"The European Commission has brought infringement proceedings against
Ireland in a number of cases involving EU environmental law. These cases concern
failures to protect nature, wildlife and heritage, lack of protection of
shellfish water, unauthorised waste activities and finally failure to comply
with regulations on emissions trading, ozone-depleting substances and treatment
of wastewater."
============================
What
are our lawyers doing about the situations described below I
wonder?by W.
Finnerty. Wed Nov 28, 2007 15:15 A recent
written "
Question" by
Kathy Sinnott MEP (Member of European
Parliament), and the written "
Answer" to it, dated November 16th 2007,
provided by
Stavros Dimas (Lawyer
, and European Union Commissioner for
Environment), have been reproduced below.
===============
WRITTEN QUESTION P-4711/07 by Kathy Sinnott
(IND/DEM) to the Commission
Subject: Ireland's breaches
of EU environmental law
The European Commission has brought
infringement proceedings against Ireland in a number of cases involving EU
environmental law. These cases concern failures to protect nature, wildlife and
heritage, lack of protection of shellfish water, unauthorised waste activities
and finally failure to comply with regulations on emissions trading,
ozone-depleting substances and treatment of wastewater.
Could the
Commission please provide us with information on how many EU environmental laws
Ireland has breached and what they are? Also what cases are pending at the
moment?
===============
P-4711/07EN
Answer given by Mr Dimas on behalf of
the Commission (16.11.2007)
The number of
infringements open against Ireland for breaches of environmental legislation
fluctuates from time to time as existing cases are closed and new cases opened.
It is assumed from the context of the Honourable Member's question that she is
referring to those current infringements which have been or are the subject of
proceedings in the European Court of Justice (ECJ). As of 15 October 2007, 8
open infringements concerned ECJ judgments relating to Directives on the control
of discharges of dangerous substances to water[1], the control of nitrate
pollution from agriculture[ 2], drinking water standards[3] , requirements for
shellfish waters[4], the control of waste[5], the conservation of natural
habitats and of wild flora and fauna[6] and the conservation of wild birds[7].
The Honourable Member is referred to the ECJ judgments for more details. The
Commission has been pursuing full compliance with these judgments, using its
powers under Article 228 of the Treaty. A further 9 infringements were the
subject of cases lodged with the Court and still awaiting decision. These
concerned the previously-mentione d Directives on the conservation of natural
habitats and of wild flora and fauna and on the conservation of wild birds[8] as
well as Directives on impact assessment[9] , groundwater protection[10] , urban
waste water treatment[11] and public participation
rights[12].
[1] Directive 76/464/EEC on pollution caused by
certain dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment of the
Community, OJ L 129, 18.5.1976, infringement 1990/5220, Case C-282/02.
[2]
Directive 91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991 concerning the protection of waters
against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources, OJ L 375,
31.12.1991, infringement 1994/2238, Case C-396/01.
[3] Directive 80/778/EEC
relating to the quality of water intended for human consumption, OJ L 229,
30.8.1980, infringement 1997/4409, Case C-316/00.
[4] Directive 79/923/EEC on
the quality required of shellfish waters, OJ L 281, 10.11.1979, infringement
2002/5076, Case C-148/05.
[5] Directive 75/442/EEC on waste, OJ L 194,
25.7.1975, infringement 1999/5112, Case C-494/01.
[6] Directive 92/43/EEC on
the conservation of natural habitats and of wild flora and fauna, OJ L 206,
22.7.1992, infringement 1995/2229, Case C-67/99 and infringement 2001/4917, Case
C-183/05.
[7] Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds, OJ L
103, 25.4.1979, infringement 1995/4840, Case C-117/00. This case also related to
Directive 92/43/EEC.
[8] Infringement 1998/2290, Case C-418/04; infringement
2000/4775, Case C-418/04.
[9] Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the
effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, OJ L 175,
infringement 2000/4384, Case C-215/06; infringement 2000/5032, Case C-66/06;
infringement 2000/5196, Case C-66/06; infringement 2001/4786, Case
C-427/07.
[10] Directive 80/68/EEC on the protection of groundwater against
pollution caused by certain dangerous substances, OJ L 20, 26.1.1980,
infringement 2000/4678, Case C-248/05.
[11] Directive 91/271/EEC concerning
urban waste water treatment, OJ L 135, 30.5.1991, infringement 2004/2033, Case
C-316/06.
[12] Directive 2003/35 providing for public participation in
respect of the drawing up of certain plans and programmes relating to the
environment and amending with regard to public participation and access to
justice Council Directives 85/337/EEC and 96/61/EC, OJ L 156, 25.6.2003,
infringement 2005/0633, Case C-427/07.
=============
As far as I know, nothing has ever been done about the unlawful
sewage discharges from local schools near my home in New Inn, County Galway -
which were mentioned in connection with a Petition I made to the
European
Parliament in
2001 (European Parliament Reference:
Petition 809/2001)
- some
SIX YEARS AGO.
"All of the discharges are
within a few hundred yards (upstream) of the pump house used to supply the local
community water supply."
Details (including photographs) can be
viewed at
http://homepage.eircom.net/~williamfinnerty/environment.htm =============
The above text has been copied from the following
Indymedia
(Ireland) location:
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/85108#comment213948
========
Related web site: http://www.europeancourtofhumanrightswilliamfinnerty.com/ ===
