COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 1999/31/EC
of 26 April
1999
on the landfill of waste
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN
UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
and in particular Article 130s(1) thereof,
Having regard to the
proposal from the Commission(1),
Having regard to the opinion of the
Economic and Social Committee(2),
Acting in accordance with the
procedure laid down in Article 189c of the Treaty(3),
(1) Whereas the
Council resolution of 7 May 1990(4) on waste policy welcomes and supports
the Community strategy document and invites the Commission to propose
criteria and standards for the disposal of waste by landfill;
(2)
Whereas the Council resolution of 9 December 1996 on waste policy
considers that, in the future, only safe and controlled landfill
activities should be carried out throughout the Community;
(3) Whereas
the prevention, recycling and recovery of waste should be encouraged as
should the use of recovered materials and energy so as to safeguard
natural resources and obviate wasteful use of land;
(4) Whereas further
consideration should be given to the issues of incineration of municipal
and non-hazardous waste, composting, biomethanisation, and the processing
of dredging sludges;
(5) Whereas under the polluter pays principle it
is necessary, inter alia, to take into account any damage to the
environment produced by a landfill;
(6) Whereas, like any other type of
waste treatment, landfill should be adequately monitored and managed to
prevent or reduce potential adverse effects on the environment and risks
to human health;
(7) Whereas it is necessary to take appropriate
measures to avoid the abandonment, dumping or uncontrolled disposal of
waste; whereas, accordingly, it must be possible to monitor landfill sites
with respect to the substances contained in the waste deposited there,
whereas such substances should, as far as possible, react only in
foreseeable ways;
(8) Whereas both the quantity and hazardous nature of
waste intended for landfill should be reduced where appropriate; whereas
the handling of waste should be facilitated and its recovery enhanced;
whereas the use of treatment processes should therefore be encouraged to
ensure that landfill is compatible with the objectives of this Directive;
whereas sorting is included in the definition of treatment;
(9) Whereas
Member States should be able to apply the principles of proximity and
self-sufficiency for the elimination of their waste at Community and
national level, in accordance with Council Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July
1975 on waste(5) whereas the objectives of this Directive must be pursued
and clarified through the establishment of an adequate, integrated network
of disposal plants based on a high level of environmental
protection;
(10) Whereas disparities between technical standards for
the disposal of waste by landfill and the lower costs associated with it
might give rise to increased disposal of waste in facilities with low
standards of environmental protection and thus create a potentially
serious threat to the environment, owing to transport of waste over
unnecessarily long distances as well as to inappropriate disposal
practices;
(11) Whereas it is therefore necessary to lay down technical
standards for the landfill of waste at Community level in order to
protect, preserve and improve the quality of the environment in the
Community;
(12) Whereas it is necessary to indicate clearly the
requirements with which landfill sites must comply as regards location,
conditioning, management, control, closure and preventive and protective
measures to be taken against any threat to the environment in the short as
well as in the long-term perspective, and more especially against the
pollution of groundwater by leachate infiltration into the soil;
(13)
Whereas in view of the foregoing it is necessary to define clearly the
classes of landfill to be considered and the types of waste to be accepted
in the various classes of landfill;
(14) Whereas sites for temporary
storage of waste should comply with the relevant requirements of Directive
75/442/EEC;
(15) Whereas the recovery, in accordance with Directive
75/442/EEC, of inert or non-hazardous waste which is suitable, through
their use in redevelopment/restoration and filling-in work, or for
construction purposes may not constitute a landfilling activity;
(16)
Whereas measures should be taken to reduce the production of methane gas
from landfills, inter alia, in order to reduce global warming, through the
reduction of the landfill of biodegradable waste and the requirements to
introduce landfill gas control;
(17) Whereas the measures taken to
reduce the landfill of biodegradable waste should also aim at encouraging
the separate collection of biodegradable waste, sorting in general,
recovery and recycling;
(18) Whereeas, because of the particular
features of the landfill method of waste disposal, it is necessary to
introduce a specific permit procedure for all classes of landfill in
accordance with the general licensing requirements already set down in
Directive 75/442/EEC and the general requirements of Directive 96/61/EC
concerning integrated pollution prevention and control(6) whereas the
landfill site's compliance with such a permit must be verified in the
