THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 175(1) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee(2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions(3),
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty(4), in the light of the joint text approved by the Conciliation Committee on 8 December 2005,
Whereas:
Building on the Commission's Communication on sustainable development, the European Council has singled out objectives as general guidance for future development in priority areas such as natural resources and public health.
Water is a scarce natural resource, the quality of which should be protected, defended, managed and treated as such. Surface waters in particular are renewable resources with a limited capacity to recover from adverse impacts from human activities.
Community policy on the environment should aim at a high level of protection, and contribute to pursuing the objectives of preserving, protecting and improving the quality of the environment and of protecting human health.
In December 2000, the Commission adopted a Communication to the European Parliament and the Council on the development of a new bathing water policy and initiated a large‐scale consultation of all interested and involved parties. The main outcome of this consultation was general support for the development of a new Directive based on the latest scientific evidence and paying particular attention to wider public participation.
Decision No 1600/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 July 2002 laying down the Sixth Community Environment Action Programme(5) contains a commitment to ensuring a high level of protection of bathing water, including by revising Council Directive 76/160/EEC of 8 December 1975 concerning the quality of bathing water(6).
Pursuant to the Treaty, in preparing policy on the environment the Community is, inter alia, to take account of available scientific and technical data. This Directive should use scientific evidence in implementing the most reliable indicator parameters for predicting microbiological health risk and to achieve a high level of protection. Further epidemiological studies should be undertaken urgently concerning the health risks associated with bathing, particularly in fresh water.
In order to increase efficiency and wise use of resources, this Directive needs to be closely coordinated with other Community legislation on water, such as Council Directives 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 concerning urban waste-water treatment(7), 91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991 concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources(8) and Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy(9).
Appropriate information on planned measures and progress on implementation should be disseminated to stakeholders. The public should receive appropriate and timely information on the results of the monitoring of bathing water quality and risk management measures in order to prevent health hazards, especially in the context of predictable short-term pollution or abnormal situations. New technology that allows the public to be informed in an efficient and comparable way on bathing waters across the Community should be applied.
For the purpose of monitoring, harmonised methods and practices of analysis need to be applied. Observation and quality assessment over an extended period are necessary in order to achieve a realistic bathing water classification.
Compliance should be a matter of appropriate management measures and quality assurance, not merely of measuring and calculation. A system of bathing water profiles is therefore appropriate to provide a better understanding of risks as a basis for management measures. In parallel, particular attention should be attached to adherence to quality standards and coherent transition from Directive 76/160/EEC.
On 17 February 2005 the Community ratified the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (the Århus Convention). It is therefore appropriate for this Directive to include provisions on public access to information and to provide for public participation in its implementation to supplement Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2003 on public access to environmental information(10) and Directive 2003/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 providing for public participation in respect of the drawing up of certain plans and programmes relating to the environment(11).
Since the objectives of this Directive, namely the attainment by the Member States, on the basis of common standards, of a good bathing water quality and a high level of protection throughout the Community, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.
The measures necessary for the implementation of this Directive should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(12).
The continued importance of a Community bathing water policy is evident each bathing season as it protects the public from accidental and chronic pollution discharged in or near Community bathing areas. The overall quality of bathing waters has improved considerably since Directive 76/160/EEC came into force. However, that Directive reflects the state of knowledge and experience of the early 1970. Patterns of bathing water use have since changed, as has the state of scientific and technical knowledge. Therefore, that Directive should be repealed,
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
This Directive lays down provisions for:
the monitoring and classification of bathing water quality;
the management of bathing water quality; and
the provision of information to the public on bathing water quality.
The purpose of this Directive is to preserve, protect and improve the quality of the environment and to protect human health by complementing Directive 2000/60/EC.
This Directive shall apply to any element of surface water where the competent authority expects a large number of people to bathe and has not imposed a permanent bathing prohibition, or issued permanent advice against bathing (hereinafter bathing water). It shall not apply to:
swimming pools and spa pools;
confined waters subject to treatment or used for therapeutic purposes;
artificially created confined waters separated from surface water and groundwater.
For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions shall apply:
the terms ‘surface water’, ‘groundwater’, ‘inland water’, ‘transitional waters’, ‘coastal water’ and ‘river basin’ have the same meaning as in Directive 2000/60/EC;
‘competent authority’ means the authority or authorities that a Member State has designated to ensure compliance with the requirements of this Directive or any other authority or body to which that role has been delegated;
‘permanent’ means, in relation to a bathing prohibition or advice against bathing, lasting for at least one whole bathing season;
‘large number’ means, in relation to bathers, a number that the competent authority considers to be large having regard, in particular, to past trends or to any infrastructure or facilities provided, or other measures taken, to promote bathing;
‘pollution’ means the presence of microbiological contamination or other organisms or waste affecting bathing water quality and presenting a risk to bathers' health as referred to in Articles 8 and 9 and Annex I, column A;
‘bathing season’ means the period during which large numbers of bathers can be expected.
‘management measures’ means the following measures undertaken with respect to bathing water:
establishing and maintaining a bathing water profile;
establishing a monitoring calendar;
monitoring bathing water;
assessing bathing water quality;
classifying bathing water;
identifying and assessing causes of pollution that might affect bathing waters and impair bathers' health;
giving information to the public;
taking action to prevent bathers' exposure to pollution;
taking action to reduce the risk of pollution;
‘short-term pollution’ means microbiological contamination as referred to in Annex I, column A, that has clearly identifiable causes, is not normally expected to affect bathing water quality for more than approximately 72 hours after the bathing water quality is first affected and for which the competent authority has established procedures to predict and deal with as set out in Annex II;
‘abnormal situation’ means an event or combination of events impacting on bathing water quality at the location concerned and not expected to occur on average more than once every four years;
‘set of bathing water quality data’ means data obtained in accordance with Article 3;
‘bathing water quality assessment’ means the process of evaluating bathing water quality, using the assessment method defined in Annex II;
‘cyanobacterial proliferation’ means an accumulation of cyanobacteria in the form of a bloom, mat or scum;
the term ‘public concerned’ has the same meaning as in Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment(13).