Proposal for a Council Directive establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy (97/C 184/02) COM(97) 49 final - 97/0067 (SYN)

(Submitted by the Commission on 15 April 1997)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 130s (1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee,

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189c of the Treaty, in cooperation with the European Parliament,

(1) Whereas the supply of water is a service of general interest as defined in the Commission communication on services of general interest in Europe (COM(96) 443) (1);

(2) Whereas this Directive aims at maintaining and improving the aquatic environment in the Community; whereas this objective is primarily concerned with the quality of the waters concerned; whereas control of quantity is one element in securing good water quality and therefore measures on quantity, serving the objective of ensuring good quality, should be established;

(3) Whereas waters in the Community are under increasing pressure from the continuous growth in demand for sufficient quantities of good quality water for all purposes; whereas on 10 November 1995, the European Environment Agency (2) presented an updated state of the environment report, confirming the need for action to protect Community waters in qualitative as well as in quantitative terms;

(4) Whereas the conclusions of the Community Water Policy Ministerial Seminar in Frankfurt in 1988 highlighted the need for Community legislation covering ecological quality; whereas the Council in its resolution of 28 June 1988 (3) asked the Commission to submit proposals to improve ecological quality in Community surface waters;

(5) Whereas the declaration of the Ministerial Seminar on groundwater held at the Hague in 1991 recognized the need for action to avoid long-term deterioration of fresh-water quality and quantity and called for a programme of actions to be implemented by the year 2000 aiming at sustainable management and protection of fresh-water resources; whereas in its resolutions of 25 February 1992 (4) and 20 February 1995 (5), the Council requested an action programme for groundwater and a revision of Council Directive 80/68/EEC of 17 December 1979 on the protection of groundwater against pollution caused by certain dangerous substances (6), as part of an overall policy on fresh-water protection;

(6) Whereas on 21 February 1996 the Commission adopted a communication to the European Parliament and the Council on 'European Community water policy` setting out the principles for a Community water policy (7);

(7) Whereas the Commission presented on 9 September 1996 a proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision on an action programme for integrated protection and management of groundwater (8); whereas that programme pointed to the need to establish procedures for the regulation of abstraction of fresh water and for the monitoring of fresh-water quality and quantity;

(8) Whereas the Council on 25 June 1996, the Committee of the Regions on 19 September 1996, the Economic and Social Committee on 26 September 1996, and the European Parliament on 23 October 1996 all requested the Commission to come forward with a proposal for a Council Directive establishing a framework for European water policy;

(9) Whereas the Convention on the protection and use of transboundary water courses and international lakes calls for the management of river basins, whereas that Convention was approved by Council Decision 95/308/EC (9);

(10) Whereas surface waters and groundwaters are in principle renewable natural sources; whereas, in particular, the task of ensuring a good status of groundwater requires early action and stable long-term planning of protective measures, owing to the natural time-lag in its formation and renewal; whereas such time-lag for improvement must be taken into account in timetables when establishing measures for the achievement of a good status of groundwater;

(11) Whereas Community water policy requires a transparent, effective and coherent legislative framework; whereas the Community should provide common principles and the overall framework for action; whereas this Directive will provide for such a framework and coordinate and integrate, and, in a longer perspective, further develop the overall principles and structures for sustainable use of water in the Community in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity;

(12) Whereas the objectives and the principles of the Community's environmental policy, as set out in Article 130r of the Treaty, consist in particular in preventing, reducing and as far as possible eliminating pollution by giving priority to intervention at source and ensuring prudent management of natural resources, in compliance with the 'polluter-pays` principle and the principle of pollution prevention;

(13) Whereas, pursuant to Article 130r of the Treaty, in preparing its policy on the environment the Community is to take account of the economic and social development of the Community as a whole and the balanced development of its regions;

(14) Whereas Member States sharing the same river-basin or groundwater aquifers should ensure joint long-term planning of water resources based on forecasts of supply and demand, so as to establish long-term strategic objectives for water reserves and priorities for their use;

(15) Whereas there are diverse conditions and needs in the Community which require different specific solutions; whereas this diversity must be taken into account in the planning and execution of measures to ensure sustainable protection and use of water; whereas decisions should be taken as close as possible to the locations where water is used or affected; whereas priority should be given to action within the responsibility of Member States through the drawing up of specific programmes of measures adjusted to regional and local conditions;

(16) Whereas the success of this Directive relies upon close cooperation and coherent action at Community, Member States and local level as well as on information, consultation and involvement of management and labour, and individual citizens;

(17) Whereas, with regard to pollution prevention and control, Community water policy should be based on a combined approach using control of pollution at source through the setting of emission limit values and of environmental quality standards; whereas, for water quantity, overall principles should be laid down for control on abstraction in order to ensure the long-term availability of sufficient amounts of good quality fresh water;

(18) Whereas common environmental quality-standards for certain groups or families of substances should be laid down in Community legislation; whereas provisions for the adoption of such standards at Community level should be ensured;

(19) Whereas common principles are needed in order to coordinate Member States' efforts to improve water quantity and quality, to promote sustainable water consumption, to contribute to the control of transboundary pollution problems, to protect ecosystems, in particular aquatic ecosystems, and to safeguard the recreational potential of Community waters;

(20) Whereas common definitions of the status of water in terms of quality and quantity should be established; whereas environmental objectives should be set to ensure that good status of surface water and groundwater is achieved at Community level;

(21) Whereas Member States should meet the objective of at least a good water status by defining and implementing the necessary measures within integrated programmes of measures, taking into account existing Community requirements; whereas, where a good water status already exists, it should be maintained;

(22) Whereas the objective of achieving at least a good status of waters should be pursued within the river basin, thus ensuring an administrative structure which ensures that waters belonging to the same ecological and hydrogeological system are managed as a whole whether such waters are present as groundwater or surface water;

(23) Whereas there is a need to prevent or reduce the impact of incidents in which water is accidentally polluted; whereas common principles should be established aiming at coordinating Member States' efforts and at increasing transboundary cooperation in this field;

(24) Whereas there is a need for a greater integration of qualitative and quantitative aspects of protection and management of both surface waters and groundwaters within one administrative structure, taking into account the natural flow of water within the hydrogeological cycle;

(25) Whereas it is necessary to determine within the river basin existing levels of water pollution and to draw up inventories of water use, including the various sources of pollution, demand for water and other man-made impacts on water status;

(26) Whereas Member States should designate waters used for the abstraction of drinking water and establish environmental standards to permit compliance with Council Directive 80/778/EEC of 15 July 1980 relating to the quality of water intended for human consumption (10);

(27) Whereas, to ensure the participation of the general public and of individual users of water, it is necessary to provide proper information of planned measures and to report on progress with their implementation with a view to their involvement before final decisions on the necessary measures are adopted;

