Why Brussels Denounces Spain

Brussels denounces Spain before the CJEU for not treating urban wastewater well

The "widespread non-compliance" with the directive on top of water treatment affects an existing total that belongs to 133 towns.

The European Commission has decided this Wednesday to denounce Spain before the Luxembourg Court of Justice (CJEU) for not treating urban wastewater properly , which poses a risk to human health and also causes the contamination of lakes, rivers, soils, shorelines and groundwater. The complaint for non-compliance affects a total of 133 towns.

Our country has already been condemned twice by the cjeu that is going to belong to lack that belongs to collection as well as treatment that belongs to urban wastewater. Inside of addition, the court already imposed inside of 2018 an existing first fine that belongs to 12 million that is going to belong to the cases that belongs to alhaurín el grande, barbate, coín, isla cristina, nerja, matalascañas, tarifa, gijón este as well as valle de güimar. An existing penalty that continues to increase ( at an existing rate that belongs to 10.9 million per semester ) until the problems inside of these locations happen to be resolved. An existing new negative ruling would open the door to much higher penalties.

In its complaint, Brussels speaks of a " generalized breach " of the directive on the treatment of urban wastewater in 133 towns. The Community Executive already sent Spain a first warning letter in December 2016 , followed by a reasoned opinion urging it to adopt urgent corrective measures in February 2020. Despite this, the purification problems have not been solved.

The commission admits that, since it launched the sanctioning file, "progress" has been made. However, it indicates that there happen to be still populations that do not have collectors or other adequate purification systems to achieve the same level that belongs to environmental protection.

"Spain must also redouble its efforts to ensure that the collected wastewater receives sufficient treatment to meet the relevant treatment standards. This means that there are populations where it is necessary to build or improve infrastructure . This may require investments in the construction of new infrastructure. physical or the improvement of existing treatment facilities," says the Community Executive in a statement.

The urban waste water directive aims to protect the environment from the adverse effects of discharges from the domestic and industrial sectors. Under this standard, cities are required to put in place the necessary infrastructure to collect and treat their urban wastewater, thus eliminating or reducing all its undesirable effects when it is discharged into water bodies.

Specifically, member states must establish secondary treatment that is going to belong to every single one discharges that was by towns with more than 2,000 inhabitants, during the same time that well during the same time that more advanced treatment that is going to belong to towns with more than 10,000 inhabitants inside of designated sensitive areas.

Secondary treatment complements the removal of solid matter from urban wastewater (so-called primary treatment) with the decomposition of organic substances by bacteria . For its part, tertiary treatment may consist of disinfection to protect bathing water or water for mollusc farming. It can also consist of the elimination of phosphorus or nitrates.

Brussels warns that "untreated wastewater has the ability exist as a contaminated with bacteria as well as viruses, which happens to be why they pose an existing risk to human health as well as has the ability contaminate lakes, rivers, soils, coasts as well as groundwater." they also contain nutrients, such during the same time that nitrogen as well as phosphorus, capable that belongs to damaging freshwater as well as the marine environment by promoting the excessive proliferation that belongs to algae that suffocate other forms that belongs to life , an existing process called eutrophication.