course of an inspection by the competent authority before the start of
disposal operations;
(19) Whereas, in each case, checks should be made
to establish whether the waste may be placed in the landfill for which it
is intended, in particular as regards hazardous waste;
(20) Whereas, in
order to prevent threats to the environment, it is necessary to introduce
a uniform waste acceptance procedure on the basis of a classification
procedure for waste acceptable in the different categories of landfill,
including in particular standardised limit values; whereas to that end a
consistent and standardised system of waste characterisation, sampling and
analysis must be established in time to facilitate implementation of this
Directive; whereas the acceptance criteria must be particularly specific
with regard to inert waste;
(21) Whereas, pending the establishment of
such methods of analysis or of the limit values necessary for
characterisation, Member States may for the purposes of this Directive
maintain or draw up national lists of waste which is acceptable or
unacceptable for landfill, or define criteria, including limit values,
similar to those laid down in this Directive for the uniform acceptance
procedure;
(22) Whereas for certain hazardous waste to be accepted in
landfills for non-hazardous waste acceptance criteria should be developed
by the technical committee;
(23) Whereas it is necessary to establish
common monitoring procedures during the operation and after-care phases of
a landfill in order to indentify any possible adverse environmental effect
of the landfill and take the appropriate corrective measures;
(24)
Whereas it is necessary to define when and how a landfill should be closed
and the obligations and responsibility of the operator on the site during
the after-care period;
(25) Whereas landfill sites that have been
closed prior to the date of transposition of this Directive should not be
suject to its provisions on closure procedure;
(26) Whereas the future
conditions of operation of existing landfills should be regulated in order
to take the necessary measures, within a specified period of time, for
their adaptation to this Directive on the basis of a site-conditioning
plan;
(27) Whereas for operators of existing landfills having, in
compliance with binding national rules equivalent to those of Article 14
of this Directive, already submitted the documentation referred to in
Article 14(a) of this Directive prior to its entry into force and for
which the competent authority authorised the continuation of their
operation, there is no need to resubmit this documentation nor for the
competent authority to deliver a new authorisation;
(28) Whereas the
operator should make adequate provision by way of a financial security or
any other equivalent to ensure that all the obligations flowing from the
permit are fulfilled, including those relating to the closure procedure
and after-care of the site;
(29) Whereas measures should be taken to
ensure that the price charged for waste disposal in a landfill cover all
the costs involved in the setting up and operation of the facility,
including as far as possible the financial security or its equivalent
which the site operator must provide, and the estimated cost of closing
the site including the necessary after-care;
(30) Whereas, when a
competent authority considers that a landfill is unlikely to cause a
hazard to the environment for longer than a certain period, the estimated
costs to be included in the price to be charged by an operator may be
limited to that period;
(31) Whereas it is necessary to ensure the
proper application of the provisions implementing this Directive
throughout the Community, and to ensure that the training and knowledge
acquired by landfill operators and staff afford them the necessary
skills;
(32) Whereas the Commission must establish a standard procedure
for the acceptance of waste and set up a standard classification of waste
acceptable in a landfill in accordance with the committee procedure laid
down in Article 18 of Directive 75/442/EEC;
(33) Whereas adaptation of
the Annexes to this Directive to scientific and technical progress and the
standardisation of the monitoring, sampling and analysis methods must be
adopted under the same committee procedure;
(34) Whereas the Member
States must send regular reports to the Commission on the implementation
of this Directive paying particular attention to the national strategies
to be set up in pursuance of Article 5; whereas on the basis of these
reports the Commission shall report to the European Parliament and the
Council;
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE
Article 1
Overall
objective
1. With a view to meeting the requirements of Directive
75/442/EEC, and in particular Articles 3 and 4 thereof, the aim of this
Directive is, by way of stringent operational and technical requirements
on the waste and landfills, to provide for measures, procedures and
guidance to prevent or reduce as far as possible negative effects on the
environment, in particular the pollution of surface water, groundwater,
soil and air, and on the global environment, including the greenhouse
effect, as well as any resulting risk to human health, from landfilling of
waste, during the whole life-cycle of the landfill.
