(1)

Council Directive 91/271/EEC (4) has been substantially amended several times (5). Since further amendments are to be made, that Directive should be recast in the interests of clarity.

(2)

Water is a primary good which belongs to everyone and is for everyone. As a natural resource which is essential, irreplaceable and indispensable to life, it needs to be considered and integrated in its three dimensions: social, economic and environmental.

(3)

Directive 91/271/EEC sets the legal framework for the collection, treatment and discharge of urban wastewater and the discharge of biodegradable wastewater from certain industrial sectors. Urban wastewater can be formed by different mixtures of domestic wastewater, urban runoff and non-domestic wastewater from other origins. Wastewater from institutions such as offices, schools, kitchens with food preparation which originates predominantly from the human metabolism qualifies as domestic wastewater. The objective of Directive 91/271/EEC is to protect the environment from being adversely affected by insufficiently treated urban wastewater discharges. It has contributed to achieving the objectives established under Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (6) and other relevant Union law. This Directive should continue to pursue the same objective while also contributing to the protection of public health in accordance with the One Health approach, which is aimed at sustainably balancing and optimising the health of people, animals and ecosystems, when for instance urban wastewater is discharged into bathing waters or into water bodies used for the abstraction of drinking water, or when urban wastewater is used as an indicator for parameters relevant for public health. It should also ensure access to sanitation and to key information related to the governance of urban wastewater collection and treatment activities. This Directive should also aim at increasing synergies with climate change adaptation and actions to restore urban ecosystems in particular through integrated urban wastewater management planning, while making optimal use of digitalisation. Finally, this Directive should contribute to the progressive reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from urban wastewater collection and treatment activities, in particular by further reducing nitrogen emissions but also by promoting energy efficiency and production of renewable energies, and thus should contribute to the 2050 objective of Climate Neutrality established under Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council (7). In line with Article 193 of Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), Member States can go beyond the minimum requirements set out in this Directive. Member States could consider for instance applying deadlines or thresholds more stringent than those included in this Directive, reaching energy or climate neutrality more rapidly or imposing additional requirements for, or broadening the spectrum of the application of, their national extended producer responsibility systems.

(4)

In 2019, the Commission performed an evaluation of Directive 91/271/EEC under the Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme (the ‘evaluation’). It became apparent from that exercise that certain provisions of that Directive needed to be updated. Three important sources of pollution not fully addressed under that Directive from urban wastewater that could be avoided were identified, namely storm water overflows and polluted discharges of urban runoff, potentially malfunctioning individual systems, that is to say systems treating domestic wastewater that does not enter collecting systems, and small agglomerations that are currently not completely covered by Directive 91/271/EEC. Those three sources of pollution put significant pressure on surface water bodies in the Union. Moreover, the report of the evaluation also highlighted the need to improve the transparency and governance of urban wastewater activities, to seize the opportunity offered by the urban wastewater treatment sector to use its potential for renewable energy development and make tangible steps towards energy neutrality as a contribution to climate neutrality, and to harmonise urban wastewater surveillance of health parameters, such as the COVID-19 virus and its variants, as a means of supporting public health action.

(5)

According to the 2018 report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) on European waters, small agglomerations put significant pressure on 11 % of the surface water bodies in the Union. To better tackle the pollution from such agglomerations, and to prevent discharges of untreated urban wastewater into the environment, the scope of this Directive should include all agglomerations of 1 000 population equivalent (p.e.) and above.

(6)

In order to ensure the effective treatment of urban wastewater before discharge into the environment, all urban wastewater from agglomerations of 1 000 p.e. and above should be collected in collecting systems, unless Member States justify the need for a derogation for the use of individual systems under this Directive. When delineating their agglomerations, Member States should take into account the indicative reference threshold of 10 to 25 p.e. per hectare, above which the population, possibly combined with economic activities, located in a specific area is considered sufficiently concentrated. Where collecting systems are already in place, Member States should ensure that all sources of domestic wastewater are connected to them.

(7)

Significant investments will be necessary to implement the new requirements introduced by this Directive. It is therefore necessary to take into account the specific situation of each Member State and, where appropriate, adapt the deadlines for the implementation of certain demanding requirements. For instance, Member States having a large number of small agglomerations concerned by the new requirements of this Directive in terms of collection and treatment of urban wastewater for agglomerations of between 1 000 and 2 000 p.e., should be allowed to extend the deadlines for compliance with those new requirements in their first national implementation programme. This should also be the case for Member States having a large number of facilities, for example above 50 %, that need to be upgraded to tertiary treatment in line with the new requirements of this Directive. Agglomerations of below 2 000 p.e. where collecting systems are already in place and discharging urban wastewater into treatment plants located in a different agglomeration should not be counted in the calculation of percentages for the purposes of the derogations from those deadlines. Moreover, the three Member States that acceded to the Union most recently, namely Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania, had to make recent investments to implement the requirements of Directive 91/271/EEC. Furthermore, those Member States are characterised by high amounts of rural areas with a high outflux of population, in addition to an ageing rural population. It is therefore necessary to take into account the specific situation of those Member States by allowing them to extend the deadlines for compliance with those new requirements in their first national implementation programme.

(8)

Where archaeologically valuable sites are encountered during infrastructural works, such as the building of collecting systems or urban wastewater treatment plants, such works are often delayed due to the need to perform archaeological studies on the site in accordance with national law. It is therefore appropriate to adapt the implementation deadlines in those specific cases. More specifically, where a Member State establishes that, due to the necessity to preserve cultural heritage, the construction of the required infrastructure is particularly difficult, it should be allowed to adapt the implementation deadlines in specific areas, and update accordingly its national implementation programme. The extensions of the deadlines should be set for each area and kept as short as possible, not exceeding 8 years. Cultural heritage should be understood within the meaning of Article 1 of the 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention.

(9)

Where it can be demonstrated that the establishment of an urban wastewater collecting system or the connection to a collecting system would produce no benefit for the environment or human health, would not be technically feasible or would involve excessive costs, and only in those cases, Member States should be allowed to use individual systems to collect, store and/or treat urban wastewater, provided that they ensure the same level of protection of the environment and human health as secondary and tertiary treatment. Individual systems can include different types of collection, storage or treatment system, such as nature-based solutions, small-sized treatment systems, or temporary tanks combined with regular evacuation to treatment plants. Member States should also exchange best practices on the use and operation of individual systems.

(10)

Member States should establish national, regional or local registers to identify individual systems and temporary storage used on their territory and take all measures necessary to ensure that the design of such systems is adequate, that the systems are properly maintained and that they are subject to a regular compliance control on the basis of a risk-based approach. In particular, Member States should ensure that individual systems used for the collection, storage or treatment of urban wastewater are impervious and leak-proof, and that monitoring and inspection of the systems are carried out at regular and fixed intervals. Taking into account the disproportionate costs for adapting the design of such systems to the new design requirements, those new design requirements should not apply to systems established prior to the entry into force of this Directive. Where individual systems are used to collect and/or treat more than 2 % of the urban wastewater load at national level from agglomerations of 2 000 p.e. and above, Member States should provide the Commission with justifications for the use of individual systems instead of collecting systems, demonstrating compliance of those systems with established standards under this Directive and describing the measures taken to reduce the use of such systems.

