The European Commission has decided this week to refer Ireland back to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to comply with a judgment relating to the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive.
Untreated urban waste water can put human health at risk and pollute lakes, rivers, soil and coastal and groundwater, the Commission says.
As Afloat previously reported, the Commission sent Ireland a letter of formal notice under Article 260(2) TFEU on November 14th, 2024.
The Commission said this week that it “considers that efforts by the Irish authorities have, to date, been insufficient and is therefore referring Ireland to the Court of Justice of the European Union with a request to impose financial sanctions”.
A judgment in the case C-427/17, Commission v. Ireland of March 2019 found Ireland had breached the requirements of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (Council Directive 91/271/EEC) in 28 “agglomerations”, as in population areas.
“The Directive protects both water quality and human health by requiring that member states collect and treat their urban waste water before it is discharged into the environment,”the Commission said.
“Under the Directive, member states must have collecting systems for agglomerations with a population of 2 000 and more,”it says.
“Moreover, member states must apply secondary treatment to urban waste water before discharge and, in large agglomerations (population of 10 000 and more) which discharges in a zone sensitive to eutrophication, a more stringent treatment is required (removal of nitrates or phosphorus, which act as fertilisers),”it says.
“Since the judgment in case C-427/17, Ireland has made progress in resolving issues of compliance in 20 of the agglomerations covered by the judgment,”the Commission says.
“However, eight agglomerations remain in breach. In six agglomerations, Ireland has failed to ensure that overflows from urban waste water collecting systems are sufficiently controlled and appropriately treated,”it says.
“ In two further agglomerations, Ireland has failed to ensure that the urban waste water that enters the collecting systems are subject, before discharge, to secondary treatment or an equivalent treatment,"it says.
"Furthermore, in one agglomeration, the urban waste water is discharged to a sensitive area without being subject to a more stringent treatment,”it notes.
