§ Lord Pearson of Rannochasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they intend to ensure that the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) is implemented as economically as possible, as recommended in Water Changes, the Quality Framework, published by Her Majesty's Government in 1993; and [HL2854]
In view of the Prime Minister's recent statements about the importance of "subsidiarity", whether they intend to avail themselves of the discretion granted by the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) to identify sensitive and less sensitive areas when they decide the level of treatment to be applied. [HL2853]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Baroness Hayman)The Government are committed to full implementation of their European obligations. They are reviewing a number of areas of policy on the quality of the water environment, including the approach to implementation of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. In particular the Government are considering the recommendations of the Environment Agency, following its reviews of both sensitive areas and less sensitive areas (called areas of high natural dispersion in the UK), carried out during 1997 in line with the directive's requirements. The Government are also reviewing the application of derogations to lower levels of treatment for certain coastal discharges, where justified by comprehensive studies which follow from the designation of less sensitive areas. They have asked the Environment Agency to take a rigorous approach to the assessment of these comprehensive studies and wish to consider carefully whether, notwithstanding the scientific evidence offered by these studies, a precautionary approach should dictate that all significant coastal discharges should receive secondary treatment.
The Government are considering all these issues in the context of the current periodic review of water company price limits. Our aim will be to strike an appropriate balance between securing environmental improvements and ensuring reasonable costs to consumers through their water bills. We intend to make announcements within the next few weeks which will establish our policy in relation to the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive.
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§ Lord Pearson of Rannochasked Her Majesty's Government:
What they consider to be the benefits of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC); and what are its costs (a) in the United Kingdom and (b) elsewhere in the European Union. [HL2855]
§ Baroness HaymanThe Government are committed to improving quality standards in the water environment wherever possible and consider that this directive makes an important contribution to this overall aim. The Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive will ensure minimum standards of sewage treatment for all sewage discharges to inland, coastal and estuarial waters in the UK and other member states. It also provides for additional protection from enrichment of waters by excess nutrients in designated sensitive areas. The Government believe that the aims and requirements of the directive mirror the expectations of today's society for the treatment of sewage discharges to inland coastal waters.
At the 1994 determination of water company price limits, the cost of implementing the directive in the UK was estimated as £8 billion. The full cost will not be known until investment by water and sewerage undertakers in measures to implement the directive are complete. However, the Special Report No. 3/98 by the EC Court of Auditors to the Council of the European Union, concerning the implementation by the Commission of EU policy and action as regards water pollution, reported costs of implementation (in table 1 of the report) for member states for which information was available as follows:
Total cost of implementing UWWTD in member states (in £ billion, converted from ECUs at May 1995 exchange rate) Country Belgium 2.42 Denmark 0.85 Spain 8.00 France 17.60 Germany 120.00 Italy 8.40 Ireland 1.20 Portugal 0.90 UK 8.30