WRITTEN QUESTION E-1897/98

by Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE) to the Commission

(16 June 1998)

Subject: Pollution of the town of Chania through the expansion of an electricity plant

The Medical Association of Chania, Crete, alleges that the planned expansion of the electricity plant at Xylokamara, located a mere three kilometres from the town centre, will have a particularly adverse effect on the health of local inhabitants, owing to the aggravation of atmospheric pollution caused by fumes from the plant. The sea in the vicinity of Chania will undoubtedly also be affected, as effluent from the plant will be discharged into Soudha Bay without being treated in any way. Tourism in the region - which is the mainstay of the local economy - will certainly be affected.

Will the Commission say whether it is aware of this state of affairs, whether the planned expansion is in keeping with Community environmental and public health protection legislation and what measures it intends to take should this not be the case, in order to prevent any aggravation of atmospheric and marine pollution and any health risk to local inhabitants and the thousands of tourists who visit the town annually?

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission

(15 July 1998)

The Commission had not been informed of the situation to which the Honourable Member refers.

Under Community law, the extension of an electricity plant must first be assessed on the basis of Council Directive 88/609/EEC on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from large combustion plants(1) which sets limit values for emissions of SO2, NOx and dust. It applies to plants with a thermal input exceeding 50 megawatts. Where a combustion plant is extended by at least 50 megawatts, the emission limit value to be applied to the new part of the plant must be fixed in relation to the thermal capacity of the entire plant.

Power plants of at least 300 megawatts must also be made subject to an environmental impact assessment, in accordance with Council Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the impact of certain public and private projects on the environment(2) (amended by Council Directive 97/11/EC)(3) Less powerful industrial plants for the production of electricity, steam and hot water must be made subject to an assessment where Member States consider that their characteristics so require. The Court of Justice has held that any project transforming or extending this type of plant liable to have major ecological consequences must be made subject to an environmental impact assessment.

Furthermore, the discharge of dangerous substances into surface waters, including coastal waters, is governed by Council Directive 76/464/EEC on pollution caused by certain dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment of the Community(4). whatever the pollution source.

From the end of 1999, new combustion plants with a thermal input exceeding 50 megawatts will also be subject to Council Directive 96/61/EC concerning integrated pollution prevention and control.(5) This Directive stipulates that, applying the best available techniques, authorities must fix limit values for emissions into air, water and land which will ensure a high level of protection for the environment as a whole. As regards existing installations in this category, the authorities must ensure that they meet the requirements of the Directive not later than eight years after the date on which it is brought into effect.

Any plan to modify a plant must be communicated to the authorities, who must take the necessary steps to ensure that no substantial changes are made without a permit issued in accordance with the Directive.

In the absence of information on the plant's capacity and its planned extension, the date on which the authorisation procedure is due to be initiated and construction to begin and the types of dangerous substance it is thought will be discharged into the sea, it is not possible to say which of the abovementioned Directives apply to this particular case.

(1) ,OJ L 336, 7.11.1988.

(2) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985.

(3) .OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.

(4) ,OJ L 129, 18.5.1976

(5) OJ L 257, 10.10.1996.