WRITTEN QUESTION E-3873/02

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(10 January 2003)

Subject: Petition to the European Parliament on silting at the Óbidos Lagoon (No 978/01)

The Residents' Association of Bom Sucesso-Vau, Óbidos (Portugal), which campaigns to protect the ecosystem of the Óbidos Lagoon, the rich natural heritage of the region and the quality of life of the inhabitants, has addressed a petition to the European Parliament in which it complains of pollution and silting at the lagoon and the placing of a wall of plastic bags containing sand in the area of the lagoon, allegedly to protect the dunes. Parliament's Committee on Petitions has asked the Commission to take a position on the matter.

Can the Commission state its position on the petition of the Residents' Association of Bom Sucesso-Vau on the Óbidos Lagoon?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(6 February 2003)

The Commission would like to inform the Honourable Member that it has responded on two occasions to petition No 978/01 presented by the Residents' Association of Bom Sucesso on the subject of pollution at the Óbidos Lagoon.

In its initial response, the Commission indicated that, having analysed the petition, it had found it necessary to obtain explanations from the Portuguese authorities regarding the discharge of waste water into the lagoon in the light of Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 concerning urban waste water treatment(1).

In addition, the Commission also stated that, even if the lagoon were inside an area protected under national legislation, this did not mean that the area in question benefited from special protection in the Community context.

As the Commission clarified in its reply, the Óbidos Lagoon was neither a Special Protection Area (SPA) as designated in Article 4(1) of Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds(2), nor a Site of Community Importance (SCI) proposed under Article 4(1) of Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora(3).

In its second response, the Commission pointed out that, following the explanations provided by the Portuguese authorities, it had emerged that the area of Bom Sucesso had 200 permanent residents and a fluctuating population of less than 2 000. Consequently, the obligations deriving from Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 concerning urban waste water treatment, concerning in particular the collection and treatment of the water in question, were not applicable.

In this response, the Commission pinpointed the fact that, given the interest of the Óbidos Lagoon, the Portuguese authorities had stated that they were undertaking a series of actions for the lagoon's recovery, involving in particular the construction of four large and ten small waste water treatment plants, 21 pumping stations, 80 km of outfalls and one under-sea outfall. According to the authorities, the abovementioned system, which will be completed at the end of 2004, would permit the tertiary treatment of the lagoon's waste water, with the exception of that discharged into the sea through the under-sea outfall, which would be subjected to secondary treatment.

As concerns more specifically the district of Bom Sucesso, the Commission pointed out that the Portuguese authorities had informed it that they had speeded up the implementation of the actions required and that the works should be finished during the summer of 2003, that is to say a year in advance of the initial timetable.

(1) OJ L 131, 30.5.1991.

(2) OJ L 103, 25.4.1979.

(3) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992.