(11)

As a result of precipitation, such as rain, snow or meltwater, storm water overflows and urban runoff represent a sizeable remaining source of pollution discharged into the environment. Such overflows and runoff are expected to increase due to the combined effects of urbanisation and the progressive change of the rain regime linked with climate change. Urban wastewater management infrastructure is therefore particularly vulnerable to climate change. Solutions to reduce that source of pollution should be defined at local level, taking into account the specific local conditions. They should be based on an integrated quantitative and qualitative water management in urban areas. Therefore, Member States should ensure that integrated urban wastewater management plans are established at local level for all agglomerations of 100 000 p.e. and above as those agglomerations are responsible for a significant share of the pollution emitted. Furthermore, integrated urban wastewater management plans should also be put in place for agglomerations of between 10 000 p.e. and 100 000 p.e. where storm water overflows or urban runoff pose a risk for the environment or public health. In those plans, measures should be set out that aim at limiting the pollution from storm water overflows to no more than 2 % of the annual collected urban wastewater load calculated in dry weather flow conditions calculated on the basis of the pollutants in Tables 1 and 2 in Annex I.

(12)

Those plans should include measures to reduce the pollution from storm water overflows and also address the potentially significant pollution coming from separately collected urban runoff, for instance the pollution resulting from first rains after long dry periods in densely populated areas. Those plans should also include measures to prevent pollution at source and favour nature-based solutions over those that would require the establishment of grey infrastructure. Those measures could include preventive temporary measures aimed at avoiding the entry of unpolluted rain waters into collecting systems or temporary storage, including natural water retention, and appropriate treatment of heavily loaded runoff or overflows resulting from first rains. Member States are encouraged to increase green and blue spaces in urban areas and to take into account the Urban Nature platform, which provides guidance and knowledge to support towns and cities. In order to ensure adequate coverage of the integrated urban wastewater management plans and a comprehensive solution to storm water problems, those plans should be established for drainage areas of the agglomerations concerned.

(13)

In order to ensure that the integrated urban wastewater management plans are cost-effective, it is important that they be based on best practices that have already been applied in urban areas. Therefore, the measures to be considered should be based on a thorough analysis of the local conditions and should favour a preventive approach aimed at limiting the collection of unpolluted rain waters and optimising the use of existing infrastructure to generate energy savings and contribute to emission reduction. With a preference for green and blue developments and investments, new grey infrastructure should be envisaged only where absolutely necessary.

(14)

In order to protect the environment, in particular the coastal and marine environment, including the protection of surface, ground and drinking water, and public health from being adversely affected by the discharge of insufficiently treated urban wastewater, secondary treatment should be applied to all discharges of urban wastewater from agglomerations of 1 000 p.e. and above. Due to the expansion of the scope of this Directive to include smaller agglomerations, Member States should be given sufficient time to establish the required infrastructure to meet the obligations set out in this Directive. Similarly, enough time should be given to Member States to adapt their treatment infrastructure for agglomerations discharging their urban wastewater into coastal waters or less sensitive areas where secondary treatment was not required under Directive 91/271/EEC.

(15)

Discharges in high mountain regions, namely regions above an altitude of 1 500 m, and small agglomerations of below 2 000 p.e. in cold climate areas with a quarterly average temperature of below 6 oC in the inlet, in which it is difficult to apply an effective biological treatment because of low temperatures, should be allowed to use treatment less stringent than secondary treatment, provided that detailed studies demonstrate that such discharges do not have adverse effects on the environment or human health. Similarly, discharges into deep marine waters from smaller agglomerations of below 150 000 p.e. located in less-populated outermost regions, with fewer than 275 000 inhabitants characterised by difficult topography, such as steep slopes, and discharging their urban wastewater into deep marine waters in the open ocean, favouring a high level of dilution of those urban wastewater discharges into the receiving waters, should also be able to benefit from that derogation. Nevertheless, in order to ensure the equal treatment of all Member States and a high level of protection of the environment and human health on the whole territory of the Union, that derogation should be limited to 20 years, which is the time required to progressively upgrade the remaining urban wastewater treatment plants to secondary treatment in those areas where secondary treatment might be more difficult to apply. That derogation should be granted provided that detailed studies demonstrate that such discharges do not have adverse effects on the environment or human health and do not impact the compliance of the receiving waters with other relevant Union law, such as Directive 2000/60/EC, 2006/7/EC (8), or 2008/56/EC (9) of the European Parliament and of the Council.

(16)

The evaluation showed that significant reductions of nitrogen and phosphorus emissions were achieved through the implementation of Directive 91/271/EEC. Nevertheless, urban wastewater treatment plants remain, according to the evaluation, an important pathway of those pollutants into the environment, directly leading to eutrophication of water bodies and seas in the Union. Part of this pollution can be avoided as technical progress and best practices in place show that emission limit values established under Directive 91/271/EEC for nitrogen and phosphorus are outdated and should be strengthened, especially for larger treatment plants. Tertiary treatment should be systematically imposed on all urban wastewater treatment plants of 150 000 p.e. and above, as such plants represent an important remaining source of nitrogen and phosphorus discharge.

(17)

Tertiary treatment should also be mandatory in agglomerations of 10 000 p.e. and above that are discharging into areas subject to, or at risk of, eutrophication. In order to ensure that efforts to limit eutrophication are coordinated at the level of the relevant basins for the whole catchment zone, and to ensure the consistent designation of sensitive areas across the Union, areas where eutrophication is considered an issue according to currently available data should be listed in this Directive. Additionally, in order to ensure the coherence of relevant Union law, Member States should identify other areas subject to, or at risk of, eutrophication on their territory, and identify whether those areas are nitrogen- or phosphorus-sensitive, or both nitrogen- and phosphorus-sensitive in particular on the basis of data collected under Council Directive 91/676/EEC (10), Directive 2000/60/EC and Directive 2008/56/EC. The reinforcement of the limit values, the more coherent and inclusive identification of the areas sensitive to eutrophication and the obligation to ensure tertiary treatment for all large facilities would, in combination, contribute to limit eutrophication. Since this will require additional investment at national level, Member States should be given sufficient time to establish the required infrastructure.

(18)

根據(jù)委員會的四份通訊，即2018年1月16日的《歐洲循環(huán)經(jīng)濟中的塑料戰(zhàn)略》，2019年3月11日的《歐洲環(huán)境中藥品的戰(zhàn)略方法》，2020年10月14日的《可持續(xù)化學戰(zhàn)略——走向無毒環(huán)境》以及2021年5月12日的《為所有人健康星球之路——歐盟行動計劃：“走向空氣、水和土壤零污染”》，最近的科學知識表明，需要采取行動應(yīng)對微污染物問題，這些微污染物現(xiàn)在在聯(lián)盟的所有水域中都經(jīng)常被檢測到。一些微污染物即使在低濃度下，如每升微克以下，對公共健康和環(huán)境也是有害的。雖然初級、二級和三級處理已經(jīng)去除了一些微污染物，但為了確保從城市污水中去除大部分剩余的微污染物，應(yīng)引入額外的處理，即四級處理。四級處理應(yīng)首先關(guān)注有機微污染物，這些微污染物是污染的重要部分，并且已經(jīng)設(shè)計了去除技術(shù)。四級處理應(yīng)基于預(yù)防原則，并結(jié)合基于風險的方法。因此，所有處理能力為150,000人當量及以上的城市污水處理廠都應(yīng)提供四級處理。因為這些設(shè)施在環(huán)境中微污染物排放中占有重要比例，而且通過城市污水處理廠大規(guī)模去除微污染物在經(jīng)濟上是劃算的。對于15萬標人及以上的污水處理廠，成員國應(yīng)確保優(yōu)先進行必要的投資，以便對環(huán)境和人類健康風險最高的設(shè)施立即進行裝備。對于1萬人標人及以上的聚居區(qū)，成員國應(yīng)要求在根據(jù)明確標準確定的對微污染物污染敏感的地區(qū)應(yīng)用四次處理。這樣的地區(qū)應(yīng)包括向水體排放的城市污水處理后的水體稀釋率低的位置。或接收水體被用于飲用水生產(chǎn)、貝類生產(chǎn)或作為浴場的情況。當風險評估顯示不存在微污染物對環(huán)境或人類健康的潛在危險時，成員國應(yīng)能夠在這些地區(qū)不進行第四級處理。對于所有其他類型的城市人口達到10,000人當量及以上的水體，成員國應(yīng)根據(jù)標準化的風險評估來評估微污染物排放對環(huán)境或公共健康的潛在風險，并僅在風險評估結(jié)果需要時進行第四級處理。當一個城市人口達到10,000人當量及以上并被識別為對微污染物污染敏感的有多座城市污水處理廠時，只有那些向有風險的地區(qū)排放的才應(yīng)要求進行四重處理。為了給成員國足夠的時間來規(guī)劃和實施必要的基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施，四重處理的要求應(yīng)逐步實施，直到2045年，并有明確的中期目標。

