CELEX: C1999/366/19
Language: en
Date: 1999-12-18 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 29 September 1999 in Case C-232/97 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Nederlandse Raad van State): L. Nederhoff & Zn. v Dijkgraaf en hoogheemraden van het Hoogheemraadschap Rijnland (Environment - Directives 76/464/EEC, 76/769/EEC and 86/280/EEC - 'Discharge' - Possibility for a Member State to adopt more stringent measures than those provided for in Directive 76/464/EEC - Effect of Directive 76/769/EEC on such a measure)

C 366/12                 EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                        18.12.1999
2. The term ‘discharge’ in Article 1(2)(d) of Directive 76/464 must        to Directive 76/464 (OJ 1986 L 181, p. 16) — the Court (Sixth
    be interpreted as covering the emission of contaminated steam          Chamber), composed of: P.J.G. Kapteyn, President of the
    which is first precipitated on to land and roofs and then reaches      Chamber, G. Hirsch (Rapporteur) and R. Schintgen, Judges;
    the surface water via a storm water drain. It is not material in       A. Saggio, Advocate General; L. Hewlett, Administrator, for
    this respect whether the drain in question belongs to the              the Registrar, has given a judgment on 29 September 1999, in
    establishment concerned or to a third party.                           which it has ruled:
(1) OJ No C 252 of 16.8.1997.                                              1. The term ‘discharge’ in Article 1(2)(d) of Council Directive
                                                                               76/464/EEC of 4 May 1976 on pollution caused by certain
                                                                               dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment of
                                                                               the Community must be interpreted as not including the pollution
                                                                               from significant sources, including multiple and diffuse sources,
                                                                               referred to in Article 5(1) of Council Directive 86/280/EEC of
                                                                               12 June 1986 on limit values and quality objectives for
                                                                               discharges of certain dangerous substances included in List I of
                                                                               the Annex to Directive 76/464.
                 JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                          (Sixth Chamber)                                  2. The expression ‘significant sources ... (including multiple and
                                                                               diffuse sources)’ in Article 5(1) of Directive 86/280 must be
                                                                               interpreted as not including the escape of creosote from wooden
                       of 29 September 1999                                    posts placed in surface water, where the pollution caused by that
                                                                               substance is attributable to a person.
in Case C-232/97 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
the Nederlandse Raad van State): L. Nederhoff & Zn. v
Dijkgraaf en hoogheemraden van het Hoogheemraad-                           3. The term ‘discharge’ in Article 1(2)(d) of Directive 76/464 must
                          schap Rijnland (1)                                   be interpreted as including the placing by a person in surface
                                                                               water of wooden posts treated with creosote.
(Environment — Directives 76/464/EEC, 76/769/EEC and
86/280/EEC — ‘Discharge’ — Possibility for a Member
                                                                           4. Directive 76/464 permits Member States to make the authoris-
State to adopt more stringent measures than those provided
                                                                               ation for a discharge subject to additional requirements not
for in Directive 76/464/EEC — Effect of Directive
                                                                               provided for in that directive, in order to protect the aquatic
                76/769/EEC on such a measure)
                                                                               environment of the Community against pollution caused by
                                                                               certain dangerous substances. The obligation to investigate or
                           (1999/C 366/19)                                     choose alternative solutions which have less impact on the
                                                                               environment constitutes such a requirement, even if it may have
                                                                               the effect of making the grant of authorisation impossible or
                     (Language of the case: Dutch)                             altogether exceptional.
                                                                           5. The limitative conditions for the use of creosote laid down in
(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published         point 32 of Annex I to Council Directive 76/769/EEC of
                    in the European Court Reports)                             27 July 1976 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and
                                                                               administrative provisions of the Member States relating to
In Case C-232/97: reference to the Court under Article 177 of                  restrictions on the marketing and use of certain dangerous
the EC Treaty (now Article 234 EC) from the Nederlandse                        substances and preparations, as amended by European Parlia-
Raad van State for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings                     ment and Council Directive 94/60/EC of 20 December 1994,
pending before that court between L. Nederhoff & Zn. and                       do not preclude an authority of a Member State, when considering
Dijkgraaf en hoogheemraden van het Hoogheemraadschap                           applications for authorisation concerning the introduction into
Rijnland — on the interpretation of Council Directive                          surface water by professional users of wood treated with that
76/464/EEC of 4 May 1976 on pollution caused by certain                        substance, from establishing criteria of assessment such that its
dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment                   use is impossible or altogether exceptional.
of the Community (OJ 1976 L 129, p. 23), Council Directive
76/769/EEC of 27 July 1976 on the approximation of the
laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member
States relating to restrictions on the marketing and use of
certain dangerous substances and preparations (OJ 1976                     (1) OJ No C 252 of 16.8.1997.
L 262, p. 201), as amended by European Parliament and
Council Directive 94/60/EC of 20 December 1994 (OJ 1994
L 365, p. 1), and Council Directive 86/280/EEC of 12 June
1986 on limit values and quality objectives for discharges of
certain dangerous substances included in List I of the Annex