CELEX: 51978PC0742
Language: en
Date: 1979-01-11
Title: Amendments to the proposal for a Council directive on the protection of groundwater against pollution caused by certain dangerous substances. (Presented by the Commission to the Council pursuant to the second paragraph of Article 149 of the EEC Treaty)

ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DE LA COMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEE DES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (78) 742
Vol. 1978/0274
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 ---pagebreak---         COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                            COM(78)742 final.
                                                            Brussels . 11 January 1979 *
                                                          t
                                                        /
                                      X; ,
                  Amendments to the proposal for a Council directive
                  on the protection of groundwater against pollution
                  caused "by certain dangerous substances .
                  (Presented "by the Commission to the Council pur­
                   suant to the second paragraph of Article 149 of
                                    the EEC Treaty)
CW78 ) 742 final.
 ---pagebreak---                  PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE OH THE PROTECTION
                 OP GROUNDWATER AGAINST POLLUTION CAUSED BY CERTAIN
                                  DANGEROUS SUBSTANCES
ORIGINAL TEXT                               AMENDED TEXT
THE COUNCIL OP THE EUROPEAN                 – unchanged
   COMMUNITIES ,
Having regard, to the Treaty
establishing the European Economic
Community , and in particular Articles
100 and 235 thereof ,
Having regard to the proposal from
 the Commission ,
Having regard to the opinion of the
 European Parliament ,
Having regard to the opinion of the
 Economic and Social Committee ,
 Whereas there is an urgent need for         – unchanged
 action to protect the groundwater of
 the Community from pollution , parti­
 cularly that caused by certain toric ,
 persistent and bioaccumulable sub­
 stances ;
 Whereas the programmes of action of         – unchanged
 the European Communities on the
  environment of 1973 and 1 977 ^ provide
  for a number of measures to protect
 groundwater from certain pollutants ;
  Whereas Article 4 of Council Directive     – unchanged
  74/464/EEC of 4 May 1976 on pollution
  caused by certain dangerous substances
  discharged into the aquatic environ­
  ment of the Community 2 provides for
  the implementation of a separate
  Direotive on groundwater ;
    OJ No C 112 , 20.12.1973 , p . 1 and
    OJ No C 139 » 13.06.1977 , p . 1
    OJ No L 129 , I8.O5.I976 , p. 23
 ---pagebreak--- ORIGINAL TEXT                             AMETTDED TEXT
Whereas any disparity between the         - unchanged
provisions on the discharge of cer­
tain dangerous substances into
groundwater already applicable or in
preparation in the Member States may
create unequal conditions of compe­
tition and thus directly affect the
functioning of the common market ;
whereas it is therefore necessary to
approximate laws in this field , as
provided for in Article 100 of the
Treaty;
Whereas it is necessary for this          - unohanged
approximation of laws to be ac­
companied by Community action in the
sphere of environmental protection
and- improvement of the quality of
life ; whereas certain specific pro­
visions to this effect should there­
fore be laid down ; whereas Article
235 of "the Treaty should be invoked
as the requisite powers have not been
provided for by the Treaty;
Whereas substances discharged are , by    Whereas , by virtue of the purifying capacity
virtue of the purifying capacity of       of the soil and subsoil , substances dis­
the soil and subsoil , subjected to        charged may be subjected to processes
processes capable of reducing their       which reduce their pollutant capacity ;
pollutant capacity; whereas a distinc­     whereas the existence of this capacity should
tion should therefore be made between     be verified and monitored in order to avoid
direct and indireot discharge into the     any risk of pollution of the CToundwater :
groundwater ;
Whereas , in order to ensure effective    Whereas , in order to ensure effective
protection of the groundwater of the       protection of the groundwater of the
Community , it is necessary to prohibit    Community , it is necessary to prohibit
the direct discharge of the substances     the discharge of the substances on List I
enumerated in List I and to make the       and to make all direct and indirect dis­
indirect discharge of the substances       charges of the substances on List II subject
on this List and the direct or in­         to prior authorization ;
direct discharge of the substances on
 List II subject to prior authorization )
Whereas the following should be ex­       Whereas the following should be excluded from