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為了確保城市廢水處理廠的排放繼續(xù)符合二級、三級和四級處理的要求，樣品應(yīng)按照本指令的要求進行采集，并且這些樣品應(yīng)符合其規(guī)定的技術(shù)參數(shù)值。為了考慮到這些樣品結(jié)果可能存在的技術(shù)差異，應(yīng)規(guī)定允許不符合這些技術(shù)參數(shù)值的樣品的最大數(shù)量。

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為了去除城市污水中的微污染物，需要進行四次處理，這將涉及額外的成本，例如與監(jiān)測相關(guān)的成本以及在某些城市污水廠安裝新先進設(shè)備的成本。為了覆蓋這些額外成本，并根據(jù)《歐洲聯(lián)盟條約》第191(2)條所表達的“污染者付費”原則，必須使在歐盟市場上銷售的產(chǎn)品中包含的物質(zhì)在使用壽命結(jié)束時成為城市污水中的微污染物的生產(chǎn)者，對在專業(yè)活動中產(chǎn)生的這些物質(zhì)的額外處理負責。一個擴展生產(chǎn)者責任的系統(tǒng)是實現(xiàn)這一目標的最適當手段。這將限制對納稅人和水費的影響，同時為開發(fā)更環(huán)保的產(chǎn)品提供激勵。在這種情況下，擴展的生產(chǎn)者責任應(yīng)適用，無論產(chǎn)品是否投放市場，其各個組件是否在成員國或第三國制造，或者生產(chǎn)者是否在聯(lián)盟內(nèi)設(shè)有注冊辦事處，還是產(chǎn)品通過數(shù)字平臺投放市場。目前，藥物和化妝品殘留物是城市廢水中的主要微污染物來源，需要進行四次處理。因此，擴展的生產(chǎn)者責任應(yīng)適用于這兩個產(chǎn)品組。根據(jù)城市廢水監(jiān)測和最新的科學數(shù)據(jù)結(jié)果，委員會應(yīng)定期評估是否應(yīng)將其他產(chǎn)品納入延伸生產(chǎn)者責任系統(tǒng)。

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根據(jù)現(xiàn)有數(shù)據(jù)，由于實施擴展生產(chǎn)者責任，可能會導(dǎo)致產(chǎn)品成本的微小增加或市場上相關(guān)行業(yè)利潤空間的微小縮減，這種影響在歐盟層面是邊緣性的，并且不會危及這些產(chǎn)品在歐盟市場上的可負擔性、可獲得性或可接近性。然而，成員國應(yīng)考慮擴展生產(chǎn)者責任要求在國家層面對產(chǎn)品可獲得性、可獲得性和可負擔性可能產(chǎn)生的影響，特別是那些在歐盟市場上銷售的藥品，以及這些要求的實施可能對競爭公平性產(chǎn)生的影響。成員國可以采取行動確保有足夠的資金。包括通過資助四次處理的一部分費用。鑒于成員國可能會選擇不同的實施方法，應(yīng)關(guān)注內(nèi)部市場的運作，并在對本指令進行任何后續(xù)評估時，委員會應(yīng)評估在這方面可能產(chǎn)生的任何影響。

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然而，延長生產(chǎn)者責任義務(wù)的豁免應(yīng)該是可能的。當一個生產(chǎn)者在其市場上投放的產(chǎn)品所含物質(zhì)總量較少時，這種情況應(yīng)該適用，即每年少于1噸，因為在這種情況下，對生產(chǎn)者的額外行政負擔與環(huán)境利益相比是不成比例的。對于產(chǎn)品的一部分，如果生產(chǎn)者能夠證明在產(chǎn)品使用壽命結(jié)束時不會產(chǎn)生微污染物，或者可以證明產(chǎn)品的殘余物在廢水和環(huán)境中能夠快速生物降解，或者不會到達城市廢水處理廠，也應(yīng)有可能獲得豁免。委員會應(yīng)制定詳細標準，以識別在使用壽命結(jié)束時不會在城市廢水處理過程中產(chǎn)生微污染物的在歐盟市場上投放的產(chǎn)品，同時考慮其危險性和可生物降解性。在制定這些標準時，委員會應(yīng)考慮歐洲議會和理事會第1272/2008號法規(guī)已設(shè)定的標準。 (11)，但也可以包括科學或其他可用的技術(shù)信息，包括相關(guān)的國際標準。這些標準應(yīng)在本指令規(guī)定的擴展生產(chǎn)者責任義務(wù)生效之前制定。

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為避免可能的內(nèi)部市場扭曲，本指令應(yīng)規(guī)定實施延伸生產(chǎn)者責任制度的最低要求，而該制度的實際組織應(yīng)由國家決定。為了促進替代產(chǎn)生城市廢水微污染物殘留物的物質(zhì)和產(chǎn)品，生產(chǎn)者的貢獻應(yīng)與其在市場上投放的產(chǎn)品所含物質(zhì)的數(shù)量以及這些物質(zhì)及其殘留物的危險性成比例。貢獻應(yīng)涵蓋但不超過用于微污染物監(jiān)測活動的投資和運營成本，收集，成員國市場上的產(chǎn)品數(shù)量和危害性統(tǒng)計數(shù)據(jù)的報告和公正驗證，以及城市廢水四次處理的高效應(yīng)用。這些貢獻還應(yīng)包括在本指令生效時，已建立的四次處理的運行成本，以滿足擴展的生產(chǎn)者責任系統(tǒng)義務(wù)。它還應(yīng)包括已建立的四次處理的部分投資成本，考慮到投資的折舊和本指令規(guī)定的融資義務(wù)的截止日期。由于城市廢水是集體處理的，引入一項要求，即生產(chǎn)商必須加入一個可以代表他們實施擴展生產(chǎn)者責任的集中組織是適當?shù)摹?/font>

