WRITTEN QUESTION E-1866/00 by Laura González Álvarez (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. The Garraf (Barcelona) Tip.
Date: 2000-06-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Catalonia, domestic waste, infringement of EU law

20.3.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 89 E/101

(2001/C 89 E/108)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1860/00

by Carles-Alfred Gas(cid:242)liba i B(cid:246)hm (ELDR) to the Council

Subject: Road between Cabanes and Oropesa (Castell(cid:242)n province)

(13 June 2000)

In the Spanish province of Castell(cid:243)n, the Necso-Rover Alcisa company has been awarded the contract to
build a road between Cabanes and Oropesa.

The project has not been subject to an environmental impact assessment for the Natural Park of the
Desierto de las Palmas and its surroundings, which are home to many unique local species, both in the
cave of (cid:145)l(cid:146)ullal de miravet(cid:146) and the area(cid:146)s other caves; this fauna is extremely habitat-sensitive, which means
that any alteration to that habitat could lead to the extinction of the species concerned.

The southern stretch of the proposed road would likewise affect equally or even more important areas of
equal or greater natural beauty and environmental importance than the Desierto de las Palmas natural
park.

Since no environmental impact assessments have been carried out for any of the preliminary proposals for
the sections of the road (north, intermediate and south), what measures will the Council take to ensure
that environmental legislation is complied with?

Reply

(23 October 2000)

The question raised by the Honourable Member does not fall within the competence of the Council. It is
up to the Commission, as guardian of the Treaty, to ensure in accordance with Article 226 of the Treaty
that the relevant Community legislation is correctly transposed into national law and properly enforced

(2001/C 89 E/109)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1866/00

by Laura GonzÆlez `lvarez (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

Subject: The Garraf (Barcelona) Tip

(9 June 2000)

The Garraf Tip, located in the Gav(cid:224) i Begues (Barcelona) municipality, opened in 1972, and is used for
mass urban waste dumping. It currently holds over 20 million tonnes of rubbish.

This tip is built on porous limestone, and when it was built, no measures were taken to make it
impermeable, with the result that it has been leaching into the underground water supply for 28 years
and causing pollution as far as the sea and the bed of the Llobregat Delta, which has been declared an area
of special natural interest. The tip lies within a natural park established by a decree of the Generalitat de
Catalunya of 18 February 1987 on the (cid:145)Plan Especial de Protecci(cid:243)n del Medio F(cid:237)sico y del Paisaje del
Espacio de InterØs Natural del Garraf(cid:146) (special plan for the protection of the physical environment and
natural beauty of the Garraf area of natural interest). Article 28 of the legislation in force until last year
laid down that the dumping of organic material would cease on 31 December 1999.

On 6 April 2000, the biannual revision of the Metropolitan Municipal Waste Management Programme was
adopted, providing for the use of the Garraf Tip until 31 December 2006.

Both the biannual revision and the amendment of the special plan for the protection of the Garraf area
ignore Council Directive 1999/31/EC on the dumping of waste, which is to be transposed into national
legislation by 31 July 2001 (Article 18). Under this directive, the Garraf Tip will not meet the conditions
for remaining open, and should be closed (paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of Annex I).

Furthermore, the Garraf Tip is an (cid:145)illegal(cid:146) installation, given that it is an industrial-type plant built on land
classified as (cid:145)woodland(cid:146) by the General Metropolitan Plan currently in force. Moreover, it has no municipal
operating licence from the Gav(cid:224) Town Council.

C 89 E/102

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.3.2001

The tip therefore infringes Article 1(3) and (4) of EC Directive 156/1991 on waste, of 18 March 1991 (1).
It also infringes Directive 97/11/EC.

What does the Commission intend to do to make sure that the Community directives in question are
complied with?

(1) OJ L 78, 26.3.1991.

Answer given by Mrs Wallstr(cid:246)m on behalf of the Commission

(31 July 2000)

The Commission had not been aware of the situation referred to by the Honourable Member.

It should be borne in mind that, at the moment, waste treatment is governed by Council Directive 75/442/
EEC (1) of 15 July 1975 on waste, as amended by Council Directive 91/156/EEC (2). Article 4 thereof
stipulates that Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that waste is disposed of without
endangering human health and without harming the environment, and in particular without risk to water,
air, soil and plants and animals, without causing a nuisance through noise or odours and without adversely
affecting the countryside or places of special interest.

Under Article 9 of Directive 75/442/EEC all installations and undertakings treating waste must obtain a
permit; since we are here discussing a possible infringement of Council Directive 1999/31/EC (3) of
26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste, it should be noted that, so far, that Directive has not laid down
any mandatory rule for the Member States since, according to Article 18, the deadline for its transposition
is 16 July 2001.

It should be noted that Article 3, paragraph 2 of Council Directive 97/11/EC (4) of 3 March 1997,
amending Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on
the environment states that
for authorisation was submitted before 14 July 1999 the
provisions of the version of Directive 85/337/EEC preceding its amendment shall apply.

if a request

In any case, in its capacity as guardian of the Treaties, the Commission shall take any action needed in
order to ensure that Community law is complied with in this instance.

(1) OJ L 194, 25.7.1975.
(2) OJ L 78, 26.3.1991.
(3) OJ L 182, 16.7.1999.
(4) OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.

(2001/C 89 E/110)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1868/00

by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission

(9 June 2000)

Subject: Typical products and food policy

The introduction of a (cid:145)European(cid:146) food policy presupposes action to protect high-quality typical products
and ensure they have the special features associated with local specialities. Such products guarantee a high
level of health and consumer protection. This certainly does not apply to the 6 million quintals of grated
cheese sold under the (cid:145)Parmesan(cid:146) label despite the fact that it has no connection with Parma, as it is
produced in areas which have none of the characteristics of the region where Parmiggiano Reggiano
cheese originated and by methods other than those that have always been used there.