(28) Whereas, within a river basin where use of water may have transboundary effects, concerted action should be ensured across frontiers; whereas this Directive will contribute to the implementation of Community obligations under international conventions on water protection and management, notably the United Nations Convention on the protection and use of transboundary water courses and international lakes;

(29) Whereas further integration of sustainable water management into other Community policy areas and, in particular, into agriculture policy, regional policy and fisheries policy is necessary; whereas this Directive will provide a basis for a continued dialogue and for the development of strategies towards a further integration of policy areas; whereas this Directive will therefore bring an important contribution to implementing the main principles and objectives of the European spatial development perspective (ESDP);

(30) Whereas, in cases where, because of natural conditions, for historical reasons or because of pollution from third countries, it may be difficult or impossible to achieve a good status, appropriate procedures should be established to prevent any deterioration of the status of waters;

(31) Whereas the development in water status should be monitored on a systematic and comparable basis throughout the Community in order to provide a sound basis for the choice of measures to ensure a sustainable use of water; whereas the European Environment Agency and the Commission, working in close cooperation, will monitor and report on developments in the state of the environment;

(32) Whereas the use of economic instruments may be appropriate as part of a programme of measures; whereas under the polluter-pays principle any damage or negative impact on the aquatic environment caused by pollutants, abstraction and other use of water should be taken into account; whereas costs of water use should be fully recovered from the water user;

(33) Whereas full implementation and enforcement of existing environmental legislation for the protection of waters should be ensured; whereas it is necessary to ensure the proper application of the provisions implementing this Directive throughout the Community; whereas appropriate sanctions should be ensured in Member States' legislation;

(34) Whereas a new committee with horizontal responsibilities in the area of Community water policy should be set up to assist the Commission in matters relating to the implementation of this Directive; whereas this Directive will provide mechanisms to address obstacles to progress in improving water status when these fall outside the scope of Community water legislation, with a view to developing appropriate Community strategies for overcoming them;

(35) Whereas the Commission should present annually an updated plan for possible future initiatives which it is planning or considering for the water sector;

(36) Whereas technical specifications should be laid down to ensure a coherent approach in the Community as part of this Directive; whereas adaptation of the Annexes of this Directive to technical development and the standardization of the monitoring, sampling and analysis methods should be adopted by committee procedure;

(37) Whereas the implementation of programmes of measures for river basins under this Directive will achieve a level of protection of waters at least equivalent to that provided for in:

- Council Directive 75/440/EEC of 16 June 1975 concerning the quality required of surface water intended for the abstraction of drinking water in the Member States (11),

- Council Decision 77/795/EEC of 12 December 1977 establishing a common procedure for the exchange of information on the quality of surface fresh water in the Community (12),

- Directive 78/659/EEC of 18 July 1978 on the quality of fresh waters needing protection or improvement in order to support fish life (13),

- Directive 79/869/EEC of 9 October 1979 concerning the methods of measurement and frequencies of sampling and analysis of surface water intended for the abstraction of drinking waters in the Member States (14),

- Directive 79/923/EEC of 30 October 1979 on the quality required of shellfish waters (15),

- Directive 80/68/EEC, as well as

- the proposed Directive on the ecological quality of water (16);

whereas those Directives should therefore be repealed, and the proposed Directive withdrawn, once the relevant provisions of this Directive have been fully implemented,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1 Purpose

The overall purpose of this Directive is to establish, for the protection of surface fresh water, estuaries, coastal waters and groundwater in the Community, a framework which:

(a) prevents further deterioration and protects and enhances the status of aquatic ecosystems and, with regard to their water needs, terrestrial ecosystems; and

(b) promotes sustainable water consumption based on long-term protection of available water resources;

and thereby contributes to the provision of a supply of water of the qualities and in the quantities needed for sustainable use of these resources.

Article 2 Definitions

For the purposes of this Directive and, unless otherwise defined in Community legislation, for all Community legislation concerning water, the following definitions shall apply:

1. 'surface water` means surface fresh waters, estuaries and coastal waters;

2. 'groundwater` means all water which is below the surface of the ground in the saturation zone and in direct contact with the ground or subsoil;

3. 'surface fresh water` means all static or flowing water on the surface of the land upstream of the fresh water limit;

4. 'coastal water` means water on the landward side of a line every point of which is at a distance of one nautical mile on the seaward side from the nearest point of the baseline from which the breadth of territorial waters is measured, extending where appropriate in the case of watercourses, up to the outer limit of the estuary;

5. 'estuary` means the transitional area at the mouth of a river between surface fresh water and coastal waters. The outer (seaward) limits of estuaries shall be defined, as necessary, by Member States. The inner (upstream) limit shall be the fresh water limit;

6. 'fresh water limit` means the place in the watercourse where, at low tide and in a period of low fresh water flow, there is an appreciable increase in salinity due to the presence of sea water;

7. 'body of water` means a discrete and homogeneous element of surface water or groundwater such as an aquifer, a lake, a reservoir, a stretch of stream, river or canal, an estuary or a stretch of coastal water;

8. 'significant body of water` for the purpose of Article 8 shall mean all waters intended for the production of drinking water from an individual source serving more than 15 households;

9. 'river basin` means the area of land from which all surface run-off flows through a sequence of streams, rivers and, possibly, lakes into the sea at a single river mouth, estuary or delta;

10. 'sub-basin` means the area of land from which all surface run-off flows through a series of streams, rivers and, possibly, lakes to a particular point in a water course (normally a lake or a river confluence);

11. 'river basin district` means the administrative area of land and sea, made up of one or more neighbouring river basins together with their associated groundwaters and coastal waters, which is established under Article 3 (1) as the main unit for river basin management;

12. 'competent authority` means a competent authority established under Article 3 (2) or 3 (3) to be responsible inter alia for applying the rules of this Directive within a particular river basin district;

13. 'surface water status` is the general expression of the status of a body of surface water, determined by the poorer of its ecological status and its chemical status;

14. 'good surface water status` means the status achieved by a surface water body when both its ecological status and its chemical status are at least 'good`.

Good surface water status is the environmental objective for surface waters established in point (a) of Article 4 (1);

15. 'groundwater status` is the general expression of the status of a body of groundwater, determined by the poorer of its quantitative status and its chemical status;

16. 'good groundwater status` means the status achieved by a groundwater body when both its quantitative status and its chemical status are at least 'good`.

Good groundwater status is the environmental objective for groundwaters established in point (b) of Article 4 (1);

17. 'ecological status` is an expression of the quality of the structure and functioning of aquatic ecosystems associated with surface waters. It takes into account the physico-chemical nature of the water and sediment, the flow characteristics of the water and the physical structure of the water body, but it concentrates on the condition of the biological elements of the ecosystem;

18. 'natural ecological status` means the theoretical ecological status which would be achieved by a body of surface water in the absence of human activity;

19. 'high ecological status` means the ecological status achieved by a body of surface water which is demonstrated not to be significantly influenced by human activity;

20. 'good ecological status` means the ecological status achieved by a body of surface water which is demonstrated to be significantly influenced by human activity, but which nevertheless has a rich, balanced and sustainable ecosystem.

