European Environment Bureau Press Release

European Parliament Rejects Weakening of Groundwater Protection

26.04.2006 |Sascha Gabizon

Brussels, April 25 2006 – The Environmental Committee of the European Parliament today adopted its recommendations for a second reading of an EU Groundwater Directive and rejected the exemptions introduced by Member States. The European Environmental Bureau, Europe’s largest federation of ecological organisations, welcomes the decision of the Environment Committee, which would also ensure that in future EU citizens have a right to clean ground water, and Europe’s most important drinking water resources stay protected from most hazardous chemicals and nitrates.

Stefan Scheuer, EEB’s EU Policy Director, said: “It is important that the Parliament is going in the right direction and stops a roll-back of groundwater protection. Today’s vote has shown that the great majority of EU citizens’ representatives support legal certainty and also a guarantee that in future groundwater remains the backbone for the supply of natural and safe drinking water.”

For 26 years governments have been required to prevent chemicals entering groundwater under the 1980 Groundwater Directive. They have largely failed in the past but some progress has been made over the last few years. The Council’s new draft groundwater directive, which would replace the 1980 law, would have effectively removed this clear and necessary prevention obligation, which would be needed to push producers and users of those unacceptable substances to find safer alternatives. What is more, the text would have exempted diffuse pollution in general from any clear requirements and agriculture pollution in particular from having to meet a 50mg/l standard, which is the legal limit for drinking water.

”Groundwater is of strategic importance for humans and the ecology alike; it would be irresponsible to sacrifice its protection to narrow and short-sighted business interests. Instead national authorities have to start working with product and market control mechanisms to get a grip on diffuse and widespread pollution. Once hazardous chemicals are in groundwater it’s too late. It can take up to a hundred years to clean up,” commented Stefan Scheuer.

The European Parliament is scheduled to have its vote in mid-June. It is now in the hands of the full assembly to support the Environment Committee in their final vote in June, and not surrender to national governments’ efforts to dilute the law.

For more information, contact:
Stefan Scheuer, EEB EU Policy Director; Email: stefan.scheuer@eeb.org;
tel: +32 (0)2 289 1304