Council Directive of 21 May 1991 concerning urban waste water treatment (91/271/EEC)

Article 4 U.K.

1. Member States shall ensure that urban waste water entering collecting systems shall before discharge be subject to secondary treatment or an equivalent treatment as follows:

• at the latest by 31 December 2000 for all discharges from agglomerations of more than 15 000 p.e.,

• at the latest by 31 December 2005 for all discharges from agglomerations ofbetween 10 000 and 15 000 p.e.,

• at the latest by 31 December 2005 for discharges to fresh-water and estuaries from agglomerations of between 2 000 and 10 000 p.e.

[F1 1a. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, in respect of Mayotte, France shall ensure that urban waste water entering collecting systems is, before discharge, subject to secondary treatment or an equivalent treatment:

• by 31 December 2020 at the latest for agglomerations of more than 15 000 p.e., which, along with the agglomerations referred to in Article 5 (2a), will cover at least 70 % of the load generated in Mayotte;

• by 31 December 2027 at the latest for agglomerations of more than 2 000 p.e.]

2. Urban waste water discharges to waters situated in high mountain regions (over 1 500 m above sea level) where it is difficult to apply an effective biological treatment due to low temperatures may be subjected to treatment less stringent than that prescribed in paragraph 1, provided that detailed studies indicate that such discharges do not adversely affect the environment.

[F2 3. Discharges from urban waste water treatment plants described in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall satisfy the relevant requirements of section B of Annex I. The Commission may amend those requirements. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 18(3).]

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

Textual Amendments

F1 Inserted by Council Directive 2013/64/EU of 17 December 2013 amending Council Directives 91/271/EEC and 1999/74/EC, and Directives 2000/60/EC, 2006/7/EC, 2006/25/EC and 2011/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, following the amendment of the status of Mayotte with regard to the European Union.

F2 Substituted by Regulation (EC) No 1137/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2008 adapting a number of instruments subject to the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty to Council Decision 1999/468/EC, with regard to the regulatory procedure with scrutiny Adaptation to the regulatory procedure with scrutiny — Part One.