21 September 2023
By Bryan McCarthy
bryan@TheCork.ie
File photo of Fine Gaels Deirdre Clune MEP
MEP Deirdre Clune, a lead negotiator for the revision of the EU’s water pollution and urban wastewater rules has expressed her support for the European Parliament’s Environment Committee adoption of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive this week.
Speaking after the vote in Brussels, MEP Clune said, “this is a crucial new piece of legislation. Reducing pollution and improving water quality in European lakes, rivers and coastal areas will significantly benefit the environment, while improving the well-being and health of EU citizens.
“This revision of waste water rules includes tackling new pollution threats, increasing the availability and transparency of pollution data and requiring countries across Europe to alert each other about pollution events”, MEP Clune added.
As part of the new legislative proposal, Member States including Ireland will have to remove harmful micro-pollutants and monitor micro-plastics release into urban wastewaters as well as routinely monitoring pathogens such as Covid-19.
“The revision of these water pollution rules will also be advantageous for the EU’s agricultural sector, as Member States will be encouraged to extract valuable resources such as phosphorus from sewage sludge for agricultural re-use.
“The benefits of this new proposal will be significant, for water, soil, and human health as we move towards our ‘Zero Pollution’ target for 2050,” MEP Clune concluded.