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評估還表明，城市廢水處理部門有機會顯著減少其自身的能源消耗，并產(chǎn)生可再生能源，例如通過更好地利用城市廢水處理廠中的可用表面來生產(chǎn)太陽能，或者通過將污泥轉(zhuǎn)化為沼氣以及通過熱能或動能或其他可再生能源來源來生產(chǎn)沼氣。評估還說明，如果沒有明確的法律義務(wù)，該部門只能取得部分進展。在此背景下，成員國應(yīng)被要求確保其領(lǐng)土上所有處理10,000人當量負荷的城市廢水處理廠的全年總能源使用量。并且不超過歐洲議會和理事會第 (EU) 2018/2001 號指令第 2(1) 條所定義的可再生能源生產(chǎn)的量。 (12)通過這些城市廢水處理廠。為了考慮每個城市廢水處理廠的特殊性，優(yōu)化所需的投資，并提供實現(xiàn)能源中和目標所需的靈活性，同時確保可再生能源生產(chǎn)和節(jié)能潛力的充分利用，該目標應(yīng)在國家層面實現(xiàn)，而不是每個處理廠都實現(xiàn)。城市廢水處理廠運營商或其所有者產(chǎn)生的所有可再生能源，無論是在現(xiàn)場還是場外，如水力、太陽能、熱能、風能或沼氣，都應(yīng)予以考慮。該目標應(yīng)逐步實現(xiàn)，并在2045年12月31日前設(shè)定中期目標�？梢再徺I一定數(shù)量的非化石能源。2040年和2045年，通過使用與條件相關(guān)的豁免，不直接與城市廢水處理活動相關(guān)，來自外部來源的廢水處理廠所有者或運營商應(yīng)不包括購買的可再生能源。實現(xiàn)這一能源中和目標，特別是有助于減少城市廢水處理部門的可避免的溫室氣體排放，同時支持實現(xiàn)2050年氣候中和目標及相關(guān)國家和歐盟目標，如歐洲議會和理事會2018/842號條例中設(shè)定的目標。由城市污水處理廠的所有者或運營者產(chǎn)生或代表其產(chǎn)生的可再生能源不應(yīng)包括購買的可再生能源。實現(xiàn)這一能源中和目標，將特別有助于減少城市污水處理部門的可避免的溫室氣體排放，同時支持實現(xiàn)2050年氣候中和目標及相關(guān)國家和歐盟目標，例如歐洲議會和理事會2018/842號條例中設(shè)定的目標。由城市污水處理廠的所有者或運營者產(chǎn)生或代表其產(chǎn)生的可再生能源不應(yīng)包括購買的可再生能源。實現(xiàn)這一能源中和目標，將特別有助于減少城市污水處理部門的可避免的溫室氣體排放，同時支持實現(xiàn)2050年氣候中和目標及相關(guān)國家和歐盟目標，例如歐洲議會和理事會2018/842號條例中設(shè)定的目標。在支持實現(xiàn)2050年氣候中和目標及相關(guān)國家和歐盟目標，如歐洲議會和理事會第2018/842號條例中規(guī)定的目標的同時，在支持實現(xiàn)2050年氣候中和目標及相關(guān)國家和歐盟目標，如歐洲議會和理事會第2018/842號條例中設(shè)定的目標的同時， (13)。然而，實現(xiàn)能源中和的舉措不應(yīng)導(dǎo)致甲烷或一氧化二氮排放的增加。根據(jù)指令（EU）2018/2001，成員國應(yīng)促進城市廢水處理部門所需的可再生能源項目的許可程序。鼓勵基于歐盟的沼氣或太陽能生產(chǎn)，同時按照歐洲議會和理事會的能源效率原則（EU）2018/1999加強能源效率措施 (14) 并充分利用數(shù)字化，這意味著在制定能源政策和做出相關(guān)投資決策時，充分考慮成本效益最高的能源效率措施，這也有助于減少聯(lián)盟的能源依賴，這是委員會于2022年5月18日發(fā)布的題為《REPower EU Plan》的通信中表達的一個目標。這也符合歐洲議會和理事會的指令 (EU) 2018/844 (15) 并且根據(jù)指令 (EU) 2018/2001，其中城市廢水處理廠被確定為可再生能源的“首選”地區(qū)，這意味著被指定為特別適合安裝可再生能源生產(chǎn)植物的地點。為了通過為每個城市廢水處理廠和收集系統(tǒng)采取最佳措施來實現(xiàn)能源中和的目標，成員國應(yīng)確保能源審計符合歐洲議會和理事會的指令 (EU) 2023/1791 的定義 (16)每四年進行一次審計。這些審計還應(yīng)包括識別能源消耗潛力的降低，經(jīng)濟有效的廢熱回收和利用，無論是現(xiàn)場還是通過區(qū)域能源系統(tǒng)，或根據(jù)歐洲議會和理事會2012/27/EU指令附件六規(guī)定的經(jīng)濟有效的可再生能源的使用或生產(chǎn) (17)。

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由于甲烷排放減少對減緩氣候變化的影響大于二氧化碳排放減少的 proportionate，且鑒于城市廢水處理部門被確定為甲烷排放的主要排放部門之一，該部門應(yīng)按照在格拉斯哥聯(lián)合國氣候變化大會（COP 26）上 launched 的全球甲烷承諾的指示，監(jiān)測并努力減少甲烷排放 (18)，類似于歐洲議會和理事會的歐洲議會和理事會的甲烷排放減少（歐盟）2024/1787(18)，以確保城市廢水處理部門在最遲2050年實現(xiàn)氣候中和目標的貢獻，正如《歐盟》2021/1119所規(guī)定的那樣。

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由于水污染具有跨境性，需要鄰近的成員國或第三國在應(yīng)對這種污染并確定措施以解決其來源方面進行合作，因此，如果一個成員國或第三國的城市廢水排放引起的嚴重水污染影響或可能影響另一個成員國或第三國的水質(zhì)量，成員國應(yīng)相互通知或通知相關(guān)第三國。在發(fā)生顯著影響下游水體的意外污染時，此類信息應(yīng)立即提供，并且應(yīng)在適當?shù)臅r候進行回應(yīng)。當成員國之間或與第三國之間已經(jīng)就環(huán)境水問題達成先前協(xié)議時，通過這些協(xié)議進行的合作可以被考慮。委員會應(yīng)了解此類污染，并在必要時根據(jù)成員國的要求參加相關(guān)會議。同樣重要的是解決與一些成員國共享同一水體的第三國的跨界污染。為了應(yīng)對來自或到達第三國的污染，可以與第三國在聯(lián)合國歐洲經(jīng)濟委員會（UNECE）《關(guān)于保護和利用跨界河流和國際湖泊的公約》的框架內(nèi)進行合作和協(xié)調(diào)。同樣重要的是，解決與一些成員國共享同一水體的第三國的跨界污染。為了應(yīng)對來自或到達第三國的污染，可以按照《聯(lián)合國歐洲經(jīng)濟委員會關(guān)于保護和利用跨界河流和國際湖泊的公約》的框架，與第三國進行合作和協(xié)調(diào)。同樣重要的是，解決與一些成員國共享同一水體的第三國的跨界污染。為了應(yīng)對來自或到達第三國的污染，可以依據(jù)《聯(lián)合國歐洲經(jīng)濟委員會關(guān)于保護和利用跨界河流和國際湖泊的公約》與第三國進行合作和協(xié)調(diào)。與第三國的合作與協(xié)調(diào)可以在聯(lián)合國歐洲經(jīng)濟委員會（UNECE）《關(guān)于保護和利用跨界河流和國際湖泊的公約》的框架內(nèi)進行與第三國的合作與協(xié)調(diào)可以在聯(lián)合國歐洲經(jīng)濟委員會（UNECE）《關(guān)于保護和利用跨界河流和國際湖泊的公約》的框架內(nèi)進行 (19) 或其他相關(guān)的區(qū)域公約，例如區(qū)域海洋或河流公約。

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為了確保環(huán)境和人類健康的保護，成員國應(yīng)確保按照本指令要求建設(shè)的收集系統(tǒng)和城市廢水處理廠在所有正常的地方氣候條件下都能確保足夠的性能。由于城市廢水基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施已被歐盟議會和理事會的指令（EU）2022/2557確認為關(guān)鍵實體 (20)，成員國還應(yīng)確保在設(shè)計、建造和運營城市廢水處理廠和收集系統(tǒng)時，評估其因氣候變化而發(fā)生極端事件的脆弱性。

