WRITTEN QUESTION P-3229/02

by Sérgio Marques (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(7 November 2002)

Subject: Waste treatment plant in Madeira

The project for a new waste treatment plant in Madeira, spearheaded by the regional government of the Autonomous Region of Madeira and with an estimated budget of EUR 115 million, is intended to provide a viable and ecologically sound solution to the problem of the end-handling of waste in the Madeira region, pursuant to the Strategic Waste Plan of the Autonomous Region of Madeira (Perram). The scheme entails the extension and remodelling of the existing solid waste treatment plant at Meia Serra, the construction of a sorting unit and two transfer units on the island of Madeira, the construction of a waste processing unit on the island of Porto Santo, the acquisition of equipment for selective collecting, and an environmental awareness campaign.

The extension and remodelling of the Meia Serra treatment plant will involve the incineration of solid waste of urban origin and of hospital and slaughterhouse waste, as well as the composting of organic waste, protective embankments, and a leaching plant.

The entire project (conception, construction and operation) was contracted out in 1998 to a complementary group of companies, involving a sum of EUR 97 366 967,33. It is financed at 68,7 % by the Cohesion Fund, and has been conceived and executed in observance of the EU's most recent environmental requirements. It will permit the generation of electrical energy from waste incineration, thus creating a self-driven plant and allowing some 25 % of domestic consumption requirements in the island of Madeira to be met from the grid.

Can the Commission confirm that this project should be seen as an environmental asset for the Autonomous Region of Madeira, and represents a solution which is compatible with all aspects of the EU's environmental legislation, in the context of ensuring a quality environment and health and safety for the communities concerned?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(29 November 2002)

The first phase of the project to which the Honourable Member refers was adopted on 22 November 1999, following a long period of examination which began on 21 May 1996 and during which the Commission applied all the rules to ensure that the project could deal in the most effective way possible with the problems posed by waste produced both in Madeira and on the island of Porto Santo. The Commission therefore conducted very thorough negotiations on the various aspects of the project, including those concerning the environment.

The Commission is certain that, when the various components of the project are operational, the region of Madeira will be able to meet the objectives laid down in its Strategic Plan and hence the Community Directives on the management and treatment of waste.

An environmental impact assessment was carried out on the project pursuant to Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment(1). A Monitoring Committee was set up to oversee the works and a monitoring plan providing for the public distribution of the results obtained has been implemented.

The Plan includes a series of studies on the various environmental aspects to evaluate any negative impacts and provide the solutions needed.

(1) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985, amended by Council Directive 97/11/CE of 3 March 1997, OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.