§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what discussions he has had with the European Commission under its urban waste water treatment directive for the classification of all waters south of the Humber bridge as coastline;
(2) what part the National Rivers Authority plays in classifying rivers and coastline for the purposes of the urban waste water treatment directive;
(3) what discussion he has had with Yorkshire Water Services Ltd. concerning the designation of the city of Hull as a coastal city for the purposes of the EC directive on urban waste water treatment;
(4) with whom he had discussions before the classification of all waters south of the Humber bridge as coastline;
(5) what estimates has his Department made of the savings in capital costs arising from the classification of Hull as a seaside resort for the purposes of the directive on urban waste water treatment.
§ Mr. AtkinsThe EC's urban waste water treatment directive provides for waters to be identified according to their sensitivity tointer alia eutrophication—sensitive areas—or according to their natural dispersion characteristics—high dispersion areas. It also requires that the seaward limits of estuaries should be identified for the directive's purposes.
After public consultation on the criteria for the identification of sensitive areas and HNDAs, the NRA proposed that, for the purposes of this directive, the seaward limit of the Humber estuary be drawn at the Humber bridge and that the coastal area to the east of that be identified as an HNDA. The NRA advised the Department that no further environmental benefit will accrue from the provision of levels of sewage treatment in addition to the minimum requirements for HNDAs in the directive at the locations so identified.
Following discussions with English Nature and the water companies I announced on 18 May 1994 the identification of 33 sensitive areas and 58 HNDAs. These decisions were communicated to the European Commission.
The Director General of Water Services published on 28 July 1994 his estimate of £6 billion for the cost of 1157W implementation of the UWWTD in England and Wales. This estimate took account of the decisions taken on sensitive areas and HNDAs.