2. In respect of
the technical characteristics of landfills, this Directive contains, for
those landfills to which Directive 96/61/EC is applicable, the relevant
technical requirements in order to elaborate in concrete terms the general
requirements of that Directive. The relevant requirements of Directive
96/61/EC shall be deemed to be fulfilled if the requirements of this
Directive are complied with.
Article 2
Definitions
For the
purposes of this Directive:
(a) "waste" means any substance or object
which is covered by Directive 75/442/EEC;
(b) "municipal waste" means
waste from households, as well as other waste which, because of its nature
or composition, is similar to waste from household;
(c) "hazardous
waste" means any waste which is covered by Article 1(4) of Council
Directive 91/689/EEC of 12 December 1991 on hazardous waste(7)
(d)
"non-hazardous waste" means waste which is not covered by paragraph
(c);
(e) "inert waste" means waste that does not undergo any
significant physical, chemical or biological transformations. Inert waste
will not dissolve, burn or otherwise physically or chemically react,
biodegrade or adversely affect other matter with which it comes into
contact in a way likely to give rise to environmental pollution or harm
human health. The total leachability and pollutant content of the waste
and the ecotoxicity of the leachate must be insignificant, and in
particular not endanger the quality of surface water and/or
groundwater;
(f) "underground storage" means a permanent waste storage
facility in a deep geological cavity such as a salt or potassium
mine;
(g) "landfill" means a waste disposal site for the deposit of the
waste onto or into land (i.e. underground), including:
- internal waste
disposal sites (i.e. landfill where a producer of waste is carrying out
its own waste disposal at the place of production), and
- a permanent
site (i.e. more than one year) which is used for temporary storage of
waste,
but excluding:
- facilities where waste is unloaded in order
to permit its preparation for further transport for recovery, treatment or
dispsal elsewhere, and
- stoarage of waste prior to recovery or
treatment for a period less than three years as a general rule, or
-
storage of waste prior to disposal for a period less than one year;
(h)
"treatment" means the physical, thermal, chemical or biological processes,
including sorting, that change the characteristics of the waste in order
to reduce its volume or hazardous nature, facilitate its handling or
enhance recovery;
(i) "leachate" means any liquid percolating through
the deposited waste and emitted from or contained within a
landfill;
(j) "landfill gas" means all the gases generated from the
landfilled waste;
(k) "eluate" means the solution obtained by a
laboratory leaching test;
(l) "operator" means the natural or legal
person responsible for a landfill in accordance with the internal
legislation of the Member State where the landfill is located; this person
may change from the preparation to the after-care phase;
(m)
"biodegradable waste" means any waste that is capable of undergoing
anaerobic or aerobic decomposition, such as food and garden waste, and
paper and paperboard;
(n) "holder" means the producer of the waste or
the natural or legal person who is in possession of it;
(o) "applicant"
means any person who applies for a landfill permit under this
Directive;
(p) "competent authority" means that authority which the
Member States designate as responsible for performing the duties arising
from this Directive;
(q) "liquid waste" means any waste in liquid form
including waste waters but excluding sludge;
(r) "isolated settlement"
means a settlement:
- with no more than 500 inhabitants per
municipality or settlement and no more than five inhabitants per square
kilometre and,
- where the distance to the nearest urban agglomeration
with at least 250 inhabitants per square kilometre is not less than 50 km,
or with difficult access by road to those nearest agglomerations, due to
harsh meteorological conditions during a significant part of the
year.
Article 3
Scope
1. Member States shall apply this
Directive to any landfill as defined in Article 2(g).