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城市廢水處理廠也接收非居民廢水，包括工業(yè)廢水，這些廢水中可能含有指令91/271/EEC未明確涵蓋的各種污染物，例如重金屬、微塑料、微污染物和其他化學物質(zhì)，包括全氟和多氟烷基物質(zhì)（PFAS）。這種非居民廢水可能來自工業(yè)、商業(yè)設(shè)施或醫(yī)院和其他醫(yī)療機構(gòu)。在大多數(shù)情況下，人們對這種污染缺乏了解和認識，這可能導(dǎo)致處理過程的惡化，加劇受納水體的污染，同時阻止污泥的回收和處理后廢水的再利用。成員國應(yīng)定期監(jiān)測和報告進入城市污水處理廠并排放到水體中的非住宅污染。為了防止連接到收集系統(tǒng)的工業(yè)或企業(yè)排放的非住宅廢水污染，在源頭上，應(yīng)由主管當局或適當機構(gòu)事先制定法規(guī)或具體許可，或兩者兼有。為了確保收集系統(tǒng)和城市污水處理廠在技術(shù)上能夠接收和處理來污染，應(yīng)在頒發(fā)這些許可或采用這些事先法規(guī)之前，咨詢和通知管理接收非住宅廢水的城市污水處理廠的運營商，并應(yīng)在需要時能夠進行咨詢。為使其能夠調(diào)整其處理工藝，對所發(fā)出的許可進行審查。在來水中有非飲用水污染時，成員國應(yīng)采取適當措施，通過加強收集系統(tǒng)中污染物的監(jiān)測，減少污染源，必要時審查向相關(guān)、相連的城鎮(zhèn)污水集中處理設(shè)施提供的許可。連接的城鎮(zhèn)污水處理廠。連接的城鎮(zhèn)污水處理廠。

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聯(lián)盟的水資源日益受到壓力，導(dǎo)致聯(lián)盟某些地區(qū)的水資源永久或暫時短缺。通過更廣泛地重復(fù)利用處理過的城市廢水，限制從地表和地下水體中提取淡水，可以提高聯(lián)盟應(yīng)對水資源壓力增加的能力。因此，應(yīng)鼓勵并適用于所有適當用途在適當情況下重復(fù)利用處理過的城市廢水，特別是在缺水地區(qū)，同時確保接收水體的最小生態(tài)流量，并考慮到滿足《2000/60/EC指令》中規(guī)定的接收水體良好生態(tài)和化學狀態(tài)目標的需要。為了實現(xiàn)這一目標，成員國在根據(jù)《2000/60/EC指令》進行影響評估時，應(yīng)監(jiān)測處理過的城市廢水再利用對受納水體最小生態(tài)流量的影響。在評估處理過的城市廢水的再利用潛力時，應(yīng)考慮到《2000/60/EC指令》下制定的河流 basin管理計劃以及《歐洲議會和理事會2020/741號條例》第2(2)條中成員國的決定。在評估城市廢水處理后重復(fù)使用潛力時，應(yīng)考慮到根據(jù)《2000/60/EC指令》建立的河流 basin 管理計劃以及歐洲議會和理事會《2020/741號條例》第2(2)條規(guī)定的成員國決定。在評估城市廢水處理后重復(fù)使用潛力時，應(yīng)考慮到根據(jù)《2000/60/EC指令》建立的河流 basin 管理計劃以及歐洲議會和理事會《2020/741號條例》第2(2)條規(guī)定的成員國決定。 (21)以及確保符合《2000/60/EC指令》定義的接收體良好生態(tài)和化學狀態(tài)目標的需要。加強城鎮(zhèn)污水的處理要求，以及更好地監(jiān)測、追蹤和減少污染的行動，將對處理后的城鎮(zhèn)污水質(zhì)量產(chǎn)生影響，因此將支持污水的再利用。當污水的再利用用于農(nóng)業(yè)灌溉時，應(yīng)按照《(EU) 2020/741條例》進行。為確保處理后的城鎮(zhèn)污水安全再利用，成員國應(yīng)考慮對將被再利用或即將被再利用的城鎮(zhèn)污水進行第四級處理。在成員國層面的水彈性戰(zhàn)略中，當這些戰(zhàn)略可用時，應(yīng)考慮促進處理過的城市廢水再利用的措施以及廢水自身的再利用。

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根據(jù)《(EU) 2020/741》法規(guī)，城市廢水中的營養(yǎng)物質(zhì)在城市廢水經(jīng)處理后可在農(nóng)業(yè)中重復(fù)使用時是有益的。在這種情況下，成員國應(yīng)能夠在確保環(huán)境和人類健康最高保護水平的特定條件下，豁免本指令規(guī)定的三級處理義務(wù)，僅針對城市廢水經(jīng)處理后在農(nóng)業(yè)中重復(fù)使用的部分。

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為了確保本指令的正確實施，特別是尊重排放限值，對受處理的城市廢水排放到環(huán)境中進行監(jiān)測是重要的。監(jiān)測應(yīng)通過在國家層面建立強制性的事前法規(guī)或具體授權(quán)，或兩者兼有，來實現(xiàn)，以便將受處理的城市廢水排放到環(huán)境中。此外，為了防止使用生物介質(zhì)的城市廢水處理廠意外將生物介質(zhì)排放到環(huán)境中，必須在排放授權(quán)或法規(guī)，或兩者兼有，中包含具體的義務(wù)，以持續(xù)監(jiān)測和防止這種排放。這些生物介質(zhì)通常由塑料制成，可能包括但不限于生物載體、生物珠或聚苯乙烯珠。

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在必要時，成員國應(yīng)根據(jù)其人口規(guī)模及其所產(chǎn)生的生活污水量，調(diào)整其城市污水收集和處理基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施，以繼續(xù)符合本指令的要求。只要滿足本指令規(guī)定的所有條件，成員國在建設(shè)及調(diào)整此類基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施時，生活污水排放對水體可能產(chǎn)生的影響不應(yīng)被視為違反《2000/60/EC指令》的義務(wù)。

輸入：(33)

為了確保環(huán)境的保護，應(yīng)針對某些工業(yè)部門的可生物降解的非生活污水直接排放到環(huán)境中提出適當?shù)牡囊�求。這些要求應(yīng)確保某些工業(yè)部門的直接排放根據(jù)環(huán)境保護和人類健康的需要，經(jīng)過二級、三級和四級處理，并且在最終分析中，處理后的污水設(shè)定的參數(shù)得到遵守或確保相同的環(huán)境保護水平。

輸入：(34)

According to Article 168(1) TFEU, Union action complements national policies and is to be directed towards improving public health and preventing diseases. In order to ensure optimal use of relevant public health data from urban wastewater, urban wastewater surveillance should be set up and used for preventive or early warning purposes, for instance in the detection of specific viruses in urban wastewater as a signal of the emergence of epidemics or pandemics. Member States should establish a dialogue and coordination between competent authorities responsible for public health and competent authorities responsible for urban wastewater management. In the context of that coordination, roles, responsibilities and costs should be clearly allocated among those competent authorities. Member States should develop a list of parameters relevant for public health to be monitored in urban wastewater as well as the frequency and location of the sampling, taking into account the recommendations of, among others, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), of the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) and of the World Health Organization (WHO) and consider the following health parameters for inclusion in such a list: SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, poliovirus, influenza virus, emerging pathogens and any other public health parameters that may be considered relevant. On the basis of information gathered during the COVID-19 pandemic and experience gained from the implementation of Commission Recommendation (EU) 2021/472 (22), Member States should be required to monitor relevant health parameters in urban wastewater in the event of a health emergency. In order to ensure that harmonised methods are used, Member States should, to the extent possible, use the sampling and analysis methods set out in Recommendation (EU) 2021/472 for the monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants.

(35)

The Union recognises the importance of tackling the issue of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), in particular in the Communication from the Commission of 29 June 2017 entitled ‘A European One Health Action Plan against Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)’, and adopted the European One Health Action Plan against AMR. According to the WHO, urban wastewater is recognised and documented as a major source of antimicrobial agents and their metabolites, as well as antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and their genes. In order to increase the knowledge on the main sources of AMR, a monitoring obligation for the presence of AMR in urban wastewater should be introduced to further develop our scientific knowledge and potentially take adequate action in the future.