Good ecological status is the ecological status required to meet the environmental objectives for surface waters established in point (a) of Article 4 (1);

21. 'chemical status` is an expression of the degree to which a body of water is polluted;

22. 'high chemical status` means the chemical status achieved by a body of water in which none of the substances listed in Annex VIII are present in levels in excess of natural background levels;

23. 'good chemical status` means the chemical status achieved by a body of water in which concentrations of the substances from Annex VIII do not exceed the environmental quality standards established in Annex X and other relevant Community legislation setting environmental quality standards and in which the trends in the monitoring data do not suggest that such environmental quality standards will be exceeded in the future.

Good chemical status is the chemical status required to meet the environmental objectives for surface waters and groundwaters established in points (a) and (b) of Article 4 (1);

24. 'quantitative status` is an expression of the degree to which a body of groundwater is permanently depleted by direct and indirect abstractions and alterations to its natural rate of recharge;

25. 'high quantitative status` means the quantitative status achieved by a body of groundwater in which abstractions and alterations to the natural rate of recharge have a negligible impact on the nature of the aquifer;

26. 'good quantitative status` means the quantitative status achieved by a body of groundwater in which abstractions and alterations to the natural rate of recharge are sustainable in the long term without leading to loss of ecological quality in associated surface waters or damage to associated terrestrial ecosystems.

Good quantitative status is the quantitative status required to meet the environmental objectives for groundwaters established in point (b) of Article 4 (1);

27. 'pollutant` means substances and groups of substances listed in Annex VIII;

28. 'pollution` means the direct or indirect introduction, as a result of human activity, of substances, vibrations, heat or noise into the air, water or land which may be harmful to human health or the quality of the environment, which result in damage to material property, or which impair or interfere with amenities and other legitimate uses of the environment;

29. 'environmental objectives` means the objectives set out in Article 4.

Those environmental objectives shall be regarded as 'environmental quality standards` for the purposes of point 7 of Article 2 and Article 10 of Council Directive 96/61/EC (17);

30. 'environmental quality standard` means the concentration of a particular pollutant or group of pollutants in water, sediment or biota which should not be exceeded in order to protect human health and the environment.

For the purposes of this Directive, environmental quality standards are established at a Community level in Annex X. In addition, environmental quality standards shall be established by Member States under Article 8 (2) in respect of waters used for the abstraction of drinking water. The environmental quality standards in Annex X and those adopted under Article 8 (2) shall also be regarded as environmental quality standards for the purposes of point 7 of Article 2 and Article 10 of Directive 96/61/EC;

31. 'water intended for human consumption` means water covered by the provisions of Directive 80/778/EEC;

32. 'use` of water means:

(a) abstraction, distribution and consumption of surface water or groundwater;

(b) emission of pollutants into surface water and waste water collection and treatment facilities which subsequently discharge into surface water;

(c) any other application of surface water or groundwater having the potential of a significant impact on the status of water;

33. 'full cost recovery` means that the following cost elements of any service provided in relation to water use are paid by the user through prices or charges:

- operation and maintenance costs,

- capital maintenance cost,

- capital costs (principal and interest payments), and

- reserves for future improvements and extensions;

34. 'domestic use` means individual household water use, excluding use for commercial activity;

35. 'basic level of use` means the amount of water used by the individual person for basic needs. This amount shall be calculated taking into consideration the minimum amount required for human health and hygiene. At all stages, water consumption by domestic machinery should be calculated on the basis of best available techniques.

Article 3 Coordination of measures within river basin districts

1. Member States shall identify the individual river basins lying within their national territory and, for the purposes of this Directive, shall assign them to individual river basin districts. Small river basins may be combined with larger river basins or joined with neighbouring small basins to form individual river basin districts where appropriate. Where groundwaters do not fully follow a particular river basin, they shall be assigned to the nearest or most appropriate river basin district. Coastal waters shall be assigned to the nearest or most appropriate river basin district.

2. Member States shall ensure that appropriate administrative arrangements, including the designation of appropriate competent authorities, are established to ensure that the application of the rules of this Directive is coordinated and overseen within each river basin district.

3. Where a river basin covers the territory of more than one Member State, the Member States concerned shall jointly establish an international river basin district. At the request of one or more of the Member States involved, the Commission shall act as an independent mediator to facilitate the establishment of such international river basin districts.

Member States shall jointly ensure that appropriate administrative arrangements, including the designation of appropriate competent authorities, are established to ensure that the application of the rules of this Directive is coordinated and overseen within such international river basin districts.

4. Where a river basin extends beyond the territory of the Community, the relevant river basin district and competent authorities should be jointly established with the relevant non-Member States.

5. Member States may designate existing national or international bodies as competent authorities for the purposes of this Directive. In such cases, they shall ensure that the resulting competent authorities have the powers and authority needed to meet the obligations imposed by this Directive.

6. Member States shall designate the competent authorities by 31 December 1999.

7. Member States shall provide the Commission with a list of their competent authorities and of the competent authorities of all the international bodies in which they participate by 30 June 2000. For each competent authority the information set out in Annex I shall be provided.

8. Member States shall inform the Commission of any changes to the information provided according to paragraph 7 within three months of the change coming into effect.

Article 4 Environmental objectives

1. Member States shall draw up and make operational within a comprehensive river basin management plan the programmes of measures envisaged as necessary, in order to:

(a) prevent deterioration of ecological quality and pollution of surface waters and restore polluted surface waters, in order to achieve good surface water status in all surface waters by 31 December 2010;

(b) prevent deterioration of groundwater quality, restore polluted groundwater, and ensure a balance between abstraction and recharge of groundwater, in order to achieve good groundwater status in all groundwaters by 31 December 2010; and

(c) comply with all standards and objectives relating to protected areas by 31 December 2010, unless otherwise specified in the Community, national or local legislation under which the individual protected areas have been established.

2. If the objectives established under point (c) of paragraph 1 are incompatible with those established under points (a) or (b) thereof, the objectives established under point (c) shall take priority.

3. The deadlines established under points (a) and (b) of paragraph 1 may be extended for specific bodies of water when all the following conditions are met:

(a) natural conditions do not allow rapid improvements in the status of the body of water;

(b) all the measures required under Article 13 to bring the body of water to the required standard by the extended deadline have been established and made operational by 31 December 2007; and

(c) the extension of the deadline, and the reasons for it, are specifically mentioned in the river basin management plan required under Article 16.

4. Less stringent environmental objectives than those required under points (a) and (b) of paragraph 1 of a limited area may be established for specific bodies of water when all the following conditions are met:

(a) the body of water is severely affected by human activity and improvements in status are proven to be impossible or prohibitively expensive;

(b) the environmental objectives are established so as to ensure no further deterioration in status in order not to compromise the achievement of the objectives of this Directive in other bodies of water within the same river basin district;

(c) the establishment of less stringent environmental objectives, and the reasons for it, are specifically mentioned in the river basin management plan required under Article 16;

(d) such less stringent objectives are established in a way which does not undermine the implementation of existing Community environmental legislation.

