EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 88/235

(2004/C 88 E/0238)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0847/04

by Monica Frassoni (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(19 March 2004)

Subject: Mineral water extraction plant at Padernello di Paese (Treviso)

Knowing that:

— the technical committee on the extractive industries of the Veneto Region granted the request from the company San Benedetto Spa to launch an operation to prospect for a source of mineral water to be called ‘Padernello’ in the municipality of Paese (Treviso);

— the licence issued by the Veneto Region was confined to prospecting rather than covering the extraction of water for bottling and had a duration of one year, renewable for another year, subject to the submission of a technical study of environmental compatibility to be carried out by the same firm;

— on 15 October 2003 the Regional Government, via the Directorate for Geology and Water Resources, extended the permit by Decree No 263.

Knowing that:

— the problems linked to this extractive industry — which has not even been launched fully — has already impoverished the acquifers, vital for the very existence of the Sile national park, and is causing problems for the nearby urban area, in that an average of 200 extra lorries per day are using the Postumia provincial road, which already has enough traffic congestion;

— the San Benedetto company has occupied the neighbourhood of the acquifers with 175 square metres of covered area, 2 625 000 cubic metres of new buildings above ground and another 450 000 cubic metres underground and has applied to the municipality for more building land;

— although the licence and the extension granted by the Region are confined to prospecting for groundwater, the San Benedetto company has on several occasions announced that as of March 2004 it will start commercial bottling of the water, claiming, in the technical report accompanying the application for more building land sent to the mayor of Paese, that once the plant is fully operational about 2 500 litres of water will be extracted per year — twice the quantity mentioned in the application for the prospecting licence;

— the investment in terms of capital and resources is far from commensurate with a one-year licence for prospecting possibly renewable for another year;

— the water extraction operation will affect an area adjacent to the Sile national park, pSIC IT3240011, which, like the entire surrounding area, would be irreparably damaged by the planned work.

In view of all this can the Commission say:

— whether the licences issued by the Veneto Region, the extraction work already under way and that planned by the San Benedetto company are compatible with Community environmental legislation, including provisions governing the protection of acquifers and environmental impact assessment;

— what urgent measures it will adopt to protect pSIC IT3240011?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(22 April 2004)

Groundwater abstraction of less than 10 million cubic meters comes under Annex II of Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 (1) (EIA Directive) as amended by Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (2). The EIA Directive provides that Member States must ensure that, before development consent is given, projects likely to have significant effects on the environment by virtue, ‘inter alia’, of their nature, size or location are made subject to an assessment of the environmental effects. From the information provided it is not clear if development consent has been granted to the company San Benedetto for extracting 2 500 millions litres of water per year. What is clear is that the Region has granted a licence for prospecting groundwater extraction. When application will be made for actually abstracting groundwater then the Italian authorities will have to determine, either through a case by case examination or according to thresholds or criteria, whether the project is to be made subject to an assessment because of its likely significant effects on the environment taking into account the relevant selection criteria set out in Annex III of the Directive.

Articles 6(3) and 6(4) of Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (3), define the procedure to be followed before authorising plans or projects which are likely to have a significant impact on a Natura 2000 site. In particular, such plans or projects have to be the object of an assessment of their effects on the sites from the point of view of their conservation. The Italian authorities are responsible for evaluating whether the project is likely to have a significant impact on the proposed site of Community interest ‘Sile: sorgenti, paludi di Morgano e S. Cristina’ and, if that is the case, follow the procedure defined in the Directive before approval of the project.

The Honourable Member does not provide concrete information that shows an effective degradation of the Natura 2000 site and, therefore, the Commission is not in a position to identify a possible violation of Community legislation. If the Honourable Member can provide detailed information enabling the Commission to assess this issue in relation to the above-mentioned Directive, the Commission will then be able to investigate this matter.

(1) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985.

(2) OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.

(3) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992.