(36)

This Directive acknowledges the ‘One Health’ approach, as recognised by the WHO, to be an integrated and unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimise the health of people, animals and ecosystems. The ‘One Health’ approach recognises that the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and the wider environment, including ecosystems, are closely interlinked and interdependent.

(37)

In order to protect the environment and human health, Member States should identify and assess the risks caused by urban wastewater management. The risk assessment could include a broad chemical screening, including chemical mixtures, or biological effect-based methods, or both, in order to identify substances that cause concern for, inter alia, aquatic life or the quality of drinking or bathing water. On the basis of that identification, and where necessary to comply with the requirements of the Union water legislation, Member States should take measures for the collection and treatment of urban wastewater that are more stringent than the measures required to comply with the minimum requirements set out in this Directive. In line with Article 191(2) TFEU and in addition to the measures provided for or taken in accordance with Article 11(3) of Directive 2000/60/EC, Member States should promote, as a priority, the control of pollutants at source to prevent the pollution of receiving water bodies. In particular, Member States should take preventive measures to limit the risk that intentionally and unintentionally released microplastics reach urban wastewater and sludge.

(38)

Depending on the situation, those more stringent measures can include, inter alia, the establishment of collecting systems, the development of integrated urban wastewater management plans or the application of secondary, tertiary or quaternary treatment to urban wastewater for agglomerations or urban wastewater treatment plants that do not reach the p.e. thresholds triggering the application of the standard requirements. They can also include treatment that is more advanced than the treatment necessary to respect the minimum requirements or disinfection of treated urban wastewater necessary to comply with Directive 2006/7/EC.

(39)

Target 6.2 of UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 on clean water and sanitation requires Member States, by 2030, to achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations. Sanitation facilities should allow the safe management and disposal of human urine, faeces and menstrual blood and the changing of menstrual products. Furthermore, Principle 20 of the European Pillar of Social Rights states that everyone has the right to access essential services of good quality, including water and sanitation. Against that background, and in accordance with the recommendations in the WHO Guidelines for Sanitation and Health (23) and the Protocol on Water and Health to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, done in London on 17 June 1999, Member States should tackle the issue of access to sanitation at national level. That should be done through actions ensuring access to sanitation for all, for example by setting up sanitation facilities in public spaces, as well as by encouraging the availability of appropriate sanitation facilities in public administrations and public buildings free of charge or making them affordable to all, including all kinds of facilities and services, such as flush and dry toilets. They should be safely managed, which means that they should be accessible to all, where appropriate, at all times, including for people with particular needs, such as children, older persons, persons with disabilities and homeless people, that they should be placed in a location that ensures maximum safety for users, and that they should be hygienically and technically safe to use. Such facilities should also be sufficient in number to ensure that the needs of people are met and waiting times are not unreasonably long. The sufficient number of sanitation facilities in public spaces should be decided at the appropriate level, taking into account the principle of subsidiarity.

(40)

The specific situation of minority cultures, such as Roma and Travellers, whether settled or not, and in particular their lack of access to sanitation, was acknowledged in the Communication from the Commission of 7 October 2020 entitled ‘A Union of Equality: EU Roma strategic framework for equality, inclusion and participation’, which calls for increasing effective equal access to essential services. Overall, it is appropriate that Member States pay particular attention to vulnerable groups or groups that are marginalised due to factors related to their socio-economic situation, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, disability, homelessness, legal status, religious conviction or other reasons by taking the measures necessary to ensure access to sanitation for those groups. It is important that the identification of those groups be consistent with Article 16(1) of Directive (EU) 2020/2184 of the European Parliament and of the Council (24). Measures to improve access to sanitation by vulnerable and marginalised groups might include providing sanitation facilities in public and private spaces for free or for a low service fee as well as in public administration buildings, improving or maintaining the connection to adequate systems to collect urban wastewater, and raising awareness of the nearest sanitation facilities.

(41)

According to the EU Human Rights Guidelines on Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation, adopted by the Council on 17 June 2019, particular attention has to be given to the needs of women and girls, as they are particularly at risk and exposed to attacks, sexual and gender-based violence, harassment and other threats to their safety when accessing sanitation facilities outside their homes. This is in line with the Council Conclusions on Water Diplomacy, adopted on 19 November 2018, which reaffirm the importance of integrating a gender perspective into water diplomacy. Therefore, Member States should pay particular attention to women and girls as being a vulnerable group and should take the measures necessary to improve or maintain safe access to sanitation for them.

(42)

The evaluation concluded that sludge management could be improved to better align it with the principles of the circular economy and of the waste hierarchy as defined in Article 4 of Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (25). The actions to better monitor and reduce pollution at source from non-domestic discharges will contribute to improving the quality of the sludge produced and ensure its safe use in agriculture. In order to ensure the proper and safe recovery of nutrients, including the critical substance phosphorus, from sludge, a minimum combined reuse and recycling rate should be set at Union level. Member States should be able to choose whether to reuse or recycle, or both, urban wastewater or sludge, or both, in order to recover phosphorus. The combined minimum reuse and recycling rate should take into account the phosphorus content of sludge, which can vary from one area to another. It should also take into account the level of saturation of each national market, for example the availability of other sources of phosphorus from organic sources, for instance from livestock farming, and the possibilities of its absorption in agriculture. Member States should be encouraged to monitor micropollutants in sludge, particularly where there is a risk of accumulation of micropollutants in sludge, and when it is reused in agriculture in order to increase knowledge about its presence and to protect the environment and human health. The proper and safe recovery of nutrients and their reuse in agriculture should be encouraged in order to support the resilience and sustainability of the agricultural sector and contribute to the strategic autonomy of the Union fertiliser industry. In that context, Member States should, while taking into account national and local valorisation options, take measures to encourage the production and purchasing of recovered nutrients from urban wastewater and sludge. When reusing sludge in agriculture particular attention should be paid to microplastics. Microplastics should therefore be systematically monitored when sludge is reused in agriculture. This information is indispensable for the safe management of sludge in agriculture and any possible review of relevant Union policy.

(43)

Adequate monitoring is necessary to verify compliance with the new requirements of this Directive concerning micropollutants, non-domestic pollution, energy neutrality, storm water overflows and urban runoff. Monitoring should be supported, where technically feasible and appropriate, through the use of digital tools. In particular for the operational management of collecting systems and urban wastewater treatment plants, the use of digital tools should be systematically considered. To verify the compliance of the quaternary treatment concerning the reduction of micropollutants in urban wastewater discharges, it is sufficient to monitor a limited set of representative micropollutants. The monitoring frequencies should be built on the current best practices, as currently practised in Switzerland. To remain cost-effective, those obligations should be adapted to the size of the urban wastewater treatment plants and of the agglomerations. For the purposes of such monitoring, this Directive provides for sampling to be carried out. Each time sampling is carried out, a sample is taken both at the inlet and outlet of the urban wastewater treatment plant. The monitoring will also contribute to providing data for the overall Environmental Monitoring Framework as set up under the 8th Environmental Action Programme (26), and more specifically to feeding the Zero Pollution Monitoring and Outlook Framework underpinning it, set out in the Commission Communication of 12 May 2021 entitled ‘Pathway to a Healthy Planet for All EU Action Plan: “Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil”’.

(44)

Microplastics and relevant micropollutants should be monitored, where relevant, in storm water overflow discharges and in discharges of urban runoff from separate systems with a representative sampling programme allowing for concentration estimation with a view to modelling water quality. GHG emissions should be monitored by means of analysis, calculations or modelling, where appropriate.

