Brussels, 19/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - A year and a half after a previous EU Court of Justice ruling, Ireland has still not adopted the necessary measures to ensure that septic tanks go through adequate checks and inspections in order to protect human health and the environment. On the recommendation of Environment Commissioner Janez Potoènik, the Commission decided on Thursday 19 May, therefore, to refer Ireland back to the Court and to ask it to impose a lump-sum fine of €2.7 million and a daily penalty payment of €26,173.
Under the EU Waste Framework Directive, domestic waste water involving septic tanks or other individual waste water treatment must be recovered or disposed of without endangering human health or the environment. In October 2009, the Court of Justice ruled that Ireland had not adopted adequate measures to comply with this requirement. Irish legislation lacks, in particular, systematic periodic checks and inspections. The Court judgement required Ireland to adopt the necessary legislation, which ought to have been in place by April 1993. Despite an earlier warning from the Commission, Ireland is still in the process of preparing these measures. Though progress has been made, the Commission is still unhappy with the slow pace - hence Thursday's decision to refer Ireland back to the Court and asking for a lump-sum fine and a daily penalty payment as long as the infringement persists after the second Court ruling. In calculating the level of fine proposed to the Court, the Commission takes into consideration the seriousness of the infringement and the member state's ability to pay. (O.L./transl.rt)