EU Court Fines Belgium for Wastewater Failings; Germany, Bulgaria Face Other Action

摘要

Belgium must pay a fine of 10 million euros ($13.5 million) for long-standing breaches of the European Union's Urban Wastewater Directive (91/ 271/EEC), the Luxembourg-based EU Court of Justice said in a ruling Oct. 17 (European Commission v. Belgium, E.C.J., No. C-533/11, 10/17/13). Despite a 2004 judgment requiring Belgium to prevent the discharge of untreated wastewater into the environment, the country had only slowly brought its urban areas into compliance with the directive, the court said in a statement. For five towns in the French-speaking south of the country, the delay had been nearly nine years, "which is excessive," the court statement said.