EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 84/288

(2004/C 84 E/0334)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-4045/03

by Joan Colom i Naval (PSE) to the Commission

(12 January 2004)

Subject: Contamination of groundwater in Catalonia

According to the 2003 risk report produced by the foundation ‘Instituto de Estudios de Seguridad’, a third of all Catalan municipalities (306 out of 946) experience a high level of groundwater contamination owing to nitrates originating from excess slurry.

On 1 October 1998, Spain was found guilty by the Court of Justice, in Case C-71/97, of failing to comply with Directive 91/676/EEC (1). The Court of Justice subsequently found Spain guilty, in its ruling of 13 April 2000 on Case C-274/98, of failing to comply with Article 5 of Directive 91/676/EEC.

Can the Commission indicate what types of control procedure have been followed to verify the implementation of the directive in question? How does the Commission explain the fact that the number of communities affected by nitrate contamination of groundwater has increased by over 50 %? What measures will the Commission take to solve this problem, which affects a third of all Catalan municipalities, without endangering their populations? Does it consider these circumstances to square with transferring water from the Ebro to other parts of Spain?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(24 February 2004)

Pursuant to the judgements of the European Court of Justice in cases C-71/97 and C-274/98, Spain has adopted different measures to ensure compliance with the provisions of Council Directive 91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991 concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources, hereafter ‘Nitrates Directive’. Nonetheless, the Commission, in exercising its controlling powers, has subsequently observed that these measures might be insufficient.

Regarding the situation in Catalonia, it should be noted that the Spanish authorities designated six Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) in 1998 (2) within this Autonomous Community. According to the Commission Assessment, further designations were required in Catalonia.

The proper designation of NVZs represents the first step to controlling nitrate pollution. Appropriate action programmes should be established in NVZs, ensuring the implementation of a comprehensive set of measures for fertilisation, soil management, livestock manure management and the compulsory application of the Code of Agricultural Practice.

The Autonomous Community of Catalonia has established a Code of Good agricultural practice (3), an Action Programme in designated NVZs (4), and a Decree on manure management (5). However, the effects of the measures on water quality, in particular in the case of groundwater, could be expected to be significant only after some time, due to the ‘tank effect’ of soil and groundwater. Moreover, according to the Commission Assessment, the Action Programme of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia needs to be improved to bring it fully in line with the Nitrates Directive.

In the main, the amendments required could be summarised as follows:

— a reduction in total nitrogen application rates, at present very high for some crops;

— an indication of minimum storage capacity for livestock manure with, for example, a six-month guidance value (6) (including reference values for calculation of compliance), as the present provisions linking the minimum storage capacity to the fertilisation plan requirements are too vague);

— a quantification of maximum allowable nitrogen volatilisation losses for animal manure as mentioned in Decree 220/2001, Annex (e);

— a definition of minimum nitrogen efficiency requirements in the application of livestock manure;

— compliance with the 170 kilogram (kg) N per hectare (ha) limit for livestock manure (210 kg/ha is foreseen in the Action Programme and no modification has been communicated to the Commission since December 2002, the deadline set for the entry into force of the 170 kg/ha N standard).

Pursuant to these verifications, the Commission has taken action to ensure that the provisions of Directive 91/676/EEC are correctly applied by the Spanish authorities. Following Commission intervention, the Spanish authorities have announced their intention to amend the Action Programme established by the Autonomous Community of Catalonia.

Finally, the Commission does not see any link between this case and the project to transfer water from the Ebro to other parts of Spain.

(1) OJ L 375, 31.12.1991, p. 1.

(2) Decree No 283 of 21 October 1998.

(3) Orden de 22 de Octobre de 1998 DOGC 2761, 9 November 1998.

(4) Decree No 205, 13 June 2000.

(5) Decree 220/2001, 1 August 2001, DOCG 3477 of 7 August 2001.

(6) At present the reference to a minimum storage capacity of four to six months is made in the code of good agricultural practice (paragraph 8.2.l.b), which implementation is obligatory in NVZs.