COMMON POSITION (EC) No 20/94 adopted by the Council on 8 June 1994 with a view to adopting Directive . . . of the European Parliament and of the Council of . . . amending Council Directive 86/662/EEC on the limitation of noise emitted by hydraulic excavators, rope-operated excavators, dozers, loaders and excavator-loaders (94/C 213/02)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof,

Having regard to the proposal of the Commission (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (2),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189b of the Treaty (3),

Whereas with a view to the establishment and the functioning of the internal market, requirements for noise emissions of hydraulic excavators, rope-operated excavators, dozers, loaders and excavator-loaders, hereinafter referred to as 'earth-moving machines' have to be harmonized, while a high level of protection for the environment has to be achieved without creating obstacles to the free movement of earthmoving machines;

Whereas Directive 86/662/EEC (4) provides for the EC type-examination of earth-moving machines, used to perform work on civil engineering and building sites, and whereas this same Directive also lays down limits for noise levels and a test method;

Whereas earthmoving machines above 500 kW are predominantly used in quarries and mines and whereas it is therefore deemed appropriate to exclude these machines from the scope of the Directive;

Whereas Directive 86/662/EEC does not provide for permissible sound levels applicable in the period beginning six years after its entry into force, but envisages that after 1994 revised permissible sound levels shall be so determined that their effect on the environment is reduced by approximately 3 dB according to the category of power and type of machine;

Whereas the extension of the validity of Article 3 (1) (a) of Directive 86/662/EEC up to 29 December 1996 and the certificates granted according to it up to 29 December 1997 ensure that the industry has sufficient time to prepare itself to the new permissible sound-power levels;

Whereas the reduction of the permissible noise levels, to be achieved at stage 1, corresponds to approximately 4 dB compared to existing standards and is aimed at achieving a high level of protection as far as health and environmental protection are concerned;

Whereas, as technology is evolving and in order to give the appropriate signals to the industries concerned, further reductions of the admissible noise levels have to be laid down for a second stage, subject, however, to reconsideration where necessary taking into account the progress made;

Whereas the revised test method to be applied after 29 December 1996 has been established according to Directive 86/662/EEC,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE;

Article 1

Directive 86/662/EEC is hereby amended as follows:

1. In Article 1 (1), the full stop at the end shall be changed to a comma and the following shall be added: '. . . as long as their installed power is below 500 kW.'

2. Article 3 shall be replaced by the following:

'Article 3

1. The approved bodies shall issue an EC type-examination certificate for every type of earth-moving machine referred to in Article 1 (1):

(a) up to and including 29 December 1996, where the sound-power level of airborne noise emitted in the environment measured under the conditions of stationary operation set out in Annex I to Directive 79/113/EEC, as amended by Directive 81/1051/EEC and supplemented by Annex I to this Directive, does not exceed the permissible level LWA in dB(A)/1 pW specified with reference to the net installed power P in kW in the following table:

>TABLE>

(b) as from 30 December 1996 and up to and including 29 December 2001, where the sound-power level of airborne noise emitted in the environment measured under the conditions of real dynamic operation set out in Annex I to Directive 79/113/EEC, as amended by Directive 81/1051/EEC and supplemented by Annex II to this Directive, does not exceed the permissible sound-power level LWA in dB(A)/1 pW specified with reference to the net installed power in kW (5) as follows:

(i) tracked machines, (except excavators):LWA = 87 + 11 log P;

(ii) wheeled dozers, loaders, excavator-loaders:LWA = 85 + 11 log P;

(iii) excavators:LWA = 83 + 11 log P;

These formulae are only valid for values greater than the lowest sound-power levels for the three types of machine shown in the table below. These lowest sound-power levels correspond to the lowest values of net installed power for each type of machine. For net installed powers below these values, the permissible sound-power levels are given by the lowest level shown in the table (see Annex VII).

>TABLE>

(c) as from 30 December 2001, where the sound power level of airborne noise emitted in the environment measured under the conditions of real dynamic operation set out in Annex I of Directive 79/113/EEC, as amended by Directive 81/1051/EEC and supplemented by Annex II to this Directive, does not exceed the permissible sound power level LWA in dB(A)/1 pW specified with reference to the net installed power P in kW (6) as follows:

(i) tracked machines, (except excavators):LWA = 84 + 11 log P;

(ii) wheeled dozers, loaders, excavator-loaders:LWA = 82 + 11 log P;

(iii) excavators:LWA = 80 + 11 log P;

These formulae are only valid for values greater than the lowest sound power levels for the three types of machine shown in the table below. These lowest sound-power levels correspond to the lowest values of net installed power for each type of machine. For net installed powers below these values, the permissible sound power levels are given by the lowest level shown in the table (see Annex VII).

>TABLE>

2. Up to 29 December 1996, EC type-examination certificates may also be issued under the conditions laid down in Article 3 (1) (b).

3. All applications for an EC type-examination certificate in respect of the permissible sound-power levels of a type of earth-moving machine shall be accompanied by an information document conforming to the model shown in Annex IV.

4. For each type of earth-moving machine it certifies, the approved body shall complete all the sections of the type-examination certificate conforming to the model given in Annex III to the framework Directive.

5. EC type-examination certificates granted in accordance with Article 3 (1) (a) shall cease to be valid after 29 December 1997.

The period of validity of EC type-examination certificates granted in accordance with paragraphs (1) (b) and (1) (c) shall be limited to five years. This may be extended by five years provided that application is made no sooner than 12 months before the expiry of the first five-year period and that the EC type-examination certificates were issued for earth-moving machines which comply with the permissible sound-power levels applicable when the extension enters into force. However, certificates granted in accordance with the provisions on sound-power levels in paragraph (1) (b) shall cease to be valid only after 29 December 2002.