Article 5 Characteristics of the river basin district

1. Member States shall ensure that an analysis of the characteristics of each river basin district is undertaken and that it is completed by 31 December 2001. Such analyses shall cover the following elements:

(a) the geographical and geological characteristics of the river basin district;

(b) the hydrographical characteristics of the river basin district;

(c) the demographic characteristic of the river basin district; and

(d) land use and economic activity within the river basin district.

In order to ensure that the maximum use can be made of all available information and to avoid duplication of data collection, cooperation shall be ensured with statistical authorities at national and Community level.

2. The technical specifications of Annex II shall, for the purpose of the analysis, be adopted by the Commission by 31 December 1999 at the latest, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 25. The technical specifications shall replace the current Annex II.

3. The analyses shall be reviewed, and if necessary updated by 31 December 2007 and every six years thereafter.

Article 6 Review of the environmental impact of human activity

1. Member States shall ensure that, for each river basin district, a review of the impact of human activity on the status of surface waters and on groundwater is undertaken and that it is completed by 31 December 2001. Such reviews shall cover the following elements:

(a) estimations of point source pollution;

(b) estimations of diffuse source pollution;

(c) estimations of water abstractions; and

(d) an analysis of other anthropogenic influences on the status of water.

2. The technical specifications of Annex III shall, for the purpose of the review, be adopted by the Commission by 31 December 1999 at the latest, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 25. The technical specifications shall replace the current Annex III.

3. The review shall be updated by 31 December 2007 and every six years thereafter.

Article 7 Economic analysis of water use within the river basin district

1. Member States shall ensure that, for each river basin district, an economic analysis of water use is undertaken in order, inter alia, to provide the basic information for the purposes of Article 12, and that it is completed by 31 December 2001. Such analyses shall cover the following:

(a) the abstraction and distribution of fresh water;

(b) the collection and discharge of waste water;

(c) the volumes, prices and costs (including environmental and resource costs and benefits) associated with points (a) and (b);

(d) the breakdown of the data collected under points (a), (b) and (c) according to different sectors of the economic activity, broken down at least into households, industry and agriculture;

(e) long-term forecasts of supply and demand;

(f) estimates of investments in infrastructure by the public and private sectors; and

(g) the historical trends in the data collected under points (a) to (f), including seasonal data where relevant, and future projections under a number of price and investment scenarios, covering, at least, the previous six years and projections for the following 12 years.

2. The technical specifications of Annex II shall, for the purpose of the analysis, be adopted by the Commission by 31 December 1999 at the latest, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 25. The technical specifications shall replace the current Annex II.

3. The economic analyses shall be updated 31 December 2007 and every six years thereafter.

Article 8 Waters used for the abstraction of drinking water

1. Member States shall carry out, within each river basin district, the identification of all significant bodies of water which are used for the abstraction of water intended for human consumption or which may in the future be used for the abstraction of such water.

2. For each body of water identified under paragraph 1, Member States shall ensure the establishment of environmental quality standards designed to ensure that, under the anticipated water treatment regime, and in accordance with Community legislation, the resulting water will meet the requirements of Directive 80/778/EEC.

Article 9 Register of protected areas

1. Member States shall ensure the establishment of a register of all areas lying within each river basin district which have been designated as requiring special protection under specific Community, national or local legislation for the protection of their surface water and groundwater or for the conservation of habitats and species. They shall ensure that the register is completed by 31 December 2001.

2. The register shall include all areas designated under Article 8 (1) and all protected areas listed in Annex IV.

3. Within each river basin district, the register of protected areas shall be kept under review and up to date.

Article 10 Monitoring of surface water status and groundwater status

1. Member States shall ensure the establishment of programmes for the monitoring of water status in order to establish a coherent and comprehensive overview of water status within each river basin district. For surface waters such programmes shall cover monitoring of the ecological and chemical status. For groundwaters such programmes shall cover monitoring of the chemical and quantitative status. These programmes shall be operational by 31 December 2001. Such monitoring shall cover the elements listed in Annex V.

2. The technical specifications of Annex V for this purpose shall be adopted by the Commission by 31 December 1999 at the latest, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 25. The technical specifications shall replace the current Annex V.

Article 11 Monitoring of protected areas

1. Member States shall ensure the establishment of programmes for monitoring the status of their protected areas within each river basin district. These programmes shall be operational according to the timetable contained in Community, national or local legislation under which the individual protected areas have been established. Where there is no such timetable in force fixing a commencement date on, or earlier than, 1 January 2002, the monitoring programme shall be operational from that date.

2. The technical specifications shall, for the purpose of monitoring, be those contained in Community, national or local legislation under which the individual protected areas have been established. Where no such technical specifications for monitoring exist, Member States shall ensure that appropriate technical specifications are established.

Article 12 Charges for the use of water

1. By 2010, Member States shall ensure full cost recovery for all costs for services provided for water uses overall and by economic sectors, broken down at least into households, industry and agriculture.

2. Following the analysis required under Article 7 and Annex II of methods for calculating the environmental and resource costs and benefits of water use, the Commission shall, where appropriate, come forward with proposals to ensure that environmental and resource costs not covered under paragraph 1 are reflected in the price of water uses.

3. Without prejudice to the application of Articles 92, 93 and 94 of the Treaty, Member States may grant exemptions to the provisions of this Article for the following reasons:

(a) in order to allow a basic level of water use for domestic purposes at an affordable price;

(b) in order to allow capital costs subsidies for infrastructure projects where Community funding is provided under Articles 130a to 130e of the Treaty and which are designed to assist in the achievement of the environmental objectives set out under Article 4 of this Directive;

(c) in order to take account of a specific geographical or climatic situation of a region eligible for assistance pursuant to Objectives 1, 5b and 6 of the Structural Funds.

Exemptions shall be explained in detail in the river basin management plans required under Article 16, and a detailed explanation shall be sent to the Commission within six months of the entry into force of those exemptions.

4. Member States shall establish timetables for the full application of the provisions of this Article. Details of such timetables shall be included in the river basin management plans required under Article 16.

Article 13 Programme of measures

1. Member States shall ensure the establishment within each river basin district of a programme of measures designed to achieve the environmental objectives established under Article 4. A programme of measures shall be part of each river basin management plan in accordance with Article 16.

2. The programme of measures shall include 'basic measures` and, where necessary, in accordance with paragraph 4, 'supplementary measures`.

3. 'Basic measures` are compulsory elements of the programme of measures. They shall consist of:

(a) those measures required to implement Community, national or local legislation for the protection of water, including measures required under the Community legislation listed in Part A of Annex VI and, in particular, to give full effect to the provisions of Directive 96/61/EC in relation to those industries and activities described in Annex I to that Directive.

