WRITTEN QUESTION E-0402/02 by Monica Frassoni (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Excavated waste and filling of quarries.
Date: 2002-02-21
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Italy, application of EU law, environmental protection, hazardous waste, industrial waste, mining industry, national law

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Reply

(21 May 2002)

The Council invites the Honourable Member to address her question to the Commission.

(2002/C 205 E/142)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0401/02

by Carles-Alfred Gasòliba i Böhm (ELDR) to the Commission

(21 February 2002)

Subject: Problems regarding clementines

The citrus fruit industry is of recognised importance in the economy of the Valencian Community. Since
last December the clementine sector has been facing a difficult situation because of ‘Ceratitis Wied’ (the
Mediterranean fruit fly), which has led the US administration to freeze imports of Valencian clementines.
American inspectors recently visited the Valencian region to assess the situation, without finding anything
that could have cast doubt on the food and plant safety in the US.

It is clear that a crisis has arisen in the citrus fruit industry because of the failure to fulfil the bilateral
agreements between Spain and the US and the free trade agreement envisaged within the framework of
GATT and supported by the WTO itself.

Is the Commission aware of this problem?

Could the Commision express an opinion on the breach by the US of Articles 2, 5 and 6 of the WTO and
Articles XXII and XXIII of the GATT Agreements?

If so, what action does it intend to take?

Answer given by Mr Lamy on behalf of the Commission

(18 March 2002)

The Spanish authorities notified the Commission of the problems encountered by Spanish clementines,
including those from Valencia, in the United States, and have kept it informed of contacts undertaken at
political and technical level with the US Administration in an attempt to resolve the problem in time for
the next marketing year.

The Member of the Commission responsible for trade also raised the issue in Washington in the course of
a visit on 24-25 January.

The Commission is currently studying the available documents to see whether the US measures are
compatible with WTO (World Trade Organisation) agreements, or whether the United States is in breach
of its international obligations. It can then decide what action to take on this important issue.

(2002/C 205 E/143)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0402/02

by Monica Frassoni (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(21 February 2002)

Subject: Excavated waste and filling of quarries

Italian law No 443 of 21 December 2001 (recovery of industrial production) prohibits excavated earth
from being defined as waste, even if it is contaminated. Article 1 of the law says that paragraph 3(b) of

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Article 7 and paragraph 1(fa) of Article 8 of Legislative decree No 22 of 1997 is to be interpreted as
meaning that borrow (earth and rock), even from tunnels, does not constitute waste and is therefore
excluded from the scope of application of the legislative decree even if it has been contaminated during the
production cycle as a result of the excavation, drilling or construction work, provided that the average
concentration of contamination in the total mass does not exceed the maximum limits laid down by the
legislation in force (paragraph 17) (1). In contrast to earlier waste legislation (decree law 22/1997), all
borrow which, despite being contaminated, is to be used for in-filling of pits or quarries, etc., or in any
industrial production cycle, basically no longer constitutes waste (and is no longer subject to all the checks
and provisions of the waste legislation).

On 29 September 1997 (Note No 6465) the European Commission initiated infringement proceedings
against Italy for improperly transposing European waste legislation in decree law 22/1997.

It should be noted that this relaxation of the law in fact results in the immediate termination of all criminal
proceedings started anywhere in Italy for the many unauthorised dumps created in recent years by the
high-speed train construction sites to dispose of borrow material, frequently contaminated as a result of
the construction operations (2).

Can the Commission give an assurance that Community law on waste is being complied with and that
excavated earth is again to be regarded as waste?

(1) Article 1 adds that compliance with the limits referred to in paragraph 17 is to be enforced by on-site checks on the
excavated material. The maximum acceptable limits are set out in Annex 1, Table 1, Column B, of the Environment
Ministry decree No 471 of 25 October 1999, as subsequently amended, except where the use requires a lower limit
(paragraph 18); it also states that as far as borrow material referred to in paragraph 17 is concerned, effective use for
including in-filling of
filling, embankments and grindings also means in different industrial production cycles,
worked quarries and transfer to other sites authorised on whatever grounds by the relevant administrative authority,
provided that the limits referred to in paragraph 18 are complied with and the transfer is carried out in accordance
with the environmental rehabilitation rules for the area concerned (paragraph 19).

(2) This assumption is clearly confirmed by the fact that Law 443/01 expressly added the clause ‘even from tunnels’ to
the earlier version of the legislation reading ‘excavated earth and rock’, and at the same time took care to impose
verification standards that would encompass even contaminated material from the high-speed train construction site
in the exemptions.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(2 April 2002)

Council Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 on waste (1), as amended by Council Directive 91/156/EEC
of 18 March 1991 (2), aims to protect human health and environment against harmful effects caused by
the collection, transport, treatment, storage and tipping of waste. The definition of waste is fixed in
Article 1 a) of Directive 75/442/EEC as any substance or object in the categories set out in Annex I which
the holder discards or intends or is required to discard.

Excavated earth is waste for the purposes of the Waste Framework Directive (Directive 75/442/EEC),
Article 1a). It falls within the concept of discard. This is so even if the excavated earth is inert and/or (as
would be hoped and expected) is to be reused later. It is important to note that excavated earth without
proper management does present actual or potential environmental adverse impact in terms of disruption
of soil base, potential dangers of mound slides etc.

The Commission, acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 18 of Directive
91/156/EEC, has drawn up a list of wastes belonging to the categories listed in Annex I (European Waste
Catalogue (EWC)). Chapter 17 of Commission Decision 2001/118/EC of 16 January 2001, amending
Decision 2000/532/EC as regards the list of wastes (3), is entitled: Construction and demolition wastes
(including excavated soil from contaminated sites). Soil and stones containing dangerous substances and
soil and stones other than those containing dangerous substances are included in this chapter (EWC codes
17 05 03 and 17 05 04).

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In 1997, the Commission already challenged Italian legislation which excluded, at Article 8, paragraph 2,
letter c, of Decreto Legislativo 5 febbraio 1997 No 22 (first version) transposing waste Community
directives, the ‘non hazardous materials derived from digging activity’ from the scope of application of
Italian waste legislation. This exclusion has then been repealed by the next version of the Italian decree.

In the light of the above, the Italian law No 443 of 21 December 2001, which prohibits excavated soil and
stones from being defined as waste, even if it is contaminated, could be in breach of the Community waste
legislation.

The Commission will take the appropriate steps in order to verify the compliance with Community law in
the specific case. Should the Commission identify a breach of Community law, it would not hesitate, as the
guardian of the EC Treaty, to take all necessary measures conferred on it by the EC Treaty, including
infringement procedures under Article 226 of the EC Treaty,
in order to ensure the compliance with
relevant Community law.

(1) OJ L 194, 25.7.1975.
(2) OJ L 78, 26.3.1991.
(3) OJ L 47, 16.2.2001.

(2002/C 205 E/144)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0416/02

by Sérgio Marques (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(21 February 2002)

Subject: Galileo

forward an independent satellite
In its communication of 10 February 1999 the Commission put
navigation programme, called Galileo, which it proposed to pursue in four phases, namely the definition
phase, the test and validation phase, the deployment phase, and the operation phase.

Given that the definition phase has already been completed and the Commission sees no financial,
economic, or technical reasons to postpone the start of the test phase again, is the Galileo programme
likely to proceed according to the timetable initially laid down?

The fact that there are two independent space systems, GPS and Galileo, which, however, are compatible,
will give rise to new applications and uses and also speed up the introduction of satellite navigation
systems in many fields.

The Commission has been conducting bilateral negotiations with the United States in accordance with the
brief given by the Member States. What progress have the negotiations made to date, and what are the
prospects for effective coordination of the two systems to guarantee the high levels of safety required in
order to implement satellite navigation services?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(17 April 2002)

The total cost of the Galileo satellite navigation programme is estimated at between € 3,2 and 3,4 billion.

The programme is in three phases:

F a development and validation phase (2001-2005):

F development of the satellites and ground components;

F validation of the system ‘in orbit’;