WRITTEN QUESTION E-2652/00

by Monica Frassoni (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(1 September 2000)

Subject: Water management and administration of the related Community funding in Sardinia

At present, Sardinia, which has a population of 1 631 000, has as many as 31 large and medium-sized reservoirs with a maximum capacity of 1 589 million m3. Final filling permission has been granted up to a volume of 1 486 million m3, and filling trials have begun at the new dam on the river Tirso, which will further increase the maximum capacity by approximately 300 million m3. That notwithstanding, Sardinia has been hit by its second serious water emergency within the space of the last ten years. The bad water management

is plain for all to see. The 42 different managing bodies do not coordinate their operations. Large quantities of drinking-water are used in industry. On average, 30 % of the water carried by the urban distribution networks is lost, and the wastage rate can peak as high as 200 %. There is no water saving policy. Under the 1995 government order, the chairman of Sardinia Regional Council was appointed government commissioner responsible for the water emergency. The 73 operations carried out under the programme to tackle the emergency, funded by a budget of ITL 1 486 billion, have not proved very effective, given that Sardinia is now in the grip of an even worse emergency. Out of the above-mentioned 73 operations, 26 have been financed by the water resources operational programme forming part of the 1994-1999 Community support framework, funded by over ITL 562 billion, and have focused almost exclusively on new dams and similar works.

1. Has the Commission considered the outcome of the operational programme in the light of the requisite ex ante assessment of operations under the 1994-1999 Community support framework (Article 42 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999(1))?

2. Has the Commission ascertained that the legislation on environmental impact assessment was observed where the above operations were concerned? Will it take steps if the EIA procedure applied to the works is shown to have been flawed?

3. How will the Commission deal with the proposals for Community funding submitted by the Sardinian regional authorities for the new Structural Funds programming period 2000-2006, especially as regards policies to promote water saving and sustainable use of water resources, and assessment of the environmental costs of water management policies? Will funding be provided for operations to reduce network leakage and recycle water for industrial uses?

(1) OJ L 161, 22.6.1999, p. 1.

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(6 November 2000)

The Commission is aware of Sardinia's underdevelopment as regards managing water resources.

The Commission does not yet have an ex post evaluation of the results and impact of the water resources programme for 1994-1999, since the deadline for the closure of payments is 31 December 2001. Under the regulations in force, the evaluation report must be submitted to the Commission by 30 June 2002.

The Commission has ensured that the projects proposed for part-financing from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) comply with the Directives in terms of environmental impact assessment. Inter alia within the Monitoring Committees, the Italian authorities have given assurances that such an assessment has been carried out whenever applicable. It should be borne in mind that environment ministry representatives also attend the technical committee responsible for project selection.

For the 2000-2006 programming period, the Community support framework (CSF) for the Italian regions eligible under Objective 1 has set priorities for the sector which cover two aspects: infrastructure improvement and management system administration. As regards the first, assistance will have to be concentrated on converting water conveyancing and purification facilities, adapting supply and distribution monitoring systems, and building new facilities for reusing purified water. As regards the second, effective management systems will have to be developed in order to make a clearer distinction between controlling and managing resources and to bridge the gap between assistance planning and financial responsibility.

The regional operational programme (ROP) for Sardinia lists these points under measure 1.1 of the natural resources priority. The detailed criteria set by the CSF will apply in order to ensure that the projects selected are consistent with the sectoral law in force in Italy (Legge Galli).

The water framework Directive(1) which Parliament and the Council recently adopted strongly promotes integrated planning and management of surface waters and groundwater as regards both quality and quantity, based on six-year management plans covering the whole of each river basin. The plans must be put into operation by 2009. The water framework Directive requires Member States, in the course of preparing their river basin management plans, to analyse for each river basin its geological, hydrological, ecological and other characteristics, the impact of human activity on water status, and the economics of water use. The analyses must be completed by 2004, and an operational monitoring programme for water status must be established by 2006. The latter two deadlines fall during the period of the ROP and will provide a basis for implementing it in accordance with Community legislation.

(1) PRES/2000/283.