For basic measures covering emission of pollutants, a combined approach shall be applied, using control of pollution at source through the setting of emission limit values and the setting of environmental quality standards;

(b) measures required to implement the charges for water use required under Article 12;

(c) measures required to meet the environmental quality standards established under Article 8 (2) for waters intended for the abstraction of drinking water by the deadlines established under Article 4 (1);

(d) the following measures to apply to all bodies of water having a chemical status below 'good`:

(i) more intensive monitoring of the extent and nature of the pollution within the body of water;

(ii) investigation of the source of the pollution; and

(iii) immediate review of all relevant authorizations and discharge permits followed by action based upon the level of risk involved;

(e) controls over the abstraction of fresh surface water and groundwater, including a register of water abstractors and a requirement of prior authorization for abstraction except in areas where the Member State concerned has demonstrated, and reported to the Commission, that abstraction has no significant impact on water status and that the total level of abstraction amounts to a small proportion of the available resources;

(f) a requirement for prior authorization for all activities having a potentially adverse impact upon the status of water where such prior authorization is not otherwise provided for under other Community legislation; and

(g) a prohibition on the direct discharge into groundwater of the substances listed in Annex VIII.

4. 'Supplementary measures` are those measures designed and implemented in addition to the basic measures in order to achieve the objectives set out under Article 4. The programme of measures shall include whatever supplementary measures are considered necessary in order to achieve those objectives, notably in relation to sustainable water consumption. Part B of Annex VI contains a non-exclusive list of supplementary measures.

5. The programme of measures shall be established for each river basin district by 31 December 2004 and all the measures shall be made operational by 31 December 2007.

6. The programmes shall be reviewed, and if necessary updated by 31 December 2010 and every six years thereafter. Any new or revised measures established under an updated programme shall be made operational within three years of their establishment.

Article 14 Interim measures to combat pollution

1. If the monitoring programme under Article 10 identifies bodies of water where the chemical status has fallen below 'good` since the preparation of the most recent review of the programme of measures required under Article 13, Member States shall ensure that, according to the level of risk involved, the following additional interim measures are taken as soon as possible in advance of the next review of the programme of measures:

(a) more intensive monitoring of the extent and nature of the pollution within the body of water;

(b) investigation of the source of the pollution;

(c) immediate review of all relevant authorizations and discharge permits; and

(d) the identification of additional measures to be taken.

2. Member States shall ensure that appropriate measures are taken to consult interested parties on these additional interim measures, but they should not, as a result, unnecessarily delay their implementation.

Article 15 Issues which fall outside the competence of a competent authority

If a competent authority identifies an issue which has an impact on the management of its water but which falls outside its competence, it shall report the issue to the Member State and to the Commission and may make recommendations for the resolution of the issue. Possible reasons for the identification of such issues include the following factors:

(a) that the source of the problem lies outside the river basin district;

(b) that the issue can only be dealt with by measures or legislation at a national or Community level; or

(c) that the issue relates to other policy areas over which the competent authority has no control.

Article 16 River basin management plans

1. Member States shall ensure that within each river basin district a river basin management plan covering the whole of the river basin district is produced. The river basin management plan shall include the information detailed in Annex VII.

2. River basin management plans shall be published by 31 December 2004.

3. River basin management plans shall be reviewed and updated by 31 December 2010 and every six years thereafter.

Article 17 Public information and consultation

1. Member States shall ensure that for each river basin district draft copies of the river basin management plan are published and access granted at least one year before the beginning of the period to which the plan refers. Upon request access shall be given to background documents and information used for the development of the draft river basin management plan.

2. Interested parties shall have at least six months to comment in writing on those documents in order to allow active involvement and consultation.

3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall apply equally to updated river basin management plans.

Article 18 Planning by sub-basin, sector, issue or water type

1. River basin management plans may be supplemented by the production of more detailed programmes and management plans to deal with particular aspects of water management, including:

(a) programmes and management plans dealing with particular sub-basins within their river basin district;

(b) programmes and management plans dealing with particular sectors of the economy;

(c) programmes and management plans dealing with particular water issues; and

(d) programmes and management plans dealing with particular classes of water or particular ecosystems.

Reference to such planning activities shall be made in the river basin management plan.

2. Undertaking any of the planning activities shall not exempt Member States from any of their obligations under the rest of this Directive.

Article 19 Accidental pollution

In cooperation with other competent authorities, Member States shall ensure that action is taken to prevent or reduce the impact of accidental pollution incidents, including any required under Council Directive 82/501/EEC (18). Those measures shall, in particular, cover the risk of accidental pollution due to floods, extinguishing products or by-products from fires occurring in warehouses or plants, and leakage of pollutants during their transport or while in storage. Where appropriate, the measures taken shall include the following:

(a) hazard analyses and risk assessments of potential sources of accidental pollution;

(b) preventive measures;

(c) preparatory measures for responding to emergencies, including procedures for the rapid reporting of pollution incidents to downstream authorities and other interested parties, including water abstractors; and

(d) measures to restore the body of surface water or groundwater affected by incidents.

Article 20 Reporting and the exchange of information

Member States shall send copies of the following plans to the Commission and to the European Environment Agency within three months of their publication:

(a) all river basin management plans covering their national territory and published pursuant to Article 16;

(b) all draft river basin management plans covering their national territory and published pursuant to Article 17; and

(c) relevant programmes and plans covered by the terms of Article 18;

(d) for international river basin districts, at least the part of the river basin management plans covering the territory of the Community.

Article 21 Commission strategies against pollution of water

1. The Commission may prepare strategies against pollution of water by individual pollutants or groups of pollutants, including any pollution which occurs as a result of accidents.

2. Such strategies may be initiated as a result of:

(a) recommendations from Member States, or from competent authorities acting under Article 15;

(b) recommendations from the European Environment Agency;

(c) recommendations from international organizations and conventions to which the Community or its Member States are signatories;

(d) risk assessments carried out under Council Regulation (EEC) No 793/93 (19);

(e) recommendations from the Community research programmes; or

(f) other expressions of concern which come to the attention of the Commission.

3. Strategies shall consider the nature of the risk to water and shall take into consideration any possible impact on air and soil quality. They may include recommendations for any of the following classes of action:

(a) the consideration of the substance or group of substances in the risk assessment procedure of Regulation (EEC) No 793/93, if it is not already being considered;

(b) the inclusion of the substance or group of substances in Annex VIII to this Directive and in Annex III to Directive 96/61/EC, if it is not already included in that Directive;

(c) criteria for selection of priority substances or groups of substances for examination of the risk they pose to the aquatic environment and the desirability of developing a specific Commission strategy for the control of emissions into the aquatic environment. Annex IX contains a list of such criteria;

(d) the adoption of Community environmental quality standards under paragraph 4;

(e) the adoption of Community emission limit values under Article 18 of Directive 96/61/EC;

(f) a review of the relevant authorizations issued under Council Directive 91/414/EEC (20) and Directive 97/. . ./EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (21);

(g) the adoption of measures under Council Directive 76/769/EEC (22); or

(h) the adoption of other appropriate measures at national or Community level.

