Answer given by Mr Sinkevičius on behalf of the European Commission

The scope of the term ‘discharge point’ defined in national legislation depends on the Member State. The Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD)[1] covers agglomerations above 2000 p.e. whereas the term ‘agglomeration’ refers to an area where the population and/or economic activities are sufficiently concentrated for urban waste water to be collected and conducted to an urban waste water treatment plant or to a final discharge point. The question posed by the Honourable Member refers to waste water treated in industrial treatment plants under a permit issued by Member State competent authorities as required under the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED)[2]. The corresponding discharge points would be those associated to the industrial treatment plant. The provisions of the UWWTD do not apply to the final discharge of an industrial waste water treatment plant in such case.

Industrial pulp and paper plants are covered by point 6.1[3] of IED Annex I. Best Available Techniques (BAT)[4] conclusions for this sector[5] set emission levels for direct waste water discharges. Plants that are under the scope of the IED are required to operate in accordance with the permits, issued by the Member States’ competent authorities, which contain Emission Limit Values based on the abovementioned BAT conclusions. According to IED Articles 14(1) and 15(1), the setting of these Emission Limit Values shall not consider the dilution caused by the urban waste water.

• [1] Council Directive of 21 May 1991 concerning urban waste water treatment (91/271/EEC), OJ L 135, 30.5.1991, p. 40‐52.
• [2] Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control), OJ L 334, 17.12.2010, p. 17‐119.
• [3] Point 6.1 of Annex I of Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) addresses production in industrial installations of: a) pulp from timber or other fibrous materials, b) paper or card board with a production capacity exceeding 20 tonnes per day, c) one or more of the following wood-based panels: oriented strand board, particleboard or fibreboard with a production capacity exceeding 600m3 per day.
• [4] Best Available Techniques (BAT) means the most effective and advanced techniques, developed on a scale allowing implementation in the relevant industrial sector, under economically and technically viable conditions
• [5] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ%3AJOL_2014_284_R_0017