Archived press release

European Court finds Northern Ireland guilty of sewage pollution

6 February 2007

The European Court of Justice has ruled that Northern Ireland has broken the law by failing to provide proper sewage treatment [1]. The judge hearing the case has declared Government is in breach of the European Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive by allowing treatment works and sewerage systems to pollute Northern Ireland's waters. The court case came about after Friends of the Earth made a complaint to the European Commission about Northern Ireland's inadequate, overloaded and non-existent sewerage provision [2}

On hearing the judgement John Woods, Friends of the Earth's Northern Ireland Director said:

"This ruling means Government has now to take real action to deal with Northern Ireland's sewage problem. Friends of the Earth made a complaint to the European Commission because it was obvious to us that the sewerage network was not up to scratch. We could see the raw sewage being pumped out at Bangor, Portrush and Portstewart but it seemed nothing was being done about it. This appalling sewage pollution is not acceptable to us; it's not acceptable to the people of Northern Ireland; and it's not acceptable to the European Court."

In its submission to the Court, the European Commission cited not just the ongoing breach of the Directive, but also exacerbation of the breach caused by continued building in the non-compliant areas, the so-called hotspots [3]. It's likely Europe will take into account Government's policy of allowing development to continue regardless [4] when considering what level of fines to set. Such fines will be paid out of the Northern Ireland purse.

Continuing, Mr Woods said:

"Northern Ireland needs to show it has taken robust measures to tackle on-going pollution of loughs, rivers and the sea, otherwise punitive fines are more likely. Water Service has put in place an ambitious programme for upgrading the sewage network, but new houses continue to be built in hotspot areas, adding to the problem. Government insists this is a pragmatic approach - it'll not seem so pragmatic when hefty fines are imposed - and paid for by the people of Northern Ireland."

Notes

[1] (back) The European Court of Justice's judgement for case C-405/05 can be found on the Court's website.

[2] (back) Friends of the Earth's complaint on breaches of the Urban Waste water Treatment Directive.

[3] (back) The European Commission's submission can be found on the Court's website

[4] (back) In October 2002 the then Environment Minister, Dermot Nesbitt, set out a 'pragmatic approach' to development in areas with non-compliant sewage infrastructure. This policy prevented the regulator, Environment and Heritage Service, from objecting to proposed developments in hotspot areas.

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Friends of the Earth Northern Ireland
7 Donegall Street Place
BELFAST
BT1 2FN
Tel: 028 9023 3488
Fax: 028 9024 7556
Email: foe-ni@foe.co.uk.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust