WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1600/96 by Honório NOVO to the Commission. Community legislation in respect of landfill sites for the disposal of household waste
Date: 1996-06-24
Institutions: European Parliament, NOVO
Subjects: Portugal, application of EU law, domestic waste, environmental impact, exchange of information, impact study, public health, waste disposal, waste management













EUR-Lex - 91996E1600 - EN






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91996E1600

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1600/96 by Honório NOVO to the Commission. Community legislation in respect of landfill sites for the disposal of household waste  


Official Journal C 345 , 15/11/1996 P. 0087 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1600/96 by Honório Novo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (24 June 1996)Subject: Community legislation in respect of landfill sites for the disposal of household wasteIn Portugal, various procedures are currently under way with a view to deciding on the location of, preparing public competitions for, and subsequently constructing landfill sites for the disposal of household and industrial waste.These procedures have been hotly disputed by the people in the areas concerned, who are accusing the local authorities of taking decisions on the basis of technically ill-founded and/or incomplete studies without having carried out environmental impact studies and, in certain cases, without responding appropriately to the many calls for public information and transparency.The people affected and the organizations which represent them have not even succeeded in obtaining comprehensive information or securing access to the national and Community laws which regulate the procedure for determining the location of such sites and then constructing them.In these circumstances, would the Commission provide details of all current Community legislation (relating to all aspects, including the environment) which regulates decisions on the location of landfill sites for household waste?Which of these Community laws have already been incorporated into Portuguese law, which have not and, of the latter, which should have already been incorporated?Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (17 July 1996)Community legislation does not contain any special provisions on the location of landfill sites for household waste. Directive 75/442/EEC ((OJ L 194, 25.7.1975. )) (waste in general), as amended by Directive 91/156/EEC, ((OJ L 78, 26.3.1991. )) therefore applies, in particular Article 4 which stipulates that 'Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that waste is recovered or disposed of without endangering human health and without using processes or methods which could harm the environment'.It should also be pointed out that installations for the disposal of domestic waste are covered by Annex II to Directive 85/337/EEC ((OJ L 175, 5.7.1985. )) (environmental impact assessment). Projects involving such installations must therefore, in accordance with Article 4(2) of the Directive, be the subject of an environmental impact assessment 'where Member States consider that their characteristics so require', i.e. if, by virtue of their nature, size or location, projects are likely to have significant effects on the environment (Article 2).Finally, the Commission would inform the Honourable Member that the national transposing measures are, for Directive 85/337/EEC, Decree-Law No 186/90 and Regulatory Decree No 38/90 and, for Directive 75/442/EEC, Decree-Law No 310/95 and Order No 15/96.