GG3557 GG4557

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GG3557GG4557

• Environmental Law Justice

William Walton
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Implementation Enforcement of EU Environmental
Law

• Context
• Directives addressed to member states
• Usually have 2 years to transpose into domestic
  legislation
• But some directives have longer transposition
  times
• Cost implications of transposition

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Breaches of EU Environmental Law

• Two types of breaches non transposition and
  bad transposition
• Non transposition failure of MS to adopt
  national measures by deadline
• Bad transposition failure of MS to effectively
  enforce the law.
• UK previous difficulties with Bathing Waters /
  Urban Waste Water Treatment directives

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• 6th Annual Survey of Implementation and
  Enforcement of EU Environmental Law
• 173 non communication cases
• 103 non conformity cases
• 294 bad application cases
• These are 33 of all EU law breaches

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• EU Environment Directorate circa 500
  infringements per year.
• Frequent types of breach
• Infrastructure projects impacting upon SACs
  (Habitats directive)
• Failure to carry out competent EA / SEAs
• Failure to submit information for EU Emissions
  Trading Scheme

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Legal Procedures Against Breaches

• A226 empowers Commission to enforce EU law.
• A228 empowers ECJ to enforce EU law
• How are breaches reported?
• By Commission, citizens, NGOs and other MSs.

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• Complaints directed to the Commission (Complaints
  Committee)
• Commission no power to send its own officers to
  investigate
• Balance in favour of defendant in complaints
  process

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• Pre-litigation phase A226 (circa 18 months)
• Commission seeks information from MS re alleged
  breach
• Letter of Formal Notice (LFN)
• Reasoned Opinion (RO)

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• Litigation phase A226 / A228 (circa 6 years)
• If required Commission brings action against MS
• Commission v Member State

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Sanctions for Breaches of EU law

• A228 gives ECJ to impose financial penalty on MS
• Kouroupitos (Crete) case 1997 daily fine of
  20,000 for illegal dumping of waste
• Spanish Bathing Waters 2001 - annual penalty of
  625,000 on Spain

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• French Fishing Controls 2002 - 20m lump sum
  60m fine / 6 months
• Guidance on fines regard to be had to offence
  seriousness duration GDP voting power
• Thus, heaviest fines for large, wealthy MSs with
  long term environmental problems

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UK Risk of EU Fines

• Landfill Directive 1999/31/EC
• Not later than 15 years after date laid down
  biodegradable municipal waste to landfills to be
  reduced to 35 of total weight produced in 1995
• Interim targets for 5 and 10 years post
  directive.

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• Estimated that fines for UK could reach 180m /
  year
• Fines will cascade down to local councils
• Solutions recycling / incineration

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• Change of culture / planning problems / pricing
• Impact of recession on waste prices
• Paper fallen from 60 / ton to 10 / ton
• Tin fallen from 200 / ton to 20 / ton