(45)

To ensure the protection of the environment and that adequate action is taken under any risk assessment to be carried out for the implementation of this Directive as well as for the implementation of other Union law, Member States should monitor a broad spectrum of pollutants at the inlets and outlets of the urban wastewater treatment plants. To avoid an unnecessary burden, only pollutants that can be expected to be found in urban wastewater should be monitored, taking into account the high variety of pollutants which could reach urban wastewater treatment plants, including from non-domestic wastewater sources. Member States should be able to reduce the monitoring frequency if pollutants are not found in subsequent sampling campaigns. More specifically, recent data shows that PFAS are found in urban wastewater, sometimes at high concentrations. The most recent scientific evidence shows that PFAS are a concern for the environment and for public health due to their persistence. It is therefore essential to better understand the pathways of PFAS into the environment and to monitor them in the inlet and outlet of the urban wastewater treatment plants. This monitoring should start in the first instance where the discharges reach catchment areas used for the abstraction of drinking water, due to the high risks of being exposed to PFAS and their impact on health.

(46)

In order to reduce the administrative burden and better use the possibilities offered by digitalisation, the reporting on the implementation of this Directive should be improved and simplified by removing the obligation for Member States to report every two years to the Commission and for the Commission to publish bi-yearly reports. It should be replaced by a requirement for Member States to improve, with the support of the EEA, the existing national standardised data sets established under Directive 91/271/EEC, and to regularly update them. The Commission will use those improved data sets to verify compliance with this Directive. It is appropriate for the reporting model to be developed by the EEA in collaboration with Member States. Access to the national databases should be provided to the Commission and the EEA. In order to ensure complete information on the application of this Directive, the data sets should include information on compliance of urban wastewater treatment plants with the treatment requirements (pass/fail, loads and concentration of pollutants discharged), on the level of achievement of the objectives of energy neutrality, on GHG emissions of the treatment plants above 10 000 p.e. and on measures taken by the Member States in the context of storm water overflows and urban runoff, access to sanitation and treatment by individual systems. Moreover, full consistency with Regulation (EC) No 166/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (27) should be ensured in order to optimise the use of the data, as well as to support full transparency. The information collected through those data sets should support a comparison of, and an exchange of best practices at Union level with regard to, the performance of urban wastewater treatment plants. The administrative burden of providing information and data to the public should at all times be such as to respect the principle of proportionality.

(47)

The implementation of Directive 91/271/EEC is financed through water tariffs and public budgets, including Union funding. In the future, the extended producer responsibility should be such as to ensure that the costs of the quaternary treatment are at least partially borne by the industries concerned and complemented by other types of financing. In the past, the implementation of Directive 91/271/EEC was also substantially supported by the Union’s Cohesion Policy and programmes under Horizon 2020 and LIFE. In order to ensure the timely and proper implementation of this Directive, it is essential that Member States establish a national implementation programme including long-term programming of the required investments accompanied by a financing strategy. Those national implementation programmes should be reported to the Commission. To limit the administrative burden, that requirement should not apply to Member States in which more than 95 % of the agglomerations are compliant with the main obligations to treat and collect wastewater. To continue the implementation of this Directive, the Commission should consider the national implementation programmes reported by Member States for the preparation of the next multiannual financial framework and those following thereafter and the Member States should put in place the required extended producer responsibility system without delay.

(48)

The urban wastewater collection and treatment sector is specific, operating as a captive market, with public and small enterprises being connected to the collecting system without being able to choose their operators. It is therefore important to ensure public access to operators’ key performance indicators, such as the level of treatment achieved, the costs of treatment, the energy used and produced, and the related GHG emissions and carbon footprint. In order to make the public more aware of the implications of urban wastewater treatment, key information on the annual wastewater collection and treatment costs for each household should be provided, at least in agglomerations above 10 000 p.e., and preferably above 1 000 p.e., in an easily accessible manner, for instance on the invoices, while other detailed information should be accessible in a user-friendly format online, on a website of the operator or the competent authority.

(49)

Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (28) guarantees the right of access to environmental information in the Member States in line with the 1998 United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (the ‘Aarhus Convention’) (29). The Aarhus Convention encompasses broad obligations related both to making environmental information available upon request and actively disseminating such information. It is important that the provisions of this Directive related to access to information and data-sharing arrangements complement that Directive, by establishing the obligation to make available to the public online information on the collection and treatment of urban wastewater in a user-friendly manner, without creating a separate legal regime.

(50)

The effectiveness of this Directive and its aim of protecting public health in the context of the Union’s environment policy require that natural or legal persons, or where appropriate their duly constituted organisations, be able to rely on it in legal proceedings and that the national courts be able to take this Directive into consideration as an element of Union law in order, inter alia, to review decisions of a national authority where appropriate. In addition, according to settled case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, under the principle of sincere cooperation laid down in Article 4(3) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), it is for the courts of the Member States to ensure judicial protection of a person’s rights under Union law. Furthermore, Article 19(1) TEU requires Member States to provide remedies sufficient to ensure effective legal protection in the fields covered by Union law. This should be done in accordance with national rules, without depriving the provision on compensation of its effectiveness. In addition, in accordance with the Aarhus Convention, members of the public concerned are to have access to justice in order to contribute to the protection of the right to live in an environment which is adequate for personal health and well-being.

(51)

To adapt this Directive to scientific and technical progress, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission in respect of amending certain parts of the Annexes with regard to the adaptation of monitoring to state-of-the-art methods for monitoring, including with a view to making optimal use of digital tools and taking into account the relevant methods used in other relevant Union law, and evaluation of results for the requirements for the tertiary and quaternary treatment, and the requirements for prior regulations and specific authorisations for discharges of non-domestic wastewater into collecting systems and urban wastewater treatment plants and in respect of supplementing this Directive by specifying a minimum combined reuse and recycling rate for phosphorus from sludge and from urban wastewater, taking into account available technologies and resources as well as the economic viability for phosphorus recovery and by updating the information provided to the public online and to households. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making (30). In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States’ experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.

(52)

In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Directive, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission for the adoption of standards for the design of individual systems, for the establishment of the format of the reporting and the level of detail of the information in relation to individual systems, for establishing the format and the method of the risk assessment to be used in the context of the quaternary treatment, for the adoption of monitoring and assessment methods for the indicators of the quaternary treatment and the objectives regarding energy neutrality, for the establishment of common conditions and criteria for the application of the exemption for certain products from extended producer responsibility, for establishing methodologies for supporting the development of integrated urban wastewater management plans, for the development of alternative indicators to the load-based indicative objective of pollution reduction based for instance on volume, number of occurrences of storm water overflows, volume of the discharged urban runoff, or other relevant alternative indicators, and for establishing a minimum frequency of sampling and methodologies for measuring antimicrobial resistance, direct and indirect GHG emissions and microplastics in urban wastewater and sludge, for the establishment of a minimum list of relevant pollutants likely to be found in urban wastewater including a methodology for identifying relevant pollutants likely to be found in urban wastewater and criteria for revising the exclusion of some pollutants to be monitored, for the establishment of a harmonised methodology for measuring ‘Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Total’ and ‘Sum of PFAS’ in urban wastewater and for the adoption of the format of, and modalities for presenting, the information to be provided by Member States and compiled by the EEA on the implementation of this Directive. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (31).

(53)

Member States should lay down rules on penalties applicable to infringements of national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive and should take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties should be effective, proportionate and dissuasive, and should, as applicable, take into account the financial situation of the natural or legal person held responsible.

