Article 6 · Directive (EU) 2024/3019

Contents

Article 6Secondary treatment#

1.Member States shall ensure that discharges from urban wastewater treatment plants treating urban wastewater from agglomerations of 2000 p.e. and above satisfy, before being discharged into receiving waters, the relevant requirements of secondary treatment set out in Part B and Table 1 of Annex I in accordance with the methods for monitoring and evaluation of results laid down in Part C of Annex I. Without prejudice to the possibility of using alternative methods as referred to in Part C, point 1, of Annex I, the maximum permitted number of samples which fail to conform to the parametric values of Part B and Table 1 of Annex I is set out in Part C and Table 4 of Annex I.For agglomerations of 2000 p.e. and above but below 10000 p.e. which are discharging into coastal waters as defined under Directive 2000/60/EC and which apply appropriate treatment in accordance with Article 7 of Directive 91/271/EEC on 1 January 2025, the obligation set out in the first subparagraph shall not apply until 31 December 2037.

2.For agglomerations discharging urban wastewater into less sensitive areas as referred to in Article 6(1) of Directive 91/271/EEC on 1 January 2025, the obligations set out in paragraph 1, first subparagraph, shall apply on 31 December 2037.

4.Urban wastewater discharges may be subject to treatment less stringent than that prescribed in paragraphs 1 and 3 until 31 December 2045 where they are discharged into:

(a)waters situated in high mountain regions, namely above an altitude of 1500 m, where it is difficult to apply an effective biological treatment due to low temperatures;

(b)deep marine waters where such discharges of urban wastewater are from agglomerations of below 150000 p.e. in less-populated outermost regions within the meaning of Article 349 TFEU in which the topography and geography of the territory makes it difficult to apply an effective biological treatment; or

(c)urban wastewater from small agglomerations of 1000 p.e. and above but below 2000 p.e. situated in regions with a cold climate where it is difficult to apply an effective biological treatment due to low temperatures if the average quarterly water temperature of the inlet is below 6 ^oC.

The conditions to apply the first subparagraph are that Member States concerned provide the Commission with detailed studies demonstrating that such discharges do not adversely affect the environment and human health and they do not prevent the receiving waters from meeting the relevant quality objectives and the relevant provisions of other relevant Union law.

5.The load expressed in p.e. shall be calculated on the basis of the maximum average weekly load entering the urban wastewater treatment plant during the year, excluding unusual weather situations such as those due to heavy rain.

Defined terms · 27

Show every defined term

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;
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;
biomedia
means any support, usually made of plastic, used for the development of the bacteria needed for the treatment of urban wastewater;
collecting system
means a system of conduits which collects and conducts urban wastewater;
combined sewer
means a single conduit that collects and conducts urban wastewater, including urban runoff;
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;
domestic wastewater
means wastewater from residential settlements, services and institutions which originates predominantly from the human metabolism or from household activities, or from both;
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;
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.
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;
micropollutant
means a substance as defined in Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, 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;
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;
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;
placing on the market
means the first making available of a product on the market of a Member State;
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 %;
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;
producer responsibility organisation
means a nationally recognised organisation established to enable producers to fulfil their obligations under Articles 9 and 10;
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;
quaternary treatment
means treatment of urban wastewater by a process which reduces a broad spectrum of micropollutants in urban wastewater;
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;
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;
separate sewer
means a conduit that separately collects and conducts one of the following:
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;
storm water overflow
means discharge of untreated urban wastewater into receiving waters from combined sewers caused by precipitation or system failures;
tertiary treatment
means treatment of urban wastewater by a process which reduces nitrogen or phosphorus, or both, in urban wastewater;
urban runoff
means precipitation in agglomerations collected by combined or separate sewers;
urban wastewater
means any of the following: