Terre wallonne ASBL (C-105/09) and Inter-Environnement Wallonie ASBL (C-110/09) v Région wallonne.
Date: 2010-06-17
32. First of all, as is apparent from Article 1 of Directive 2001/42, the fundamental objective of that directive is, where plans and programmes are likely to have significant effects on the environment, to require an environmental assessment to be carried out at the time they are prepared and before they are adopted.
33. Where such an environmental assessment is required by Directive 2001/42, the directive lays down minimum rules concerning the preparation of the environmental report, the carrying out of consultations, the taking into account of the results of the environmental assessment and the communication of information on the decision adopted at the end of the assessment.
43. Article 3(2)(a) of Directive 2001/42 provides that a systematic environmental assessment is to be carried out for all plans and programmes which (i) are prepared for certain sectors and (ii) set the framework for future development consent of projects listed in Annexes I and II to Directive 85/337.
45. With regard to the second condition, in order to establish whether action programmes set the framework for future development consent of projects listed in Annexes I and II to Directive 85/337, it is necessary to examine the content and purpose of those programmes, taking into account the scope of the environmental assessment of projects as provided for by that directive.
46. Thus, so far as the purpose of action programmes is concerned, it is apparent from Directive 91/676, in particular the 9th to 11th recitals in the preamble, Articles 1 and 3 to 5 and the annexes, that those programmes involve a global examination, at the level of vulnerable zones, of the environmental issues linked to nitrate pollution from agricultural sources, and that they put in place an organised system designed to provide a general level of protection against such pollution.
47. The specific nature of those programmes lies in the fact that they embody a comprehensive and coherent approach, providing practical and coordinated arrangements covering vulnerable zones and, where appropriate, the entire territory, for the reduction and prevention of pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources.
48. As regards the content of action programmes, it is apparent from Article 5 of Directive 91/676, in conjunction with Annex III thereto, that those programmes are to contain specific, mandatory measures that cover, in particular, periods during which the spreading of certain types of fertiliser is prohibited, the capacity of storage vessels for livestock manure, spreading methods and the maximum quantity of livestock manure containing nitrogen which can be spread (see, to that effect, Case C‑416/02 Commission  v Spain  [2005] ECR I‑7487, paragraph 34). Those measures are to ensure in particular, as point 2 of Annex III to Directive 91/676 provides, that for each farm or livestock unit the amount of livestock manure applied to the land each year, including by the animals themselves, does not exceed a specified amount per hectare, which is the amount of manure containing 170 kilograms of nitrogen.
50. In the context of environmental assessment provided for by Directive 85/337, the national authorities must take into account not only the direct effects of the planned works, but also the environmental impact liable to result from the use and exploitation of the end product of those works (Case C‑2/07 Abraham and Others [2008] ECR I‑1197, paragraph 43, and Case C‑142/07 Ecologistas en Acción-CODA  [2008] ECR I‑6097, paragraph 39).
51. In particular, in the case of installations for intensive rearing, such an environmental assessment must envisage the impact of the installations on water quality (see, to that effect, Case C‑121/03 Commission  v Spain  [2005] ECR I‑7569, paragraph 88).