 cluded from the scope of this            the scope of this Directives domestic effluent
 Directive ! domestic effluent from       from isolated dwellings , on account of the low
 isolated dwellings , on account of the   risk of pollution and the difficulty of con­
 low risk of pollution and the diffi­     trolling the discharge of such effluent ;
 culty of controlling the discharge of    wastes arising from normal agricultural
 Buch effluent ; wastes arising from      acitivities which will be the subject of
 normal agricultural activities ; wastes  special Community rules : wastes generated
 generated by the titanium dioxide        by the titanium dioxide industry which are
 industry , which will be the subject     already covered by Council Directive
 cf speoial Community rules f
                                             OJ Ho L 54t 25.02.1978 , p. 19
 ---pagebreak--- ORIGINAL TEXT                             AMENDED TEXT
radioactive substances arid wastes ,      radioactive mibsiancea and vraates , since
aince they are already covered by         they are already covered by Council
Council Directive 'jC/yj^/WG of           Directive 76/ 579/fEC of 1 June 1976
1 June 1976 laying down the revised       laying down the revised basic naf'cty stan­
basic safety standards for the health     dards for the health protection of the
protection of the general public and      general publio and workers uftninet the
workers against the dangers of            dangers of ionizing radir.tion
ionizing radiation 1 5
Whereas exceptions should be permit­      Whereas exceptions should be permitted
ted to allow certain dangerous sub­       to allow certain dangerous nubstanoes
stances to be removed from the            to be removed from the ecosystem ,
ecosystem , "discharge " of which into    "discharge " of which into aquifers
aquifers isolated from the biosphere      unusable for any present or future pur­
is effective and ecologically             pose is effective and eoologically
harmless ;                                harmless ;
Whereas it is necessary to provide        Whereas it is necessary to provide for
for other exceptions to the prohibi­      other exceptions to the prohibition on
tion on the direct discharge of sub­      the direct discharge of substances on
stances on List I in view of the          List I in view of the scientific and
scientific and praotical benefit which    practical benefit which certain dis­
certain discharges may offer , or         charges may offer , or because they do not
because they do not affect ground­         affect groundwater quality precisely since
water quality }                           they only contain traces of such substances ;
                                           ( new recital )
                                          Whereas replenishment of groundwater for
                                           the purpose of improving water supplies ,
                                           carried out under the permanent supervision
                                           of the appropriate authorities in the
                                          Member States , guarantees continuous
                                           supplies for the population ;
                                           ( new recital )
                                           Whereas , in view of their vulnerability
                                           to pollution , karst soil and subsoil
                                           require special protection measures ;
Whe^pas an inventory of the authori–      – unchanged
 xations granted for the discharge of
 List I substances into groundwater
 should be drawn up in order that
their origin may be determined ;
Whereas Member States should be able ,    – unchanged,
 individually or jointly , to take more
 stringent measures than those pro­
vided for under this Directive }
 Whereas it may be necessary to revise     – unchanged
 and , where required , supplement Lists
 I and II on the basis of experience ,
 if appropriate , by transferring cer­
 tain substances from List II to List I ;
 1
   OJ No L 187 . 12.07.1976 , p.1              OJ Ho L 187 , 12.07.1976 , P.1
 ---pagebreak---                                          - 4 -
  ORIGINAL TEXT                                AMENDED TEXT
  Article 1                                    Article 1
  1.    The purpose of this Directive is       – unchanged
  to prevent } reduce or eliminate
  groundwater pollution caused by sub­
  stances belonging to the families and
  groups of substances enumerated in
  Lists I and II in the Annex , herein­
  after called "substances in Lists I
  or II ".
                                               1 a
                                               The Member States shall take all possible
                                               measures to ensure that the discharge into
                                               groundwater of the substances on Lists I
                                               and II is prohibited or strictly limited .
  2.    For the purposes of this               2.     For the purposes of this Directive i –
  Directive :–
( a)  "groundwater" means all water          ( a)   "groundwater" means all water which is
      which is below the surface of the             below the surface of the ground in the
      ground in the water saturation                saturation zone and in direct contact
      zone and in direct contact with               with the ground ;
      the ground ;                                  ( one word deleted )
00 "pollution" means the discharge by (b) – unohanged
      man , directly or indirectly , of
      substances into the groundwater ,
      the consequences of which are
      likely to endanger human health ,
      water supplies , living resources
      or the aquatic ecosystem , or to
      interfere with other legitimate
      uses of this water ;
( o ) "direct discharge" means the           ( c ) "direct discharge" means the introduction
      introduction into the ground­                 into the groundwater of substances in
      water of substances in Lists I    or          Lists I or II without percolation
      II without passage through the                through the ground ;
      ground ;
( d ) "indirect discharge " means the        ( d ) "indireot discharge" means the intro­
      introduction into the ground­                 duction into the groundwater of
      water of substances in Lists I   or           substances in Lists I or II after
      II after passage through th®                  percolation through the ground ;
      grounds
                                             ( ®) "traces" mean residual concentrations of a
                                                   substance in List I after treatment o"f~~
                                                   discharges with the best technical moans
                                                   available , in quantities such as to
                                                   exclude any risk of pollution or altera­
                                                   tion of the natural qualities of the
                                                   groundwaters
 ---pagebreak--- ORIGINAL TEXT                              AMENDED TEXT
                                          (f)    "normal agricultural activities " mean
                                                 the use of substances which are specifi­
                                                 cally recruired for agricultural pro­
                                                 duction in quantities recommended "by the
                                                 c ompetent    authorities of the Member
                                                 States »   This excludes all agricultural-
                                                 industrial activities such aa intensive
                                                 livestock "breeding .
 Article 2                                 Article 2
 This Directive shall not apply to the     This Directive shall not apply to the
 following disoharges :-                   following discharges t–
-    domestio effluents from isolated      – unchanged
     dwellings ;
 _ discharges arising from normal          – unchanged
     agricultural activities ;
 - discharges from the titanium            – unchanged
     dioxide industry;
 - discharges containing radio­            – unchanged
     active substances ;
                                           – insofar as the above involve seepage
                                               through banks or infiltration into
                                               surface water intended for subsequent
                                              use as drinking water .
 Artide 3                                  Article 3
  1.    The Member States shall prohibit    1.      The Member States shall prohibit all
  all direct discharge of substances in    direct and indirect discharge of substances
  List I.                                   in List I.
  2.    Notwithstanding the foregoing       2.      Notwithstanding the foregoing
  provision , Member States may , under a  provision , Member States may , under a
  system of prior authorization , pro­      system of prior authorization , provide
  vide for exceptions in the oase ofl–      for exceptions in the case of :–
( a) discharges into aquifers which are ( a) discharges into aquifers which are
       isolated from the biosphere and            permanently unusable for other purposes ,
      unusable for any purpose ,                  especially domestic or agricultural , pro­
      especially domestio or agri­                vided that Buch discharges do not harm
      cultural ;                                  the quality of other water resources and
                                                  do not hinder the exploitation of other
                                                  natural resources t
 ---pagebreak---                                           - 6 -
  ORIGINAL TEXT                                AMMEED TEXT
(b) discharges due to the re-injection (b) - unohanged
        into the same aquifers of water
       used for geothermal purposes , of
       water pumped out from mines and
        quarries , or water pumped out
        for civil engineering works }
( o ) discharges due to the injeotion        ( o ) - unchanged
        of waste water used in the explo­
        ration for , and working of ,
        resources contained in the ground
        and discharges due to the
        exploitation of these resources !
(d) discharges due to the injection           ( d) - unchanged
        of substances during soientifio
      " work;
( e) discharges of collected                  ( ©) – unchanged
        rainwater *
                                              (f)   discharges containing only traces of
                                                    substances in List   I.
                                                Article 3a
                                                The Member States shall prohibit all direct
                                                and indirect discharge of the substances on
                                                Lists I and II in areas where the ground­
                                                water is at present used , or will be used in
                                                future , as drinking water *
   Article 4                                    Article 4
  The Member States shall make all in–          The Member States shall make all direct
  direct discharges of substances in            and indirect discharges of substances in
  List I and all direct and indirect            List II subject to prior authorization ,
  discharges for substances in List II '        (9 words deleted )
   subject to prior authorisation *
                                                Article 4a
                                                The Member States shall make discharges for
                                                the purpose of improving water supplies
                                                through replenishment of groundwater subject
                                                to prior authorization *
 ---pagebreak--- ORIGINAL TEXT                                AMENDED TEXT
Article 5                                    Article 5
The authorizations referred to in            The authorizations referred to in Articles
Article 3(2 ) and 4 may "be granted          3(2 ) and 4 may "be granted only after con­
only after consideration of the hydro-       sideration of the hydrogeological conditions
geological conditions of the area con­       of the area concerned and of the purifying
cerned and on condition that any             capacity of the soil and subsoil and on con­
significant risk of pollution is             ditions that any significant risk of
eliminated .   The authorizations may "be    pollution or of alteration of the natural
amended or withdrawn#                        qualities of the groundwater is eliminated .
