WRITTEN QUESTION P-0693/00

by Antonios Trakatellis (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(3 March 2000)

Subject: Effective depollution of the Thermaic Gulf environmental conditions for biological treatment

One of the biggest infrastructure projects for the protection of the environment in the Thessaloniki region, financed by the Cohesion Fund, threatens not to meet the environmental protection standards for which it was designed. The project Extension and completion of a plant for the biological treatment of sewage in Thessaloniki Stage II is at risk of not being completed, being financially unsustainable and, above all, of creating a second source of pollution and eutrophication, thereby defeating the object of the exercise. The legitimate concerns that the project falls short of the environmental standards required to

clean up the Thermaic Gulf and the constant misgivings that many of the biological treatment plants under construction in Greece will operate efficiently raise significant question marks about the effective use of Community finance from the Cohesion Fund and about the Community's environmental protection strategy.

1. Where will the underwater section of the pipe with two branches, each totalling 2 600 metres in length, be situated (distance and location) and is it true that the original plan is to be altered?

2. Is it true that the current plan for laying the underwater pipe will create another major source of pollution in the Thermaic Gulf owing to its proximity to the shore, and another source of eutrophication because of the hydrological conditions in the Thermaic Gulf?

3. Is it true that the project will not be effective in environmental protection terms without constructing another treatment plant for tertiary processing?

4. What happens to the industrial waste from the four industrial estates in Thessaloniki? Will it undergo appropriate treatment and, if not, what provision has been made to protect the environment in the Thermaic Gulf?

5. What problems have been identified in Greece in connection with projects concerning the biological treatment of sewage and what impact do they have on effective environmental protection?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(10 April 2000)

The purpose of Phase II of the project to extend and complete the biological treatment facilities for Thessaloniki, part-financed by the Commission and the Greek authorities, is to improve the quality of water in the Thermaic Gulf. To that end, the project has been allocated sufficient resources for its completion. The work also meets the environmental standards governing the Thermaic Gulf, whose water quality is being monitored in order to detect any possible problem or future need.

On the basis of information from the Greek authorities, the Commission can state the following:

1. The dual-branch underwater pipeline is being constructed in accordance with the initial plans. It will be installed 800 metres north-west of the Chalastra pumping station and will run from north-west to south-east. The two branches will run side by side for 972 metres before diverging by 30 o for 1 620 metres and 1 600 metres respectively. Diffusers will be placed at a depth of 23 metres over the last 400 metres of the pipeline.

2. Far from causing pollution, the project to collect and treat Thessaloniki's urban waste water will improve the environment: based on oceanographic findings by the national maritime research centre and Thessaloniki university, the distance and depth of the underwater pipeline have been chosen so as to prevent pollutant effects.

3. The work has been carried out in accordance with the satisfactory environmental standards in force. The Phase II treatment plant currently under construction will enable all the conurbation's waste water to undergo comprehensive secondary treatment with additional nitrogen treatment, particularly during the summer, although the discharge does not occur in an area which the Member State regards as sensitive. Provision has been made for adding phosphorus treatment facilities if necessary.

The Commission is monitoring changes in the environment of the Thermaic Gulf and will ensure that the most appropriate treatment level is applied.

4. The preventive measures with regard to industrial waste from the four areas comprise: the requirement under current Greek legislation that industry must pretreat such waste before being connected to Thessaloniki's biological treatment facilities; the fully-equipped laboratory for monitoring discharge quality, to be installed within those facilities; and the toxicity indicator monitoring system, to be installed at the junction between the pipeline and Thessaloniki's industrial area.

5. In accordance with Directive 91/271/EEC concerning urban waste-water treatment(1), on 11 February 2000 Greece supplied to the Commission official notification of its sensitive areas including Thessaloniki harbour at the end of the bay. The Commission considers that the whole of Thessaloniki bay probably show signs of eutrophication and the Greek authorities have therefore been asked to examine this point in more detail.

The Commission is also verifying whether all Member States are identifying sensitive areas correctly in accordance with the Directive. A report of its findings will be published at the beginning of 2001.

(1) OJ L 135, 30.5.1991.