6. For every earth-moving machine built in conformity with the type certified by EC type-examination, the manufacturer shall complete a certificate of conformity conforming to the model given in Annex IV to the framework Directive and shall indicate thereon the net installed power and the corresponding swivel system.

7. Each earth-moving machine built in accordance with the type certified by EC type-examination shall bear a clear and permanent mark indicating the

- sound-power level in dB(A) in relation to 1 pW,

- sound-pressure level in dB(A) in relation to 20 µPa at the operator's position,

guaranteed by the manufacturer and determined as laid down in Annex I to Directive 79/113/EEC, as amended by Directive 81/1051/EEC and supplemented by Annex I or II and III to this Directive, together with the symbol "å" (epsilon). The model for these marks is given in Annex V to this Directive.'

3. In Article 5 the full stop at the end shall be changed to a comma and the following shall be added:

'. . . including the possibility of restricting the working hours of earth-moving machines.'

4. Article 7 shall be deleted.

5. Article 8 shall be replaced by the following:

'Article 8

The amendments necessary to adapt the requirements of the Annexes to this Directive to technical progress shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 5 of Directive 79/113/EEC, as amended by Directive 81/1051/EEC.'

6. Article 9 shall be replaced by the following:

'Article 9

No later than 1 January 2000, the Commission may submit to the Council a proposal for revision of the limit values and the date laid down in Article 3 (1) (c).

Such a proposal must be based on a report on progress made in the technologies taken into consideration when laying down the limit values and date.'

7. The following Annex shall be added:

'ANNEX VII

DIAGRAMMATIC SKETCH OF THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE (3) (1) (b) and (c) RELATING TO THE PERMISSIBLE SOUND-POWER LEVEL AS A FUNCTION OF THE NET INSTALLED POWER

>REFERENCE TO A GRAPHIC>

Article 2

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive no later than 29 December 1994.

When Member States adopt these measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by Member States.

2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of the main provisions of domestic law which they adopt in the field governed by this Directive.

Article 3

This Directive shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Article 4

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at . . .

For the European Parliament

The President

For the Council

The President

(1) OJ No C 157, 9. 6. 1993, p. 7.

(2) OJ No C 304, 10. 11. 1993, p. 32.

(3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 2 December 1993. (OJ No C 342, 20. 12. 1993, p. 15). Council Common Position of . . . (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Decision of the European Parliament of . . . (not yet published in the Official Journal).

(4) OJ No L 384, 31. 12. 1986, p. 2. Directive as amended by Commission Directive 89/514/EEC (OJ No L 253, 30. 8. 1989, p. 35).

(5) As defined in Section 6.2.1 of Annex I (the value of installed power shall be founded to the nearest whole kW).

STATEMENT OF THE COUNCIL'S REASONS

I. Introduction

1. On 12 May 1993 the Commission submitted to the Council a proposal for a Directive amending Directive 86/662/EEC on the limitation of noise emitted by hydraulic excavators, rope-operated excavators, dozers, loaders and excavator-loaders, based on Article 100a of the Treaty. (1).

2. The European Parliament delivered its first-reading opinion on 14 July 1994 without proposing any amendments (2) and the Economic and Social Committee delivered its opinion on 22 September 1993 (3).

3. On 8 June 1994 the Council adopted its common position in accordance with Article 189b of the Treaty

II. Objective

In response to Article 3 (1) (b) and Article 7 of Directive 86/662/EEC, the proposal's main purpose is to introduce more stringent values for the permissible sound power levels of earth-moving machinery in two stages, using a new method of measurement.

III. Analysis of the common position

(References below are to the text of the common position)

Council amendments to the Commission proposal

The main amendments made by the Council to the Commission proposal concern:

(a) Exclusion from the scope of earth-moving machinery with an installed power in excess of 500 kW (Article 1 (1))

Article 1 of Directive 86/662/EEC sets out to cover earth-moving machinery used to perform work on civil-engineering and building sites. However, realizing that earth-moving machinery with an installed power in excess of 500 kW is used chiefly in quarries and mines, the Council thought it advisable to exclude this from the Directive's scope.

(b) Noise levels and the start of the successive implementation stages (Article 1 (2))

While acknowledging the need for a further reduction in the noise emitted by earth-moving machinery, the Council nevertheless felt that the Commission proposal called for a very considerable effort by producers.

In order to allow the industry the necessary time to adjust to the new permissible sound power levels, the Council made the proposal somewhat more flexible as follows:

- firstly, by extending the validity of Article 3 (1) (a) of Directive 86/662/EEC until 29 December 1996 (instead of 29 December 1995) and that of the certificates issued under it until 29 December 1997 (instead of 29 December 1996),

- secondly, by means of a one-year extension of the second stage (five years instead of four years),

- lastly, by means of a one-decibel increase in the noise emissions applicable to wheeled dozers, loaders and excavator-loaders for their second and third stages (to 85 and 86 respectively).

(c) Economic instruments

The Council preferred not to include the provision proposed by the Commission giving Member States the option of introducing tax incentives for the establishment of more stringent noise levels since, besides the aim of ensuring a high level of environmental protection, it was necessary not to create barriers within the market.

(d) Noise level observed at the operator's position in machinery

The Council took the view that Article 4 of Directives 86/662/EEC was a provision customarily included in Directives on work equipment and did not see fit to delete it.

(e) Committee procedure

(Article 1 (5))

In the interests of consistency with existing Directives on the subject, the Council thought it advisible to keep to a type-III(b) committee instead of the advisory committee proposed by the Commission.

(1) OJ No C 157, 9. 6. 1993, p. 7.

(2) OJ No C 255, 20. 9. 1993, p. 70.

(3) OJ No C 304, 10. 11. 1993, p. 32.