                                             The authorizations may be amended or
                                             withdrawn .
Article 6                                    Article 6
1.     The authorizations granted for the           deleted .
discharges referred to in Article 3(2 )
and for the indirect discharges of sub­
stances in List I and the direct dis­
charges of substances in List II shall
he subject to supplementary require­
ments *
2*     The authorizations shall specify       2.    The authorizations shall speoify in
in particular :–                             part i cul ar :–
- place of discharge ,                       – place of discharge ,
- method of discharge ,                      – method of discharge ,
- essential precautions in each              – essential precautions in each individual
    individual case , taking particular          case , taking particular account of the
    account of the nature and c one entr ac­     nature and concentration of the substances
    tion of the substances contained in          contained in the discharge and the
    the discharge and the characteristics        characteristics of the receiving
    of the receiving environment .               environment ,
                                              – measures for control of the quality of the
                                                 receiving groundwat er .
 3.    In addition , the authorizations       3.    unchanged
 shall , where necessary for the imple­
 mentation of this Directive , lay
 down :–
– the maximum permissible concentration
    of a substance in the discharges ,
– the maximum permissible quantity of
    a substance in the discharges over
    one or more specified periods of time .
 ---pagebreak--- ORIGINAL TEXT                              AMENDED TEXT
                                          4*    Author! zati oris granted for "the disoharge
                                           into groundwater situated in karst regions of
                                           substances in Lists I and II shall lafv down
                                           special protection measures mado necessary by
                                           the vulnerability of such water *
Article 7                                  Article 7
1.    If the discharger states that he     1*   unchanged
is unable to comply with the conditions
laid down in an authorization , or if this
fact is evident to the competent
authority , authorization shall be
refused .
2*   "Should the conditions laid down      2.   unchanged
in an authorization not be met , the
competent authority shall take all
appropriate steps to ensure that the
conditions are fulfilled and , if
necessary, withdraw the authorization*
Article 8                                  Article 8
As regards direct or indirect dis–         – unchanged
charges of the substances in Lists I
and II occurring at the time of the
notification of this Directive , the
Member States may stipulate a period
not exceeding three years after entry
into force of the provisions referred
to in Article 14(1 ), on the expiry of
which the discharges in question most
comply with this Directive *
Article 9                                  Article 9
The Member States shall keep an            – unchanged
inventory of authorizations as         i
referred to in Artiole 3(2 ) and 4
granted in respeot of direct or
indirect discharges containing suT>-
stances in List I *
 ---pagebreak---  ORIGINAL TEXT                              AMENDED TEXT
  Article 10                                Article 10
  1 . For the purposes of this              1•     unchanged
  Directive , the Member States shall
  supply the Commission , at its request ,
 to be made separately for each case ,
 with all the necessary information ,
  and in particular :-
  a) the hydrogeological conditions
       referred to in Article 5 »
  b) details of the authorizations
       granted ;
( c ) results of the monitoring and
       inspection operations carried out ;
(d ) results of the inventory provided
       for in Article 9 *
   2.   Information acquired pursuant to     2 *»   unchanged
                                                    unchanged
  this Article shall be used only for
  the purpose for which it was requested .
   3 . The Commission and the competent      3»     unchanged
                                                    unchanged
   authorities of the Member States , their
   officials and other employees shall not
   disclose information acquired by them
   under this Directive and of a kind
   covered by the obligation of pro­
   fessional secrecy.
   4.    The provisions of paragraphs 2      4 .»   The provisions
                                                        provi      of paragraphs 2 and. 3
   and 3 of this Article shall not           of this Article
                                                       Artie ] shall not prevent publication
   prevent publication of general            of information
                                                  informatior concerning the nature ,
   information or surveys not containing                     c
                                             quantity and concentration   of the substances
   data relating to particular under–        and the place of discharge .
   takings or associations of under­
   takings .
   Article 11                                Article 11
   The application of the measures taken     The application of the measures taken pur­
   pursuant to this Directive may on no      suant to this Directive may on no account
   account be permitted to increase ,        be permitted to cause , either directly or
   either directly or indirectly, the        indirectly, the pollution of groundwater
   pollution of groundwater *                or the alteration of the natural qualities
                                             of such water .
