§ Lord Pearson of Rannochasked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the reference numbers of any present or proposed European Union legislation which might affect water in the United Kingdom; what is the state of play of that legislation; and what is their estimate of its cost and benefit to the United Kingdom. [HL2112]
§ Lord WhittyThe European Union legislation affecting water is as follows.
108WA
Existing Directives Reference No. Subject Matter 73/404/EEC Detergents 73/405/EEC Testing of anionic surfactants 75/440/EEC Quality required of surface water intended for the abstraction of drinking water 76/160/EEC Quality of bathing water 76/464/EEC Discharges of dangerous substances 78/176/EEC Waste from the Titanium Dioxide industry 78/659/EEC Quality of fresh waters for fish life 79/923/EEC Quality of shellfish waters 80/68/EEC Protection of groundwater 80/777/EEC Exploitation and marketing of natural mineral waters 80/778/EEC Quality of water for human consumption 82/176/EEC Mercury from the chlor-alkali electrolysis industry 82/883/EEC Titanium dioxide (monitoring) 83/29/EEC Titanium dioxide (timetable) 83/513/EEC Limit values and quality objectives for cadmium discharges 84/156/EEC Limit values and quality objectives for mercury discharges from sectors other than the chlor-alkali electrolysis industry 84/491/EEC Limit values and quality objectives for Hexachlorocyclohexane discharges 86/94/EEC Second amendment of 73/404/EEC—detergents 86/280/EEC Limit values and quality objectives for discharges of certain dangerous substances included in List I of the Annex to Directive 76/464/EEC [Carbontetrachloride, DDT, Pentachlorophenol] 87/217/EEC Prevention and reduction of environmental pollution by asbestos 88/347/EEC Amending Annex II to Directive 86/280/EEC discharges of drins, Hexachlorobenzene, Hexachlorobutadiene, chloroform 89/428/EEC Titanium dioxide (harmonisation programmes) 90/415/EEC Amending Annex II to Directive 86/280/EEC:discharges of Dichloroethane, Trichloroethylene, Perchloroethylene, Trichlorobenzene 91/27 I/EEC Concerning urban waste water treatment 91/676/EEC Concerning the protection of fresh, coastal and, marine waters against pollution caused by nitrates from diffuse sources 92/112/EEC On procedures for harmonising the programmes for the reduction and eventual elimination of pollution caused by waste from the titanium dioxide industry 92/43/EEC On the conservation of natural habitats and of wild
Existing Directives Reference No. Subject Matter fauna and flora 94/67/EC Hazardous Waste Incineration Directive 96/61/EC Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control 98/83/EC Quality of water intended for human consumption
Proposed legislation Reference Subject matter, state of play, and costs and Benefits COM(94) 36 final Revision of the Bathing Water Directive State of play—to be considered by the Council of Ministers, but unlikely to proceed in present form. Costs and Benefits are set out in the report of the Select Committee on the European Communities, Session 1994–95. 7th Report, Bathing Waters Revisited. 7531/97 COM(97) 49 final 12929/97 COM(97) 614 final Proposal for a Council Directive establishing a framework for community action in the field of water policy. 6260/98 COM(98) 76 final State of play—The Environment Council reached a Common Position on the proposal on 11 March 1999. Costs and Benefits—For the whole of the UK, the total of one-off and recurring costs are estimated to range from £3 to £11 billion, and the benefits capable of quantification have been valued at £2 to £7 billion (both at current prices, taken over an implementation period to 2040). These figures are taken from the Regulatory Impact Assessment of 5 November 1998, which includes data derived from the report on Potential Costs and Benefits of Implementing the Proposed Water Resources Framework Directive, reference DETR 4477/5, January 1999. The documents setting out estimates of costs and benefits of proposed legislation may be found in the Library of the House.