WRITTEN QUESTION E-1169/02

by Antonios Trakatellis (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(24 April 2002)

Subject: Dispersal of hazardous substances in the sea

According to an investigative report in the Greek press, the organisation managing the port of Piraeus is considering the approval of works to deepen Piraeus harbour. This project

involves dredging the seabed of an estimated 200 000 tonnes of hazardous substances such as organic residues and materials, heavy metals, petroleum products and pesticides and dispersing them in nearby waters off Palio Faliro and in the open sea at Piraeus.

Bearing in mind that the Piraeus Central Port Authority has produced a document and the National Centre of Maritime Research a scientific study rejecting the scheme because it will result in an environmental disaster:

1. Will the Commission investigate this matter and request information concerning the deepening of the port and the dispersal of hazardous substances and waste in the waters off Palio Faliro and the open sea at Piraeus, together with details of the checks to be carried out pursuant to Community law?

2. What is the situation in Greece regarding the implementation of Community law regulations, directives, international agreements and conventions on the protection of water resources and what measures will the Commission take to ensure adequate protection of public health and the environment in Greece?

3. Is it permissible to discharge hazardous and toxic sediment into the aquatic environment when, according to the study by the National Centre of Maríne Research, it contains concentrations of heavy metals (Zn, Cu, Cr and Pb) 6-7 times higher and concentrations of hydrocarbons 40 times higher than the concentrations found in sediment in the open sea at Piraeus?

4. Has a new, systematic environmental study been carried out and if so, by whom, since the study carried out by the National Centre of Maríne Research rejected the proposal to discharge pollutant substances into the sea?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(10 June 2002)

In May 2002, there are 18 dossiers regarding bad application or implementation in Greece of Community legislation related to water protection and management. Six of them concern infringement procedures under Article 226 or Article 228 of the EC Treaty. For the 12 files remaining, the Commission investigates eventual breach of the Community legislation, in order to ensure the protection of environment. However, none of these files concerns the pollution of the sea in the Pireaus area.

In principle, Council Directive 76/464/EEC of 4 May 1976 on pollution caused by certain dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment of the Community(1) covers pollution from heavy metals and organic residues. However, the Directive excludes specifically the discharges of dredgings, the operational discharges from ships in territorial waters and the dumping from ships in territorial waters (cf. Article 1(2d)).

The recently adopted Water Framework Directive(2) follows a wider approach by requiring, inter alia, a good status of water quality. All pressures and impacts need to be considered when drawing up a programme of measures to achieve this good status. This Directive has to be transposed into national legislation by 22 December 2003 at the latest. Furthermore, the definition of discharges under Article 1 of Directive 76/464/EEC will have to be formally replaced by the ongoing prepartion of subsequent legislation provided for under Article 16 of the Water Framework Directive.

In conclusion, the current Community water legislation which is in force to date does not appear to apply in the case of the dredging and dispersal of hazardous substances from the port of Piraeus. Further information on this case would be required in order to verify this preliminary conclusion and to evaluate whether other pieces of Community legislation, e.g. in the fields of waste or environmental impact assessment, would be applicable.

In order to ensure that Community law is correctly applied, the Commission shall investigate the matter of deepening of the port of Piraeus and of its environmental effects. A letter shall be sent in this effect to the competent Greek authorities requesting information on the matter raised by the Honorable Member.

(1) OJ L 129, 18.5.1976.

(2) Parliament and Council Directive 2000/60/EC of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, OJ L 327, 22.12.2000.