WRITTEN QUESTION E-2145/03

by Reinhold Messner (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(27 June 2003)

Subject: Preservation of the Tagliamento (Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy) as a wild river

In order to protect the town of Latisana, situated in the canalised lower reaches of the Tagliamento river, a 14 km2 flood control reservoir is to be built in the middle course by removing around 30 million m3 of river gravel.

The Tagliamento forms the last expanse of wild river landscape in the whole of the Alpine region. For this reason, Italy applied for the section of the river in question to be registered as an FFH and Special Protection Area in accordance with EU Directives 92/43/EWG(1) and 79/409/EWG(2).

If this flood protection project is carried out, the diverging waters (furcation), whose form changes with every flood, will be replaced with a single channel. This will obstruct the route along the river for wildlife. The large and previously shifting gravel deposits will grow in size (succession) and the bed of the Tagliamento will deepen. This will have far-reaching limnological and environmental consequences for the river meadows and the flora and fauna (e.g. more than 30 species of fish and 14 species of amphibian) that inhabit them, upstream and especially downstream from the reservoir. In addition to the permanent removal of gravel from the flood reservoir, downstream river works such as transverse structures will be necessary to counteract the deepening of the river and the consequent lowering of the ground-water level.

That flood protection is taken very seriously in Italy is to be welcomed. However, the devastating floods in Germany and large parts of Europe over the last few years have led to a change in thinking as far as flood protection is concerned. Constructions are now being avoided, with the focus on providing additional flood retention plains. On top of that, the EU's Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC(3)) commits all Member States to achieving

good status for all bodies of water. Moreover, Italy signed the internationally binding Alpine Convention in 1991, in which the Alpine states pledged their commitment to greater environmental and water protection. The Friuli-Venezia Giulia region is also under serious threat from earthquakes, and so a full flood reservoir of this size presents an almost incalculable risk.

Can the Commission ensure that the Tagliamento's ecosystem will be protected and that alternative flood protection measures will be considered? Can the Commission monitor whether the project is carried out in conformity with the Habitat, the Birds and the Environmental Impact Assessment Directives? Does the Commission believe that that a project of this kind is compatible with the clause in the Water Framework Directive concerning the maintenance of a good water status?

(1) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7.

(2) OJ L 103, 25.4.1979, p. 1.

(3) OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(13 August 2003)

The construction of an impoundment for flood prevention in the river Tagliamento will have a certain impact on the environment. Such a project may fall under several pieces of Community legislation.

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) (EIA Directive) as amended by Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997(2) 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. These projects are defined in Article 4 that refers to Annex I and II of the Directive.

Furthermore, the Habitat Directive(3) and the Bird Directive(4) may apply when protected areas have been designated in the area concerned.

The project in the Tagliamento river was already assessed by the Commission in the context of a complaint which was closed.

The complainant had claimed that a project for the hydraulic safety of the Tagliamento River had been approved without EIA procedure and without assessment under Article 6 of the Habitat Directive. This project entailed the construction of three expanding basins in the framework of the reinforcing works of Tagliamento river and it was claimed to affect the proposed Nature 2000 Site of Community Importance (IT3310007: Greto del Tagliamento), proposed under the Habitat Directive.

The Italian authorities were requested to give information on the issue as regards the application of Council Directives 92/43/EC and 85/337/EEC.

In response, the Italian authorities informed the Commission that the work was not at the project stage but it was at the planning stage. Consequently, the EIA Directive would not apply at this stage. The plan had been approved before that Article 6.2, 6.3 and 6.4 of the Directive can be considered applicable to the Member States. Therefore, it had not been made the subject of the assessment under Article 6.3 of the Directive. However, the Italian authorities had stated that the project for the three expanding basins will be made the subject of an assessment under Article 6 of the Habitat Directive. On the basis of this information, the Commission closed the complaint.

On the basis of the additional information provided by the Honourable Member, the Commission cannot identify any breach of the Council Directives 85/337/EEC and 92/43/EC. However, the Commission would be happy to re-assess the case if the Honourable Member submits any new, more detailed information which may demonstrate that the two Directives are being breached.

The Water Framework Directive(5), which was not assessed in the above-mentioned complaint, provides for the achievement of a number of environmental objectives embedded in a management plan to be set up for each river basin district. The Directive entered into force on 22 December 2000 and is currently being transposed into national legislation which should be completed by the end of 2003.

Directive 2000/60/EC sets out in Article 4(7) that Member States will not be in breach of the Directive if the objectives are not met as a result of new modifications to the physical characteristics of surface water body. Since the Directive entered into force in December 2000, the project may be considered as a new modification once it is no longer at the planning stage. In consequence, Italy may apply for such a derogation in the river basin management plan which will be finalised in 2009.

However, the same paragraph provides for a number of conditions that need to be met when applying such a derogation. On the basis of the information provided on the project, it is not possible to assess whether the project would fulfil the criteria set out in Article 4(7). In addition, paragraphs 8 and 9 of Article 4 also apply for the derogation of new modifications. Paragraph 8 requires that other bodies of water in the same river basin are not affected by the new modification in such a way that they cannot achieve the objectives of the Directive. Finally, paragraph 9 ensures that at least the same level of protection as in other existing Community legislation is achieved when applying the derogations in Article 4.

In conclusion, the Commission will assess any new information on the case that is brought to its attention in relation to Council Directives 85/337/EEC, 92/43/EC and 2000/60/EC, once the project stage is reached.

(1) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985.

(2) OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.

(3) Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora.

(4) Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds.

(5) Directive 2000/60/EC of the Parliament and of the council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy.