The operation of the Ilva steelworks in Taranto (Italy) will have to be suspended if it presents serious and substantial dangers to the environment and human health, a matter for the Italian courts to assess, ruled the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in a judgment delivered on Tuesday 25 June (case C-626/22).
In Italy, residents living near the Ilva steelworks, one of the largest in Europe, are taking action against the plant’s continued operation, arguing that its emissions are damaging their health and that the installation contravenes the provisions of Directive 2010/75 on the prevention and reduction of industrial emissions.
The District Court, Milan, is asking the CJEU whether Italian law and the special derogation rules applicable to the steelworks in order to guarantee its continuity are contrary to EU law.
In its judgment, the Court emphasises that the Directive contributes to achieving two key objectives of EU law, namely the protection of the environment and the protection of public health, which are closely linked. It believes that prior assessment of the impact of the steelworks on these two aspects should be an integral part of the procedures for granting and reviewing the operating licence. The operator must also assess these impacts throughout the operating life of their installation.
However, according to the Italian courts, this prerequisite was not met with regard to health damage. And the special rules applicable to Ilva allowed it to be granted an environmental permit and to have it reviewed without taking into account certain pollutants or their harmful effect on the surrounding population, whereas the operator of a facility must provide information on the nature, quantity and potential harmful effect of emissions likely to be produced by its installation in its initial permit application.
Only pollutants considered to have a negligible effect on human health and the environment need not be subject to compliance with emission limit values in the operating permit, the CJEU has ruled.
The Court considers that, contrary to what Ilva and the Italian Government claim, the procedure for reviewing an authorisation cannot be limited to setting limit values for polluting substances whose emission was foreseeable. The emissions actually generated by the installation concerned during its operation and relating to other polluting substances must also be taken into account.
In the event of a breach of the conditions under which the plant was authorised to operate, the operator must immediately take the necessary measures to restore the plant’s compliance with those conditions as quickly as possible, the Court ruled. In addition, in the event of serious and significant threats to the environment and human health, the European court added, the time limit for applying the protective measures provided for in the operating permit may not be extended repeatedly and operation of the facility must be suspended.
To see the judgment of the Court of Justice, go to https://aeur.eu/f/ctg (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)