Introduction to EU Environmental Law

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Introduction to EU Environmental Law

• Dr. Marc Pallemaerts
• Senior Fellow, Institute for European
  Environmental Policy
• Professor of European environmental law,
  University of Amsterdam Professor of
  international and European environmental
  law,Université Libre de Bruxelles
• Law Faculty, Yerevan State University
• Yerevan, 14 October 2008

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Objectives of the EU

• Article 2 of the Treaty establishing the European
  Community
• The Community shall have as its task to promote
  throughout the Community a harmonious, balanced
  and sustainable development of economic
  activities, a high level of employment and of
  social protection, equality between men and
  women, sustainable and non-inflationary growth, a
  high degree of competitiveness and convergence of
  economic performance, a high level of protection
  and improvement of the quality of the
  environment, the raising of the standard of
  living and quality of life, and economic and
  social cohesion and solidarity among Member
  States.

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Objectives of EU environmental policy

• Article 174(1) of EC Treaty
• preserving, protecting and improving the quality
  of the environment
• protecting human health
• prudent and rational utilisation of natural
  resources
• promoting measures at international level to deal
  with regional or worldwide environmental problems

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Principles of EU environmental policy

• Article 174(2) of EC Treaty
• high level of protection
• precautionary principle
• principle of preventive action
• principle of rectification at source
• polluter pays principle

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Principle of integration

• Article 6 of EC Treaty
• Environmental protection requirements must be
  integrated into the definition and implementation
  of all Community policies and activities in
  particular with a view to promoting sustainable
  development.

6
Principle of subsidiarity

• Article 5 of EC Treaty
• In areas which do not fall within its exclusive
  competence, the Community shall take action, in
  accordance with the principle of subsidiarity,
  only if and in so far as the objectives of the
  proposed action
• cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member
  States and
• can therefore, by reason of the scale or effects
  of the proposed action, be better achieved by the
  Community.

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Legislative instruments of EU environmental policy

• EU institutions have supranational legislative
  authority and can issue
• Directives binding upon each Member State as to
  the result to be achieved, but choice of form and
  methods left to national authorities
• Regulations binding and directly applicable in
  all Member States
• Primacy of EU law
• Main legislative instrument used in environmental
  policy Directive

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Obligations of Member States arising from
Directives

• Transposition into legally binding norms of
  domestic law (administrative practice is not
  sufficient)
• Practical application of these norms in
  individual situations
• Enforcement in the event of non-compliance
  (through administrative or criminal sanctions)

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Structure of EU environmental law

• Substantive environmental standards applying to
  specific environmental media or sources of
  environmental interference (sectoral)
• Procedural environmental standards applying to
  conduct of environmental policy by public
  authorities and environmental rights of citizens
  (horizontal)

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Substantive environmental law

• Main areas covered
• Water quality
• Air quality
• Noise control
• Industrial pollution control
• Waste prevention and management
• Management of chemicals
• Management of GMOs
• Nature conservation and biodiversity

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Procedural environmental law

• Main instruments used
• Integrated environmental permits (IPPC)
• Environmental impact assessment (EIA)
• Strategic environmental assessment (SEA)
• Environmental management and audit (EMAS)
• Freedom of access to environmental information
• Public participation in environmental
  decision-making
• Access to justice in environmental matters

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Water quality

• Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC)
• Overall framework for water policy
• Based on integrated river basin management
• Member States to establish river basin management
  plans and programmes of measures to achieve
   good water status  by 2015
• Combined approach (environmental quality
  standards and source controls)

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Water quality

• Specific Directives on
• Drinking water quality (98/83/EC)
• Urban waste water treatment (91/271/EEC)
• Nitrates from agricultural sources (91/676/EEC)
• Bathing water (2006/7/EC)
• Groundwater (2006/118/EC)

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Air quality

• Framework Directive on ambient air quality
  assessment and management (96/62/EC)
• Establishment of and compliance with air quality
  standards for specific pollutants
• Action plans if standards exceeded
• Monitoring requirements
• Alert thresholds
• Information and reporting requirements

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Air quality

• Specific Directives on
• National emission ceilings for specific
  pollutants (2001/81/EC)
• Vehicle emissions
• Fuel quality standards
• Emissions of volatile organic compounds
  (1999/13/EC)
• Greenhouse gas emissions trading (2003/87/EC)

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Waste prevention and management

• Waste Framework Directive (2006/12/EC)
• Definition of waste, waste recovery and disposal
• General principles of waste management
• Producer responsibility/polluter pays
• Permit system for recovery and disposal
  operations
• Monitoring of waste transport
• National waste management plans

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Waste prevention and management

• Specific Directives for specific types of waste
• Hazardous waste (91/689/EEC)
• Batteries and accumulators (2006/66/EC)
• Packaging and packaging waste (94/62/EC)
• Waste oils (75/439/EEC)
• End of life vehicles (2000/53/EC)
• Waste electrical and electronic equipment
  (2002/96/EC)
• Mining waste (2006/21/EC)

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Waste prevention and management

• Specific Directives establishing environmental
  standards for specific forms of waste disposal
• Waste incineration (2000/76/EC)
• Landfills (1999/31/EC)
• Regulation on transfrontier shipments of waste
  (1013/2006/EC)

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Management of chemicals

• New Regulation on Registration, Evaluation and
  Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH)
• Registration requirement for all substances
  produced and imported in EU
• Industry to gather and submit information on
  health and environmental hazards
• Evaluation of risks through systematic procedure
• Most hazardous chemicals only to be used subject
  to authorization (principle of substitution)

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Integrated environmental permit

• Directive on Integrated Pollution Prevention and
  Control (IPPC) (96/61/EC)
• Harmonized list of activities subject to IPPC
  permit throughout EU
• Member States to ensure activities not operated
  without permit/permit may not be issued unless
  activity complies with Directive
• Emission limit values based on best available
  techniques (BAT)
• Public information and participation
• Monitoring and enforcement requirements

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Environmental impact assessment

• Directive on EIA (85/337/EEC)
• All public/private projects likely to have
  significant effect on environmental subject to
  EIA
• Member States may not issue permit before EIA
  performed
• Harmonized list of projects subject to EIA
  throughout EU
• Other projects to be determined by Member States
• EIA must be made public/public must be given
  opportunity to comment before permit is issued

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Procedural environmental rights

• Conceptual foundation as expressed in Article 1
  of Aarhus Convention (approved by EC on 17
  February 2005)
• In order to contribute to the protection of the
  right of every person of present and future
  generations to live in an environment adequate to
  his or her health and well-being, each Party
  shall guarantee the rights of access to
  information, public participation in
  decision-making, and access to justice in
  environmental matters in accordance with the
  provisions of this Convention.

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Public access to environmental information

• Directive on public access to environmental
  information (2003/4/EC) implements requirements
  of Aarhus Convention in EU law
• Broad definition of environmental information
• Right of access to environmental information held
  by public authorities/citizens need not
  demonstrate interest
• Limited list of exceptions/public authorities
  must give reasons for refusal
• Access within 30 days of request
• Review procedure available if refusal

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Public participation in decision-making

• Directive on public participation in
  environmental decision-making (2003/35/EC)
  implements requirements of Aarhus Convention in
  EU law
• Public participation required in
• procedures for establishment of plans and
  programmes relating to the environment
• EIA procedures (Directive 85/337/EEC)
• IPPC permit procedures (Directive 96/61/EC)
• Public must be notified of application for
  permit, competent authority, nature of possible
  decision, available information and where it can
  be accessed
• Public concerned shall be given early and
  effective opportunities to participate and be
  entitled to express comments and opinions when
  all options are open
• Public must be informed of decision taken and the
  main reasons and considerations on which it is
  based

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Access to justice in environmental matters

• Requirements of Article 9 of Aarhus Convention
  partly implemented in EU law
• Member States shall ensure that public concerned
  has access to a review procedure before a court
  of law or another independent and impartial body
  established by law to challenge the substantive
  or procedural legality of decisions subject to
  public participation requirements
• Member States shall ensure that person whose
  request for environmental information has been
  denied has access to administrative review
  procedure, followed by review procedure before a
  court of law or another independent and impartial
  body established by law

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Access to justice in environmental matters

• Requirements of Article 9(3) of Aarhus Convention
  not implemented in EU law but to be implemented
  by Member States in their national law
• Where they meet the criteria, if any, laid down
  in national law, members of the public shall have
  access to administrative or judicial procedures
  to challenge acts and omissions by private
  persons and public authorities which contravene
  provisions of national law relating to the
  environment.