2. Without
prejudice to existing Community legislation, the following shall be
excluded from the scope of this Directive:
- the spreading of sludges,
including sewage sludges, and sludges resulting from dredging operations,
and similar matter on the soil for the purposes of fertilisation or
improvement,
- the use of inert waste which is suitable, in
redevelopment/restoration and filling-in work, or for construction
purposes, in landfills,
- the deposit of non-hazardous dredging sludges
alongside small waterways from where they have been dredged out and of
non-hazardous sludges in surface water including the bed and its sub
soil,
- the deposit of unpolluted soil or of non-hazardous inert waste
resulting from prospecting and extraction, treatment, and storage of
mineral resources as well as from the operation of quarries.
3. Without
prejudice to Directive 75/442/EEC Member States may declare at their own
option, that the deposit of non-hazardous waste, to be defined by the
committee established under Article 17 of this Directive, other than inert
waste, resulting from prospecting and extraction, treatment and storage of
mineral resources as well as from the operation of quarries and which are
deposited in a manner preventing environmental pollution or harm to human
health, can be exempted from the provisions in Annex I, points 2, 3.1, 3.2
and 3.3 of this Directive.
4. Without prejudice to Directive 75/442/EEC
Member States may declare, at their own option, parts or all of Articles
6(d), 7(i), 8(a)(iv), 10, 11(1)(a), (b) and (c), 12(a) and (c), Annex I,
points 3 and 4, Annex II (except point 3, level 3, and point 4) and Annex
III, points 3 to 5 to this Directive not applicable to:
(a) landfill
sites for non-hazardous or inert wastes with a total capacity not
exceeding 15 000 tonnes or with an annual intake not exceeding 1 000
tonnes serving islands, where this is the only landfill on the island and
where this is exclusively destined for the disposal of waste generated on
that island. Once the total capacity of that landfill has been used, any
new landfill site established on the island shall comply with the
requirements of this Directive;
(b) landfill sites for non-hazardous or
inert waste in isolated settlements if the landfill site is destined for
the disposal of waste generated only by that isolated settlement.
Not
later than two years after the date laid down in Article 18(1), Member
States shall notify the Commission of the list of islands and isolated
settlements that are exempted. The Commission shall publish the list of
islands and isolated settlements.
5. Without prejudice to Directive
75/442/EEC Member States may declare, at their own option, that
underground storage as defined in Article 2(f) of this Directive can be
exempted from the provisions in Article 13(d) and in Annex I, point 2,
except first indent, points 3 to 5 and in Annex III, points 2, 3 and 5 to
this Directive.
Article 4
Classes of landfill
Each landfill
shall be classified in one of the following classes:
- landfill for
hazardous waste,
- landfill for non-hazardous waste,
- landfill for
inert waste.
Article 5
Waste and treatment not acceptable in
landfills
1. Member States shall set up a national strategy for the
implementation of the reduction of biodegradable waste going to landfills,
not later than two years after the date laid down in Article 18(1) and
notify the Commission of this strategy. This strategy should include
measures to achieve the targets set out in paragraph 2 by means of in
particular, recycling, composting, biogas production or materials/energy
recovery. Within 30 months of the date laid down in Article 18(1) the
Commission shall provide the European Parliament and the Council with a
report drawing together the national strategies.
2. This strategy shall
ensure that:
(a) not later than five years after the date laid down in
Article 18(1), biodegradable municipal waste going to landfills must be
reduced to 75 % of the total amount (by weight) of biodegradable municipal
waste produced in 1995 or the latest year before 1995 for which
standardised Eurostat data is available
(b) not later than eight years
afte the date laid down in Article 18(1), biodegradable municipal waste
going to landfills must be reduced to 50 % of the total amount (by weight)
of biodegradable municipal waste produced in 1995 or the latest year
before 1995 for which stadardised Eurostat data is available;
(c) not
later than 15 years after the date laid down in Article 18(1),
biodegradable municipal waste going to landfills must be reduced to 35 %
of the total amount (by weight) of biodegradable municipal waste produced
in 1995 or the lates year before 1995 for which standardised Eurostat data
is available.
Two years before the date referred to in paragraph (c)
the Council shall reexamine the above target, on the basis of a report
from the Commission on the practical experience gained by Member States in
the pursuance of the targets laid down in paragraphs (a) and (b)
accompanied, if appropriate, by a proposal with a view to confirming or
amending this target in order to ensure a high level of environmental
protection.