 ---pagebreak---                                       - 10 -
ORIGINAL TEXT                              AMENDED TEXT
Article 12                                 Article 12
Where appropriate , Member States may,     – unchanged
individually or jointly, take more
stringent measures than those pro­
vided for under this Directive .
Article 13                                 Article 13
The Council , acting on a proposal         – unchanged
from the Commission , shall revise and ,
where necessary, supplement Lists I
and II on the abasis of experience , if
appropriate , by transferring certain
substances from List II to List I *
Article 14                                 Article 14
1.    The Member States shall , within     – unchanged
two years of the date of notification
of this Directive , bring into force
the laws , regulations and administrar*
tive provisions necessary to comply
therewith and shall immediately inform
the Commission thereof .
2.    The Member States shall oommunicate – unchanged
to the Commission the text of the main
provisions of national law which they
adopt in the sector covered by this
Directive .
3*    Once the measures referred to in     – unchanged
paragraph 1 of this Article have been
implemented by a Member "State,  the
provisions of Directive 76/464/EEC
relative to groundwater shall no longer
 apply.
 Article 15                                Article 15
 This Directive is addressed to the        – unchanged
Member States .                                 .
 ---pagebreak---                    List I of families and groups of substances
ORIGINAL TEXT/                            AMEETDED TEXT
List I contains the individual sub–       – unchanged
stances which belong to the families
and groups of substances enumerated
below , with the exception of those
which are biologically harmless or
which are rapidly converted into
substances which are biologically
harmless
1.   organohalogen compounds and sub-     – unchanged
     stances which may form such com­
     pounds in the aquatic environment }
2*   organophosphoruB compounds ;         – unchanged
3.   organotin compounds ;                – unchanged
4*   Substances which possess carcino– :  – unchanged
     genie properties in or via the
     aquatic environment ^ ;
5*   mercury and its compounds ;          – unchanged
6*   cadmium and its compounds ;          – unchanged
7 * mineral oils and hydrocarbons of      – unchanged
     petroleum origin ;
                                          8.   chromium;
                                          9*   lead and its compounds ;
                                         10 .  arpenic and its compounds
                                         11 .  cyanides .
   Where certain substances in List II
   are carcinogenic f they are included
   in category 4 of thits list *
 ---pagebreak---                         List II of families and groups of subsianoes
ORIGINAL TEXT                                 AMENDED TEXT
List II contains the individual sub­          – unohanged
stances and the categories of sub­
stances belonging to the families and
groups of substances listed below.
1.      The following metalloids and
metals and their compounds *–
         1 . zinc                             – unchanged
         2 . copper                           – unchanged
         3 . nickel                           – unchanged
         4 * chromium                         – delete
         5 . lead                             – delete
         6 . selenium                         – unchanged
         7 * arsenic                          – delete
         8 . antimony                         – unchanged
                                        - ■ 5
         9 • molybdenum                       – unchanged
       10 . titanium                  •     ! – unchanged
       11 . tin                                – unchanged
       12 . barium                             – unchanged
       13 . béryllium                          – unchanged
       14 . boron                           (  – unchanged
        13 . uranium                           – unchanged
        16 . vanadium                          – unchanged
        17 . cobalt                            – unchanged
        18 . thallium                          – unchanged
        19 . tellurium                         – unchanged
        20 . silver                            – unchanged
 2.       Biocides and their derivatives       – unchanged
 not appearing in List I.
 3°       Substances which have a deleterious 3 .   Substances which have a negative
 affect on the taste and/or odour of           effect on the taste and/or odour of ground­
 groundwater , and compounds liable to         water , and compounds liable to cause the
 cause the formation of such substanoes        formation of such substances in water , thus
 in water .                                    making it unsuitable for human consumption .
 4.       ToxLc or persistent organic com­     – unchanged
 pounds of silicon , and substances
 which may cause the formation of such
 compounds in water , excluding those
 which are biologically harmless or are
 rapidly converted la water into htra-
  li.'Se substances .
 ---pagebreak--- ORIGINAL TEXT                         AKE2TDED TEXT
5 . Inorganic compounds of phos­         unchanged
phorus and elemental phosphorus .
6.   Cyanides                            delete Cyanides
     Fluorides                          unchanged
7.   Substances which have an adverse    unchanged
effeot on the oxygen balance ,
particularly*–
     ammonia
     nitrites .