4. Where a Commission strategy recommends the adoption of environmental quality standards applicable to the concentrations of certain pollutants in water, sediments or biota, the Commission shall propose the appropriate measures.

Article 22 Commission report

1. The Commission shall publish a report on the implementation of this Directive by 31 December 2006 and every six years thereafter.

2. The Report shall include the following:

(a) a review of progress in the implementation of the Directive;

(b) a review of the status of surface water and groundwater in the Community;

(c) a comparative survey of the river basin management plans submitted in accordance with Article 20, including recommendations for the improvement of future plans;

(d) a response to each of the recommendations to the Commission made by competent authorities pursuant to Article 15; and

(e) a summary of any strategies developed under Article 21.

Article 23 Plans for future Community measures

1. Once a year, the Commission shall present to the Committee referred to in Article 25 an indicative plan of measures having an impact on water legislation which it intends to propose in the near future, including any emerging from the strategies developed under Article 21. The Commission shall make the first such presentation by 31 December 1999.

2. The Commission will review this Directive by 31 December 2013 and will propose any necessary amendments to it.

Article 24 Amendments to the Directive

1. Annexes I, II, III, V, VIII and IX may be adapted to scientific and technical progress in accordance with the procedures laid down in Article 25.

2. For the purpose of transmission and processing of data, including statistical and cartographic data, technical formats for the purpose of paragraph 1 may be adopted in accordance with the procedures laid down in Article 25.

Article 25 Committee

The Commission shall be assisted by a Committee composed of the representatives of the Member States and chaired by the representative of the Commission.

The representative of the Commission shall submit to the Committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority laid down in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council is required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of the Member States within the Committee shall be weighed in the manner set out in that Article. The chairman shall not vote.

The Commission shall adopt the measures envisaged if they are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee.

If the measures envisaged are not in accordance with the opinion of the Committee, or if no opinion is delivered, the Commission shall, without delay, submit to the Council a proposal relating to the measures to be taken. The Council shall act by a qualified majority.

If, on the expiry of three months from the date of referral to the Council, the Council has not acted, the proposed measures shall be adopted by the Commission.

Article 26 Repeals

The following are repealed with effect from 31 December 2007:

- Directive 75/440/EEC,

- Decision 77/795/EEC,

- Directive 78/659/EEC,

- Directive 79/869/EEC,

- Directive 79/923/EEC, and

- Directive 80/68/EEC.

Article 27 Implementation

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 31 December 1999 at the latest. They shall immediately inform the Commission thereof.

When Member States adopt these provisions, these shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference at the time of their official publication. The procedure for such reference shall be adopted by Member States.

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

Article 28 Penalties

Member States shall lay down the system of penalties for breaching the national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive and shall take all the measures necessary to ensure that those penalties are applied. The penalties thus provided for shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Member States shall notify those measures to the Commission no later than the date set out in Article 27 (1), and shall notify any subsequent amendment thereto as soon as possible.

Article 29 Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the 20th day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Article 30 Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

(1) OJ No C 281, 26. 9. 1996, p. 3.

(2) Report on 'Environment in the European Union - 1995`, European Environment Agency, Copenhagen, 1995.

(3) OJ No C 209, 9. 8. 1988, p. 3.

(4) OJ No C 59, 6. 3. 1992, p. 2.

(5) OJ No C 49, 28. 2. 1995, p. 1.

(6) OJ No L 20, 26. 1. 1980, p. 43; Directive as amended by Directive 91/692/EEC (OJ No L 377, 31. 12. 1991, p. 48).

(7) COM(96) 59 final of 21. 2. 1996.

(8) OJ No C 355, 25. 11. 1996, p. 1.

(9) OJ No L 186, 5. 8. 1995, p. 42.

(10) OJ No L 229, 30. 8. 1980, p. 11; Directive as last amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden.

(11) OJ No L 194, 25. 7. 1975, p. 26; Directive as last amended by Directive 91/692/EEC.

(12) OJ No L 334, 24. 12. 1977, p. 29; Decision as last amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden.

(13) OJ No L 222, 14. 8. 1978, p. 1; Directive as last amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden.

(14) OJ No L 271, 29. 10. 1979, p. 44; Directive as last amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden.

(15) OJ No L 281, 10. 11. 1979, p. 47; Directive as last amended by Directive 91/692/EEC.

(16) OJ No C 222, 10. 8. 1994, p. 6.

(17) OJ No L 257, 10. 10. 1996, p. 26.

(18) OJ No L 230, 5. 8. 1982, p. 1.

(19) OJ No L 84, 5. 4. 1993, p. 1.

(20) OJ No L 230, 19. 8. 1991, p. 1.

(21) Common position (EC) No 10/97 (OJ No C 69, 5. 3. 1997, p. 13).

(22) OJ No L 262, 27. 9. 1976, p. 201.

ANNEX I

INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR THE LIST OF COMPETENT AUTHORITIES

As required under Article 3 (7), the Member States shall provide the following information on all competent authorities within each of its river basin districts as well as within each international river basin district in which they participate:

i. name and address of the competent authority - the official name and address of the authority established under Article 3 (2);

ii. name and title of correspondent - the name and official title of the official to whom all correspondence should be addressed;

iii. geographical coverage of the river basin district - the names of the main rivers within the river basin district together with a precise description of the position of the terrestrial and maritime frontiers of the river basin district. This information should as far as possible be available for introduction into the Geographic Information System (GIS) and/or the Geographic Information System of the Commission (Gisco);

iv. legal status of competent authority - a description of the legal status of the competent authority and, where relevant, a summary or copy of its statute, founding treaty or equivalent legal document;

v. responsibilities - a description of the legal and administrative responsibilities of each competent authority and of its role within each river basin district;

vi. membership - where the competent authority acts as a coordinating body for other competent authorities, a list is required of these bodies together with a summary of the institutional relationships established in order to ensure coordination in a legally binding way of the measures required under this Directive;

vii. international relationships - where a river basin district covers the territory of more than one Member State or includes the territory of non-Member States, a summary is required of the institutional relationships established in order to ensure coordination in a legally binding way of the measures required under this Directive.

ANNEX II

ANALYSIS OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RIVER BASIN DISTRICT

1. The technical specifications shall establish methods for an analysis of the characteristics of river basin district listed in Article 5 (1) and for economic analyses of water use as required by Article 7 (1).

2. The technical specifications shall include a common format for the presentation of the analysis of characteristics of the river basin district and of the economic analysis of water use, and common rules on the amount of information to be included in the summary required as part of the river basin management plan.

The information provided should as far as possible be available for introduction into the Geographic Information System (GIS) and/or the Geographic Information System of the Commission (Gisco).

