Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC)
The main ‘Water Framework Directive’ (74/464/EEC) which is reflected in all the UK’s major water statutes and regulations, has been completely revised and re-issued as a new Water Framework Directive (WFD) - 2000/60/EC and translated into National law via the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (England and Wales) Regulations 2003. This has a long planning and implementation timetable, leading to 2012. During this time, all the current water legislation will be reviewed and amended to incorporate the requirements of the new Directive.
The new EU WFD requires all controlled waters to reach a ‘good status’ by 2015. ‘Good status’ is defined by a number of biological and chemical indicators. The Environment Agency in England and Wales will be primarily responsible for meeting these standards and must draw up a series of River Basin Management Plans in order to achieve this. Controls placed on industry via discharge consent limits under the regulatory requirements of WRA91 (and WIA91 for special category effluent), and authorisation conditions for Part ‘A’ processes prescribed under EPA 90 - Part I (and in the future for IPPC processes) will be the primary route for the EA meeting obligations under the WFD.
The WFD made provision for two ‘daughter’ Directives – one on Priority Substances and one concerning the pollution of groundwater. The Groundwater pollution daughter directive (2006/118/EC) will require Member States to adopt specific measures to reduce groundwater pollution.
It is proposed to amend the Groundwater Regulations and to bring the groundwater authorisation regime into the Environmental Permitting Programme (EPP).
Directive 2001/2455/EC on Priority Substances in Water
This Directive outlines 33 Priority Substances, emissions of which should be progressively reduced towards the Environmental Quality Standard (EQS) limits published by the Commission. This should be achieved by 2015. The list also identifies Priority Hazardous Substances (PHSs), emissions of which should be completely phased out by 2025. The list of PHSs includes mercury and cadmium compounds, chlorinated paraffins, hexachlorobenzene, tributyl tin and penta-BDE. Member states are required to draw up maps of “transitional areas of exceedance” where concentrations of the pollutants are currently higher than the standards. They would then have to review industrial pollution permits “with a view to progressively reducing the extent” of these zones.
Important EU Directives concerning dangerous substances in water that are currently in force are listed in Appendix 10 along with a list of proposed priority substance and priority hazardous substances. The full draft Directive COM (2006) 397on priority substances, including proposed EQSs and PHSs can be found here.
For further information on the EU Water Framework Directive and the two daughter Directives visit DEFRA's website.
Their requirements are reflected in the regulatory controls imposed by the Environment Agency (refer also to SI 1989/2286 above). For industry, these are largely through discharge consent conditions under the regulatory requirements of WRA91 (and WIA91 for special category effluent), and authorisation conditions for Part ‘A’ processes prescribed under EPA 90 - Part I (and in the future for IPPC processes).
The Groundwater Regulations 1998 cover releases of listed substances directly to land. Also, regulation 15 of the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 (refer to the section on Waste), provides for the Environment Agency to include conditions in waste management licences to ensure that the requirements of the EU Groundwater Directive 80/68/EEC are met.