Case C-268/23: Judgment of the Court (Ninth Chamber) of 4 October 2024 – European Commission v French Republic (Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations – Environment – Directive 91/271/EEC – Treatment of urban waste water – Article 4 – Obligation to ensure secondary or equivalent treatment of urban waste water entering collecting systems – Article 5 – Sensitive areas – Article 10 – Obligation to ensure that urban waste water treatment plants are designed, constructed, operated and maintained to ensure sufficient performance – Article 15 – Obligation to monitor – Annex I B and D – Control of discharges from urban waste water treatment plants)
Date: 2024-10-04
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: environmental monitoring, infringement of EU law, national implementing measure, pollution control measures, regions of France, wastewater, water pollution, water treatment








C_202407013EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2024/7013


2.12.2024






Judgment of the Court (Ninth Chamber) of 4 October 2024 – European Commission v French Republic


(Case C-268/23)
                (1)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations - Environment - Directive 91/271/EEC - Treatment of urban waste water - Article 4 - Obligation to ensure secondary or equivalent treatment of urban waste water entering collecting systems - Article 5 - Sensitive areas - Article 10 - Obligation to ensure that urban waste water treatment plants are designed, constructed, operated and maintained to ensure sufficient performance - Article 15 - Obligation to monitor - Annex I B and D - Control of discharges from urban waste water treatment plants)
(C/2024/7013)
Language of the case: French

Parties


Applicant: European Commission (represented by: E. Sanfrutos Cano and C. Valero, acting as Agents)

Defendant: French Republic (represented initially by R. Bénard, M. De Lisi and W. Zemamta, subsequently by R. Bénard and M. De Lisi, acting as Agents)

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1)


Declares that, by failing to take the measures necessary to ensure, so far as concerns the following 78 agglomerations: Romans-sur-Isère, Auchy-les-Mines, Neufchâtel-en-Bray, Hayange, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Fumel, La Grand-Combe, Uzein, La Côte Saint André-Charpillates, Gan, Fontaine-Notre-Dame, Maurs and Saint-Étienne-de-Maurs, Saint-Privat-des-Vieux, Terrasson-Lavilledieu, Arcangues-Bassussarry, Hauteville-Lompnes-Chef-lieu, Larche, Le Bugue, Le Lorrain, Villers-Outréaux, Roquebillière, Nogaro, Maubourguet, Charleval, Albens, Cilaos, Galéria, Châteauneuf-sur-Isère, Fort-de-France, Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, Cavaillon, Feurs, Chef-du-Pont, Villeparisis, Rambouillet-Gazeran La Guéville, Libourne, Cernay, Tignes-Le Lac, Pontcharra, Sainte-Livrade-sur-Lot, Idron-Ousse-Sendets, Arudy, Veynes, Bians-les-Usiers, Pont-à-Marcq, Ambazac, Bollwiller, Maisons-du-Bois-Lièvremont, Saint-Mard, Saint-Esprit, Tignes-Les Brévières, Habère-Poche, Izernore-Chef-lieu, Beaujeu, Trois-Rivières, Saint-Jean-De-Luz-Ciboure Urrugne, Die, Giromagny, Le Robert, Le Touvet, Mauléon-Licharre, Notre-Dame-de-Riez-Chemin de l’étang, Chabris, Pouilly sous-Charlieu-Bourg, Culoz, Condé-sur-Vire, Sentheim, Waldighofen, Masevaux, Maulevrier, Castetnau-Camblong, Saint-Jean-de-Bournay, Abos-Tarsacq, Villié-Morgon, Afa, Connerré, Les Epesses-Puy du Fou and Patrimonio,






—


that, at the latest by 31 December 2000, in the 20 of those agglomerations whose population equivalent is more than 15 000, the urban waste water collected was, before discharge, subject to secondary treatment in compliance with Article 4 of Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 concerning urban waste water treatment, as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1137/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2008, respecting the parameters set out in Annex I B thereto, or to an equivalent treatment;










—


that, at the latest by 31 December 2005, in the 5 of those agglomerations whose population equivalent is between 10 000 and 15 000, the urban waste water collected was, before discharge, subject to secondary treatment complying with Article 4 of Council Directive 91/271, as amended, respecting the parameters set out in Annex I B thereto, as amended, or to an equivalent treatment;










—


that, at the latest by 31 December 2005, in the 53 of those agglomerations whose population equivalent is between 2 000 and 10 000, the urban waste water collected was, before discharge, subject to secondary treatment complying with Article 4 of Council Directive 91/271, as amended, respecting the parameters set out in Annex I B thereto, or to an equivalent treatment;










—


that, at the latest by 31 December 1998, in the 10 of those agglomerations whose population equivalent is more than 10 000 and where urban waste water is discharged to receiving waters designated as ‘sensitive areas’, within the meaning of Directive 91/271, as amended, that urban waste water was, before discharge, subject to treatment more stringent than a secondary treatment or an equivalent treatment, in compliance with Article 5 of that directive, as amended, respecting the parameters set out in Annex I B thereto;










—


that the urban waste water treatment plants of those 78 agglomerations were designed, constructed, operated and maintained to ensure sufficient performance under all normal local climatic conditions and that, when those plants were being designed, account was taken of seasonal variations of the load in accordance with Article 10 of Directive 91/271, as amended, and










—


that the competent authorities or appropriate bodies monitored discharges from the urban waste water treatment plants of those 78 agglomerations to verify their compliance with the requirements of Annex I B to Directive 91/271, as amended, following the control procedures laid down in Annex I D thereto as is required by the first indent of Article 15(1) of that directive, as amended.
the French Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 4 and/or Article 5 of Directive 91/271, as amended, read in combination with Annex I.B thereto, Article 10 of that directive, as amended, and Article 15 of the said directive, as amended, read in combination with Annex I B and D thereto;














2)


Orders the French Republic to pay the costs.






(1)  
            OJ C 252, 17.7.2023.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/7013/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)