The collection of information by competent authorities shall be coordinated with the authorities responsible for statistics in Member States in conformity with Community legislation on statistics and in particular with Council Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 (1) and Council Regulation (EC) No 58/97 (2).

(1) OJ No L 310, 30. 11. 1996, p. 1.

(2) OJ No L 14, 17. 1. 1997, p. 1.

ANNEX III

REVIEW OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF HUMAN ACTIVITY

1. The technical specifications shall include a common format for the presentation of the review of the environmental impact of human activity and for common rules on the amount of information to be included in the summary required as part of the river basin management plan.

The collection of information by competent authorities shall be coordinated with the authorities responsible for statistics in Member States in conformity with Community legislation on statistics and in particular with Council Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 of 25 June 1996 (1) and Council Regulation (EC) No 58/97 of 18 December 1996 (2).

In case the technical specifications indicate more than one method, it must be ensured that such methods lead to comparability of results.

2. The technical specifications shall establish methods for estimating the extent and location of point source pollution by the substances listed in Annex VIII and shall be based on information gathered under, inter alia, the following Directives, but may include additional requirements:

i. Article 9 and 15 of the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (96/61/EC) (3);

ii. Article 11 of the Dangerous Substances Directive (76/464/EEC) (4);

and

iii. Article 15 and 17 of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) (5).

3. The technical specifications shall establish methods for estimating the extent and the location of diffuse pollution of the substances listed in Annex VIII.

4. The technical specifications shall establish methods for identifying those individual bodies of water which are susceptible to the point source and diffuse source pollution identified under sections 2 and 3 above.

5. The technical specifications shall establish methods for estimating the volume of:

i. abstractions for drinking water;

ii. abstractions for agricultural uses;

iii. abstractions for industrial uses; and

iv. other abstractions.

6. The technical specifications shall establish methods for estimating water abstractions:

i. total annual demand;

ii. seasonal variations in demand; and

iii. the efficiency of water use.

(1) OJ No L 310, 30. 11. 1996, p. 1.

(2) OJ No L 14, 17. 1. 1997, p. 1.

(3) OJ No L 257, 10. 10. 1996, p. 26.

(4) OJ No L 129, 18. 5. 1976, p. 23.

(5) OJ No L 135, 21. 5. 1991, p. 40.

ANNEX IV

PROTECTED AREAS

1. The register of protected areas required under Article 9 shall include, where relevant for the purpose of water protection, the following types of protected areas:

i. areas designated for the abstraction of water intended for human consumption under Article 8;

ii. areas designated for the protection of economically significant aquatic species;

iii. bodies of water designated as recreational waters, including areas designated as bathing waters under the Bathing Water Directive (76/160/EEC) (1);

iv. nutrient sensitive areas, including areas designated as vulnerable zones under the Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) (2) and areas designated as sensitive areas under the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) (3); and

v. areas designated for the protection of habitats or species where the maintenance or improvement of the status of water is an important factor in their protection, including relevant Natura 2000 sites designated under the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) (4) and the Birds Directive (79/409/EEC) (5).

2. The summary of the register required as part of the river basin management plan shall include maps indicating the location of each protected area and a description of the Community, national or local legislation under which they have been designated. In the case of bodies of water designated under Article 8, the summary shall include details of the environmental quality standards adopted and the expected treatment regime.

(1) OJ No L 31, 5. 2. 1976, p. 1.

(2) OJ No L 375, 31. 12. 1991, p. 1.

(3) OJ No L 135, 21. 5. 1991, p. 40.

(4) OJ No L 206, 22. 7. 1992, p. 7.

(5) OJ No L 103, 25. 4. 1979, p. 1.

ANNEX V

MONITORING OF SURFACE WATER STATUS AND GROUNDWATER STATUS

For surface waters

1. The technical specifications for the monitoring of ecological status of surface waters shall establish methods for:

i. monitoring of all significant bodies of surface water and representative monitoring of all other bodies of surface water;

ii. monitoring of the physico-chemical, biological and physical characteristics of the water body, including quantitative aspects, including dynamic elements such as seasonal variations and long-term natural fluctuations, with most importance being afforded to the biological characteristics;

iii. the presentation of monitoring results in a common format or model based on the degree of deviation from natural ecological status or, in the case of artificial water bodies, the degree of deviation from their maximum ecological potential;

iv. the use of five classes for the presentation of ecological status, of which the top two classes will be 'high ecological status` and 'good ecological status`.

2. The technical specifications for monitoring of the chemical status of surface waters shall establish methods for:

i. monitoring of all surface waters identified under section 4 of Annex III as being susceptible to point source or diffuse source pollution by the substances listed in Annex VIII;

ii. the use of five classes for the presentation of chemical status of which the top two classes will be 'high chemical status` and 'good chemical status`.

For groundwaters

3. The technical specifications for the monitoring of the quantitative status of groundwater shall establish methods for:

i. monitoring of all groundwaters used for the abstraction of water and representative monitoring of other groundwaters;

ii. monitoring of the quantity of groundwater, including dynamic elements such as seasonal variations, long-term natural fluctuations, the abstraction rate (including indirect abstractions) and the recharge rate;

iii. monitoring of the impact of changes in groundwater characteristics on the ecological status of associated surface water bodies and on associated terrestrial ecosystems;

iv. selection of indicators, including natural conditions, for the characterization of the quantitative status of groundwaters with a view to identification of 'good quantitative status`.

4. The technical specifications, monitoring of the chemical status of groundwater shall establish methods for:

i. monitoring of all groundwaters identified under section 4 of Annex III as being susceptible to point source or diffuse source pollution by the substances listed in Annex VIII;

ii. monitoring at a range of depths;

iii. selection of indicators, including natural conditions, for the characterization of the qualitative status of groundwaters with a view to the identification of parameters for 'good qualitative status`.

5. The overall status of any individual groundwater body shall be based on the lower of the two assessments made under sections 3 and 4 above.

For surface waters and groundwaters

6. The technical specifications shall be established recognizing that different methods of monitoring will be appropriate depending on the nature of the body of water, its location and, for surface waters, the aspect of its ecological status which is being examined; and that the technical specifications will have to be flexible to allow the development and refinement of monitoring techniques whilst assuring the comparability of results between different methods and over time.

The technical specifications shall establish monitoring and analysis methods, including criteria for location of sampling stations and frequency as well as quality control systems.

In case the technical specifications indicate more than one method for a specific purpose, it shall be ensured that such methods are leading to comparability of results.

The technical specifications shall include quality assurance provisions and provisions for a common format for the presentation of the results of the monitoring of surface waters and groundwaters and common rules on the amount of information to be included in the summary required as part of the river basin management plan.

