and metal processing company company Sarreliber — Transformação de Plásticos e Metais, SA, which is part of the French group ORIAI, based in Paris.

According to the Arcos de Valdevez Municipal Council, the investment project envisages the creation of an industrial unit initially offering 105 jobs, designed for the processing and coating of surfaces and injection of plastic components for the car, perfume, sanitary and household electrical goods industries.

Public concern centres on the prospect that the above chromium coating unit will be using heavy metals such as chromium and nickel, which are highly polluting and pose a threat to public health and the environment, and the fact that the site is close to the River Vez and to social facilities used by children and elderly people.

The River Vez, a tributary of the River Lima, is included in the Natura 2000 network. Local people also state that the proposed factory has already been rejected in Galicia and the United Kingdom.

Bearing in mind that local environmentalists have already written to the Environment Commissioner, can the Commission state its position on the above matter?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(23 September 2003)

The proposed factory in question has been the subject of several requests for information and complaints received by the Commission (reference Nos 2003/4425, 2003/4557 and 2003/4558).

According to the information contained in the complaints, the project appears to be covered by Annex II, point 4(e) to Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985, on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (1), amended by Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 (2), which mentions ‘installations for surface treatment of metals and plastic materials using an electrolytic or chemical process’. Under Article 4(2) of the said Directive, Member States determine, through a case-by-case examination or on the basis of thresholds or criteria set by the Member State concerned, whether the project should be made subject to an assessment in accordance with Articles 5 to 10. The selection criteria for case-by-case examinations or setting the said thresholds or criteria are listed in Annex III to the Directive and include densely populated areas and areas protected under Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds (3) and 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (4).

According to the information contained in the complaints, the project appears likely to affect a site of Community importance proposed by Portugal under Article 4 of Directive 92/43/EEC — the Rio Lima site. Article 6(3) of this Directive provides that Any plan or project not directly connected with or necessary to the management of the site but likely to have a significant effect thereon, either individually or in combination with other plans or projects, shall be subject to appropriate assessment of its implications for the site in view of the site's conservation objectives'.

In addition, it appears that the project could be covered by point 2.6 of Annex I to Council Directive 96/61/EC of 24 September 1996 on integrated pollution prevention and control (5), which mentions ‘installations for surface treatment of metals and plastic materials using an electrolytic or chemical process where the volume of the treatment vats exceeds 30 m3’. As stated in Article 1, this Directive ‘lays down measures designed to prevent or, where that is not practicable, to reduce emissions in the air, water and land from the abovementioned activities, including measures concerning waste, in order to achieve a high level of protection of the environment taken as a whole, without prejudice to Directive 85/337/EEC and other relevant Community provisions’.

Consequently, having examined this information, the Commission decided it must draw the Portuguese authorities' attention to the proposed factory in question and request certain clarifications, in particular whether an appropriate environmental impact assessment has been carried out and whether the preventive measures specified in the said provisions have been taken.

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(1)OJ L 175, 5.7.1985.

(2)OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.

(3)OJ L 103, 25.4.1979.

(4)OJ L 206, 22.7.1992.

(5)OJ L 257, 10.10.1996.

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