Article 8 · Directive (EU) 2024/3019

Contents

Article 8Quaternary treatment#

1.Member States shall ensure that discharges from urban wastewater treatment plants treating urban wastewater with a load of 150000 p.e. and above satisfy, before being discharged into receiving waters, the relevant requirements of quaternary treatment set out in Part B and Table 3 of Annex I in accordance with the methods of monitoring and evaluation of results laid down in Part C of Annex I by:

(a)31 December 2033 for discharges from 20 % of those urban wastewater treatment plants;

(b)31 December 2039 for discharges from 60 % of those urban wastewater treatment plants;

The maximum permitted number of samples which fail to conform to the parametric values of Table 3 of Annex I is set out in Part C and Table 4 of Annex I.

3.The Commission is empowered to adopt implementing acts establishing the format of the risk assessment referred to in paragraph 2, third subparagraph, and the method to be used for that risk assessment. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 28(2).

4.Without prejudice to paragraph 1, Member States shall ensure that discharges of urban wastewater from agglomerations of 10000 p.e. and above satisfy, before being discharged into areas included in the list referred to in paragraph 2, the relevant requirements of quaternary treatment set out in Part B and Table 3 of Annex I in accordance with the methods of monitoring and evaluation of results laid down in Part C of Annex I by:

(a)31 December 2033 for 10 % of those agglomerations;

(b)31 December 2036 for 30 % of those agglomerations;

(d)31 December 2045 for 100 % of those agglomerations.

The maximum permitted number of samples which fail to conform to the parametric values of Table 3 of Annex I is set out in Part C and Table 4 of Annex I.The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27 to amend Part C of Annex I in order to adapt the methods for monitoring and evaluation of results in relation to quaternary treatment to scientific and technical progress.

5.Member States shall ensure that discharges of urban wastewater from urban wastewater treatment plants which are situated in an area included in the list referred to in paragraph 2, following one of the regular updates of that list required by that paragraph, fulfil the requirements laid down in paragraph 4 and in Part B and Table 3 of Annex I within seven years of the inclusion in that list, but not later than the deadlines set out in paragraph 4.

6.The Commission may adopt implementing acts to establish the monitoring and sampling methods to be used by the Member States to determine the presence and quantities in urban wastewater of the indicators set out in Table 3 of Annex I. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 28(2).

7.Where the number of urban wastewater treatment plants that need to be upgraded to meet the objectives referred to in paragraph 1, first subparagraph, points (a) and (b), at national level is not an integer, the number of urban wastewater treatment plants shall be rounded to the nearest integer. In the case of equidistance between two integers, the number shall be rounded down.

8.Without prejudice to the other provisions of this Article, to ensure that the reuse of treated urban wastewater is safe for the environment and human health, Member States shall ensure that, where appropriate, urban wastewater that is reused or planned to be reused is treated in accordance with the requirements for quaternary treatment set out in Part B and Table 3 of Annex I. Member States shall ensure that the outcome of the risk assessments carried out under Regulation (EU) 2020/741 is taken into account where treated urban wastewater is reused for agricultural purposes.

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: