WRITTEN QUESTION E-0044/04 by Monica Frassoni (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Val Jumela.
Date: 2004-01-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU environmental policy, Italy, environmental law, protected area, protected species, protection of plant life

C 84 E/752

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

3.4.2004

(2004/C 84 E/0847)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0030/04

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(20 January 2004)

Subject: Landfill and gravel extraction sites

Can the Commission state whether any EU legislation exists that stipulates the distance of landfill and
gravel extraction sites from houses, roads and water courses?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(23 February 2004)

As regards landfills, Annex I.1 of Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of
waste (1) states that the location of a landfill must take into consideration requirements relating to:

(a)

the distances from the boundary of the site to residential and recreational areas, waterways, water
bodies and other agricultural or urban sites;

(b)

the existence of groundwater, coastal water or nature protection zones in the area;

(c)

the geological and hydrogeological conditions in the area;

(d)

the risk of flooding, subsidence, landslides or avalanches on the site;

(e)

the protection of the nature or cultural patrimony in the area.

The landfill can be authorised only if the characteristics of the site with respect to the above-mentioned
requirements, or the corrective measures to be taken, indicate that the landfill does not pose a serious
environmental risk. However, the Directive does not stipulate any specific distances from houses, roads or
water courses.

As regards gravel extraction, such an activity is governed by Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 25 June
1985, on the assessment of the effects of certain projects on the environment (2) as amended by Council
Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 (3). Location is one of the criteria to be taken into account in
assessing the potential significant effects of extractive activities. Similarly, the Directive does not stipulate
any specific distances but relevant requirements may be found in national provisions implementing the
Directive.

(1) OJ L 182, 16.7.1999.
(2) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985.
(3) OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.

(2004/C 84 E/0848)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0044/04

by Monica Frassoni (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(20 January 2004)

Subject: Val Jumela

Article 3 of Directive 92/43/EEC (1) states that a coherent European ecological network of special areas of
conservation is to be set up under the title ‘Natura 2000’.

Article 4 of the directive sets out the procedure for defining this network: first of all a draft list of sites of
Community importance is proposed by the Member States; a list of sites of Community importance (SCI) is
subsequently adopted by the Commission on the basis of the proposals; finally, the SCI are classified as
special areas of conservation by the Member States.

Article 6 lays down the conservation measures for the special areas of conservation. Furthermore,
in
accordance with Article 4(5), as soon as a site is placed on the list of sites of Community importance it is
subject to the provisions of Article 6.

3.4.2004

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 84 E/753

In the context of the designation procedure referred to above, the Member States take account of the
presence in the sites of habitats and species of Community interest mentioned in Annexes I and II to the
directive.

The Val Jumela (part of the territory of the Val di Fassa) is the only site where there is still a population of
Botrychium simplex, an endemic plant species included in Annex II to Directive 92/43/EEC.

Can the Commission say whether, on the basis of the criteria applicable for drawing up the list of sites of
Community importance, the Val Jumela is to be included in the list of SCIs in the Alpine biogeographic
region and, if not, why not?

(1) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(23 February 2004)

The list of sites of Community importance for the Alpine region was adopted by the Commission on
22 December 2003. This list does not include the area of Val Jumela in the Trento Autonomous Province.

The list of sites adopted by the Commission was based on proposal by the national authorities, and its
ability to reach the objectives of Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of
natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, was assessed by the Commission through a process of
bio-geographic seminars, in collaboration with the Topic Centre for Nature Conservation and Biodiversity
of the European Environment Agency. This process had the active participation of environmental non-
governmental organisations (NGOs), land-owners’ organisations and independent experts.

The last bio-geographic seminar for the Alpine region took place in Brussels on 11 and 12 October 2001,
and concluded that the site proposed by Italy for the species Botrychium simplex (‘Dolomiti di Brenta’) was
the only one in which the species had been signalled.

In April 2003, the Commission was informed by the regional section of the World Wide Fund for Nature
(WWF) that the only site for this plant species is actually Val
in further exchanges of
correspondence, that the indication of the species in the site ‘Dolomiti di Brenta’ was based on an old
bibliographic reference but that no plants of this species had been identified in the site for a long time.
Unfortunately, this information was received by the Commission only at a time when the assessment of
the list for the Alpine region had been finalised, and it was impossible to re-open the discussion on
designation of individual sites.

Jumela and,

At this time, the main priority for the Commission is to complete the adoption of the lists of sites of
Community importance for all bio-geographic regions. That process is expected to be concluded in 2004
for the present 15 Member States. Only after that will the Commission be able to start making changes to
the adopted lists on the basis of new proposals by the Member States. In the meantime, Member States
can, of course, adopt measures for the protection of this or other species through their national or regional
legislation.

The Italian authorities are aware of the exchange of information concerning Botrychium simplex.

(2004/C 84 E/0849)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0050/04

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(20 January 2004)

Subject: Conflict over pollution (cid:1) between the Celulosas de Pontevedra woodpulp factory (Ence, Galicia)

and the people and municipal authorities of Pontevedra

The Celulosas de Pontevedra woodpulp factory (Ence, Galicia) has occupied, for the last forty years and
more, under an administrative concession, an area of publicly-owned land on the shore of
the
Ría de Pontevedra. This land is now effectively part of the built-up area of the municipality of Pontevedra.