IRELAND IS among 12 EU states which have received an official warning by the European Commission for breaching European water legislation in relation to the management of river basins.
The Government was to have adopted river basin management plans by December 22nd last to comply with the EU water framework directive. Its failure to do so has resulted in the commission issuing a warning letter to which the Government must respond within two months.
The legislation obliges member states to protect and restore all bodies of ground and “surface water” (rivers, lakes, canals and coastal water) to achieve an EU-established level of “good status” by 2015 at the latest.
River basin management plans should give a comprehensive overview of the main issues for each river basin district and should include the specific measures needed to achieve set environmental quality objectives. Where any exemptions are to be applied, a thorough justification is needed.
The 11 other states to receive a warning are: Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Greece Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain.