(54)

Pursuant to the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making, the Commission should carry out an evaluation of this Directive within a certain period of time from the date set for its transposition. That evaluation should be based on experience gained and data collected during the implementation of this Directive, on any available WHO recommendations, and on relevant scientific, analytical, and epidemiological data. In the evaluation, particular attention should be given to an analysis of the adequacy of the public health parameters used in urban wastewater surveillance, an analysis of the added value of a mandatory monitoring of public health parameters, an analysis of the possible necessity to adapt the list of products to be covered by extended producer responsibility systems including the conditions for exemptions, an analysis of the possible impacts on the functioning of the internal market of the potentially different contribution rates for producers set by Member States, an analysis of the feasibility and appropriateness of the development of an extended producer responsibility system for products generating PFAS and microplastics, an analysis of the added value and the appropriateness of requiring mandatory national water reuse plans including national targets and measures, an evaluation of the objective of energy neutrality in order to analyse the technical and economic feasibility and environmental and climate benefits to achieve a higher level of energy autonomy in the sector, an evaluation of the possibilities for measuring direct and indirect GHG emissions emitted from the urban wastewater sector, an evaluation of the possibility of reaching climate neutrality for the urban wastewater treatment sector, and the time required to do so, as well as the feasibility and appropriateness of setting Union minimum reuse and recycling rates for nitrogen from sludge or from urban wastewater, or both.

(55)

Directive 91/271/EEC provides for specific deadlines for Mayotte due to its inclusion in 2014 as an outermost region within the meaning of Article 349 TFEU. Therefore, the application of the obligations to establish collecting systems and apply secondary treatment to urban wastewater from agglomerations of 2 000 p.e. and above should be deferred with respect to Mayotte.

(56)

It is appropriate to consider the specific situation of Mayotte and the Union’s other outermost regions, as listed in Article 349 TFEU, which provides for specific measures to support those regions. In terms of urban wastewater treatment of those territories, special attention should be given to the difficult topography and insularity of those territories.

(57)

In order to ensure the continuity of the protection of the environment, it is important that Member States maintain at least the current level of tertiary treatment until the new requirements for the reduction of phosphorus and nitrogen become applicable. Therefore, Article 5 of Directive 91/271/EEC should continue to apply until those new requirements become applicable.

(58)

Since the objectives of this Directive, namely to protect the environment and public health, to make progress in achieving climate neutrality for urban wastewater collection and treatment activities, to improve access to sanitation and to ensure the regular surveillance of parameters relevant to public health, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States but can rather, by reason of the scale and effects of the action, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 TEU. 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.

(59)

The obligation to transpose this Directive into national law should be confined to those provisions which represent a substantive amendment as compared to Directive 91/271/EEC. The obligation to transpose the provisions which are unchanged arises under that Directive.

(60)

This Directive should be without prejudice to the obligations of the Member States relating to the time limits for the transposition into national law of the Directives set out in Part B of Annex VII,

(1)

‘urban wastewater’ means any of the following:

(2)

‘domestic wastewater’ means wastewater from residential settlements, services and institutions which originates predominantly from the human metabolism or from household activities, or from both;

(3)

‘non-domestic wastewater’ means wastewater, other than domestic wastewater and urban runoff, which is discharged from premises used for the exercise of a trade or industrial or economic activities;

(4)

‘agglomeration’ means an area where the population expressed in population equivalent, combined or not with economic activities, is sufficiently concentrated for urban wastewater to be collected and conducted to one or more urban wastewater treatment plants or to one or more final discharge points;

(5)

‘urban runoff’ means precipitation in agglomerations collected by combined or separate sewers;

(6)

‘storm water overflow’ means discharge of untreated urban wastewater into receiving waters from combined sewers caused by precipitation or system failures;

(7)

‘collecting system’ means a system of conduits which collects and conducts urban wastewater;

(8)

‘combined sewer’ means a single conduit that collects and conducts urban wastewater, including urban runoff;

(9)

‘separate sewer’ means a conduit that separately collects and conducts one of the following:

(10)

‘1 population equivalent’ or ‘(1 p.e.)’ means the organic biodegradable load per day, having a five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) of 60 g of oxygen per day;

(11)

‘primary treatment’ means treatment of urban wastewater by a physical or chemical process, or both, involving settlement of suspended solids, or other processes in which the BOD5 of the incoming wastewater is reduced by at least 20 % before discharge and the total suspended solids of the incoming wastewater are reduced by at least 50 %;

(12)

‘secondary treatment’ means treatment of urban wastewater by a process generally involving biological treatment with a secondary settlement or another process which reduces biodegradable organic matter from urban wastewater;

(13)

‘tertiary treatment’ means treatment of urban wastewater by a process which reduces nitrogen or phosphorus, or both, in urban wastewater;

(14)

‘quaternary treatment’ means treatment of urban wastewater by a process which reduces a broad spectrum of micropollutants in urban wastewater;

(15)

‘sludge’ means organic and inorganic residue resulting from the treatment of urban wastewater from an urban wastewater treatment plant, excluding grit, grease, other debris and any other screenings and residues from the pre-treatment step;

(16)

‘eutrophication’ means the enrichment of water by nutrients, especially compounds of nitrogen or phosphorus, or both, causing an accelerated growth of algae and higher forms of plant life to produce an undesirable disturbance to the balance of organisms present in the water and to the quality of the water concerned;

(17)

‘micropollutant’ means a substance as defined in Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (32), including its breakdown products, that is usually present in the aquatic environment, urban wastewater or sludge and that can be considered hazardous to the environment or human health on the basis of the relevant criteria set out in Parts 3 and 4 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, even in low concentrations;

(18)

‘dilution ratio’ means the ratio of the average over the last five years of annual flow of the receiving waters at the point of discharge to the average over the last five years of the annual discharge volume of urban wastewater into surface waters;

(19)

‘producer’ means any manufacturer, importer or distributor that on a professional basis places products on the market of a Member State, including by means of distance contracts as defined in Article 2(7) of Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (33);

(20)

‘producer responsibility organisation’ means a nationally recognised organisation established to enable producers to fulfil their obligations under Articles 9 and 10;

(21)

‘sanitation’ means facilities and services for the safe, hygienic, secure, and socially and culturally acceptable management and disposal of human urine and faeces, and for the changing and disposal of menstrual products, that provide privacy and ensure dignity;

(22)

‘antimicrobial resistance’ means the ability of micro-organisms to survive or to grow in the presence of a concentration of an antimicrobial agent which is usually sufficient to inhibit or kill micro-organisms of the same species;

(23)

‘One Health’ means One Health as defined in Article 3, point (7), of Regulation (EU) 2022/2371 of the European Parliament and of the Council (34);

(24)

‘public concerned’ means the public affected or likely to be affected by, or having an interest in, the taking of a decision for the implementation of the obligations laid down in Article 6, 7 or 8 of this Directive; for the purposes of this definition, non-governmental organisations promoting the protection of the environment or human health and meeting any requirements under national law are deemed to have an interest;

(25)

‘biomedia’ means any support, usually made of plastic, used for the development of the bacteria needed for the treatment of urban wastewater;

(26)

‘placing on the market’ means the first making available of a product on the market of a Member State;

(27)

‘load’ means the amount of organic biodegradable matter measured as BOD5 in urban wastewater, expressed in p.e., or of any pollutant or nutrient, expressed in mass units per time;

(28)

‘individual system’ means a sanitation facility that collects, stores, treats or disposes of domestic wastewater from buildings or parts of buildings not connected to a collecting system.

(a)

identify people without access, or with limited access, to sanitation facilities, paying special attention to vulnerable and marginalised groups, and provide reasons for such lack of access;

(b)

assess the options for improving access to sanitation facilities for such people;

(c)

for all agglomerations of 10 000 p.e. and above, encourage the establishment of a sufficient number of sanitation facilities in public spaces which are freely and, in particular for women, safely accessible and ensure the provision of appropriate information about those facilities to the public;

(d)

for all agglomerations of 5 000 p.e. and above, encourage competent authorities to make available a sufficient number of free sanitation facilities in public buildings, in particular in administrative buildings;

(e)

encourage the making available of sanitation facilities for all, for free or for a low service fee, in restaurants, shops and similar private spaces accessible to the public.