WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3411/97 by Roberta ANGELILLI to the Commission. Expansion of the capacity of the 'Inviolata' waste disposal site between Guidonia and Mentana in Lazio
Date: 1997-10-28
Institutions: ANGELILLI, European Parliament
Subjects: EC Directive, Latium, environmental impact, nuisance, waste disposal, waste management

25. 5. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 158/105

(98/C 158/137)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3411/97

by Roberta Angelilli (NI) to the Commission

(28 October 1997)

Subject: Expansion of the capacity of the (cid:145)Inviolata(cid:146) waste disposal site between Guidonia and Mentana in Lazio

The (cid:145)Inviolata(cid:146) waste disposal site situated between Guidonia and Mentana in Lazio was the subject of Written
Question  E-1410/97 (1)  of  April  1997,  which  outlined  to  the  Commission  the  adverse  situation  affecting  the
inhabitants of the area, who are forced to tolerate daily the emissions caused by the waste contained in the dump.
Recently (cid:145)Ecoitalia 87(cid:146), the company which manages the site, decided to open a new section, thereby increasing
the capacity by more than 450 000 cubic metres, whereas the majority of the inhabitants wanted the site to be
definitively closed.

In view of this and the fact that the Region of Lazio, the Province of Rome and the town council of Guidonia are
due to express their opinion on the project, can the Commission say:

1.  whether the project to open a new section at the Inviolata site complies with the provisions of Directive

91/156/EEC (2) on waste disposal;

2.  whether the project, which apparently provides for an increased capacity of 450 000 cubic metres, must be
subjected to an environmental impact assessment procedure in accordance with Directive 85/337/EEC;

3.  whether,  apart  from  the  above-mentioned  directives,  there  are  other  Community  provisions  regulating

projects to create or expand waste disposal plants?

(1)  OJ C 373, 9.12.1997, p. 120.
(2)  OJ L 78, 26.3.1991, p. 32.

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission

(27 November 1997)

Article 4 of Directive 75/442/EEC on waste, as amended by Directive 91/156/EEC, lays down that waste must be
disposed  of  among  other  things  without  causing  a  nuisance  through  noise  or  odours  and  that  appropriate
installations for waste disposal are subject to an authorisation from the authorities.

The  Commission  already  contacted  the  Italian  authorities  following  Written  Question  E-1410/97  from  the
Honourable Member in order to obtain information on the foul smells emanating from the discharges from the
(cid:145)Inviolata(cid:146),  situated  between  Guidonia  and  Mentana  in  Rome  province.  As  it  has  received  no  Reply,  the
Commission will send another letter to the Italian authorities mentioning the new information provided by the
Honourable Member.

Although  discharges  of  dangerous  waste  are  immediately  subject  to  the  environmental  impact  assessment
procedure  (EIA),  this  is  not  the  case  for  discharges  of  non-dangerous  waste  included  under  the  category  of
installations for the disposal of industrial and domestic waste in Annex II(11)(c) of Directive 85/337/EEC on the
assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (1). Projects in Annex II are
subject  to  the  environmental  impact  assessment  procedure  where  Member  States  consider  that  their
characteristics so require. However, these projects must be subjected to a prior examination to determine whether
an environmental impact assessment is required; such an assessment must be carried out where the effects of the
environment are significant by virtue of the nature, size or location of the project.

As regards the regulations applicable to waste disposal installations, Community law in force is more particularly
concerned  with  existing  municipal  waste  incineration  plants  (Directive  89/429/EEC (2))  and  new  municipal
waste incineration plants (Directive 89/369/EEC (3)). Consideration is currently being given to a proposal for a
Directive aimed at introducing specific rules for discharges (4).

(1)  OJ L 175, 5.7.1985.
(2)  OJ L 203, 15.7.1989.
(3)  OJ L 163, 14.6.1989.
(4)  Doc. COM(97) 105.