ANNEX VI

LISTS OF MEASURES TO BE INCLUDED WITHIN THE PROGRAMMES OF MEASURES

PART A

The following is a list of those pieces of Community legislation which, together with national or local legislation, make up the baseline measures to be included in the programmes of measures under Article 13 (3) (a):

i. The Bathing Water Directive (76/160/EEC) (1);

ii. The Birds Directive (79/409/EEC) (2);

iii. The Drinking Water Directive (80/778/EEC) (3);

iv. The Major Accidents (Seveso) Directive (82/501/EEC) (4);

v. The Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (85/37/EEC) (5);

vi. The Sewage Sludge Directive (86/278/EEC) (6);

vii. The Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) (7);

viii. The Plant Protection Products Directive (91/414/EEC) (8);

ix. The Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) (9);

x. The Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) (10);

xi. The Integrated Pollution Prevention Control Directive (96/61/EC) (11);

xii. Other relevant legislation.

PART B

The following is a non-exclusive list of supplementary measures which Member States within each river basin district may choose to adopt as part of the programme of measures required under Article 13 (4):

i. legislative instruments;

ii. administrative instruments;

iii. economic or fiscal instruments;

iv. negotiated environmental agreements;

v. emission controls;

vi. codes of good practice;

vii. abstraction controls;

viii. demand management measures, inter alia promotion of adapted agricultural production such as low water requiring crops in areas affected by drought;

ix. efficiency and re-use measures, inter alia promotion of water efficient technologies in industry and water saving irrigation techniques;

x. construction projects;

xi. desalination plants;

xii. rehabilitation projects;

xiii. artificial recharge of aquifers;

xiv. educational projects;

xv. research, development and demonstration projects;

xvi. other relevant measures.

(1) OJ No L 31, 5. 2. 1976, p. 1.

(2) OJ No L 103, 25. 4. 1979, p. 1.

(3) OJ No L 229, 30. 8. 1980, p. 11.

(4) OJ No L 230, 5. 8. 1982, p. 1.

(5) OJ No L 175, 5. 7. 1985, p. 40.

(6) OJ No L 181, 8. 7. 1986, p. 6.

(7) OJ No L 135, 21. 5. 1991, p. 40.

(8) OJ No L 230, 19. 8. 1991, p. 1.

(9) OJ No L 375, 31. 12. 1991, p. 1.

(10) OJ No L 206, 22. 7. 1992, p. 7.

(11) OJ No L 257, 10. 10. 1996, p. 26.

ANNEX VII

RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT PLANS

1. River basin management plans shall cover the following elements:

i. a summary of the information provided to the Commission under Article 3 (7);

ii. a summary of the environmental objectives adopted under Article 4;

iii. a summary of the analysis of the characteristics of their river basin district required under Article 5;

iv. a summary of the review of the environmental impact of human activity required under Article 6;

v. a summary of the economic analysis of water use within the river basin district required under Article 7;

vi. a summary of the register of protected areas designated under Article 9;

vii. a summary of the results of the monitoring programmes carried out under Articles 10 and 11;

viii. a summary of the programme of measures adopted under Article 13, including:

a. for those measures described under Article 13 (3) (a), a description of the European Community, national or local legislation from which the measures derive, together with details of the way in which they have been, or will be, implemented within the river basin district;

b. a summary of the measures taken for the implementation of the charges for water use required under Article 12 and Article 13 (3) (b);

c. a summary of the measures taken under Article 13 (3) (c) to achieve the environmental quality standards established under Article 8 (2);

d. a summary of the measures taken under Article 13 (3) (d) for bodies of water with a chemical status below 'good`;

e. details of the abstraction controls adopted under Article 13 (3) (e) and, where such controls have not been adopted, reasoned justification for the exemption;

f. details of the additional measures adopted under Article 13 (3) (f); and

g. details of the supplementary measures adopted under Article 13 (4);

including, in each of the above cases, an identification of the individuals or organizations responsible for undertaking the various measures and a timetable for their intended implementation; and

ix. a summary of the measures taken under Article 19 to reduce the impact of accidental pollution incidents.

2. The first update of the river basin management plan and all subsequent updates shall also include:

i. a summary of any changes or updates since the publication of the previous version of the river basin management plan;

ii. an assessment of progress towards the achievement of the environmental objectives and an explanation for any environmental objectives which have not been reached;

iii. a summary of, and an explanation for, any measures foreseen in the earlier version of the river basin management plan which have not been undertaken; and

iv. a summary of any additional interim measures adopted under Article 14 since the publication of the previous version of the river basin management plan.

3. The river basin management plan shall contain a summary of the results of the public consultation undertaken on the draft plan under Article 17 together with a summary of the changes made as a result.

4. The river basin management plan shall contain references to any programmes and plans covered by the terms of Article 18.

5. The river basin management plans shall also include any recommendations for national or Community action adopted under Article 15.

ANNEX VIII

POLLUTANTS

1. Organohalogen compounds and substances which may form such compounds in the aquatic environment.

2. Organophosphorus compounds.

3. Organotin compounds.

4. Substances and preparations which have been proved to possess carcinogenic or mutagenic properties or properties which may affect reproduction in or via the aquatic environment.

5. Persistent hydrocarbons and persistent and bioaccumulable organic toxic substances.

6. Cyanides.

7. Metals and their compounds.

8. Arsenic and its compounds.

9. Biocides and plant protection products.

10. Material in suspension.

11. Substances which contribute to eutrophication (in particular nitrates and phosphates).

12. Substances which have an unfavourable influence on the oxygen balance (and can be measured using parameters such as BOD, COD, etc.).

ANNEX IX

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF PRIORITY SUBSTANCES OR GROUPS OF SUBSTANCES FOR EXAMINATION OF THE RISK THEY POSE TO THE AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT AND THE APPROPRIATENESS OF DEVELOPING A SPECIFIC COMMISSION STRATEGY FOR THE CONTROL OF EMISSION TO THE AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT

The substance or group of substances

1. has been shown to cause unacceptable effects in or there are strong indications of risk to the aquatic environment;

2. has been found widespread in one or more compartments of the aquatic environment;

3. reaches the aquatic environment from a diversity of sources through a diversity of pathways.

ANNEX X

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY STANDARDS

The 'quality objectives` established under the daughter Directives of the Dangerous Substances Directive (76/464/EEC) (1) shall be considered as environmental quality standards for the purposes of this Directive. They are established in the following Directives:

i. the Mercury Discharges Directive (82/176/EEC) (2);

ii. the Cadmium Discharges Directive (83/513/EEC) (3);

iii. the Mercury Directive (84/156/EEC) (4);

iv. the Hexachlorocyclohexane Discharges Directive (84/491/EEC) (5), and

v. the Dangerous Substance Discharges Directive (86/280/EEC) (6).

(1) OJ No L 129, 18. 5. 1976, p. 23.

(2) OJ No L 81, 27. 3. 1982, p. 29.

(3) OJ No L 291, 24. 10. 1983, p. 1.

(4) OJ No L 74, 17. 3. 1984, p. 49.

(5) OJ No L 274, 17. 10. 1984, p. 11.

(6) OJ No L 181, 4. 7. 1986, p. 16.