Member States which in 1995 or the latest year before 1995
for which standardised EUROSTAT data is available put more than 80 % of
their collected municipal waste to landfill may postpone the attainment of
the targets set out in paragraphs (a), (b), or (c) by a period not
exceeding four years. Member States intending to make use of this
provision shall inform in advance the Commission of their decision. The
Commission shall inform other Member States and the European Parliament of
these decisions.
The implementation of the provisions set out in the
preceding subparagraph may in no circumstances lead to the attainment of
the target set out in paragraph (c) at a date later than four years after
the date set out in paragraph (c).
3. Member States shall take measures
in order that the following wastes are not accepted in a landfill:
(a)
liquid waste;
(b) waste which, in the conditions of landfill, is
explosive, corrosive, oxidising, highly flammable or flammable, as defined
in Annex III to Directive 91/689/EEC;
(c) hospital and other clinical
wastes arising from medical or veterinary establishments, which are
infectious as defined (property H9 in Annex III) by Directive 91/689/EEC
and waste falling within category 14 (Annex I.A) of that Directive.
(d)
whole used tyres from two years from the date laid down in Article 18(1),
excluding tyres used as engineering material, and shredded used tyres five
years from the date laid down in Article 18(1) (excluding in both
instances bicylce tyres and tyres with an outside diameter above 1 400
mm);
(e) any other type of waste which does not fulfil the acceptance
criteria determined in accordance with Annex II.
4. The dilution of
mixture of waste solely in order to meet the waste acceptance criteria is
prohibited.
Article 6
Waste to be accepted in the different
classes of landfill
Member States shall take measures in order
that:
(a) only waste that has been subject to treatment is landfilled.
This provision may not apply to inert waste for which treatment is not
technically feasible, nor to any other waste for which such treatment does
not contribute to the objectives of this Directive, as set out in Article
1, by reducing the quantity of the waste or the hazards to human health or
the environment;
(b) only hazardous waste that fulfils the criteria set
out in accordance with Annex II is assigned to a hazardous
landfill;
(c) landfill for non-hazardous waste may be used for:
(i)
municipal waste;
(ii) non-hazardous waste of any other origin, which
fulfil the criteria for the acceptance of waste at landfill for
non-hazardous waste set out in accordance with Annex II;
(iii) stable,
non-reactive hazardous wastes (e.g. solidified, vitrified), with leaching
behaviour equivalent to those of the non-hazardous wastes referred to in
point (ii), which fulfil the relevant acceptance criteria set out in
accordance with Annex II. These hazarouds wastes shall not be deposited in
cells destined for biodegradable non-hazardous waste,
(d) inert waste
landfill sites shall be used only for inert waste.
Article
7
Application for a permit
Member States shall take measures in
order that the application for a landfill permit must contain at least
particulars of the following:
(a) the identity of the applicant and of
the operator when they are different entities;
(b) the description of
the types and total quantity of waste to be deposited;
(c) the proposed
capacity of the disposal site;
(d) the description of the site,
including its hydrogeological and geological characteristics;
(e) the
proposed methods for pollution prevention and abatement;
(f) the
proposed operation, monitoring and control plan;
(g) the proposed plan
for the closure and after-care procedures;
(h) where an impact
assessment is required under Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985
on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on
the environment (8), the information provided by the developer in
accordance with Article 5 of that Directive;
(i) the financial security
by the applicant, or any other equivalent provision, as required under
Article 8(a)(iv) of this Directive.
Following a successful application
for a permit, this information shall be made available to the competent
national and Community statistical authorities when requested for
statistical purposes.
Article 8
Conditions of the
permit
Member States shall take measures in order that:
(a) the
competent authority does not issue a landfill permit unless it is
satisfied that:
(i) without prejudice to Article 3(4) and (5), the
landfill project complies with all the relevant requirements of this
Directive, including the Annexes;
(ii) the management of the landfill
site will be in the hands of a natural person who is technically competent
to manage the site; professional and technical development and training of
landfill operators and staff are provided;
(iii) the landfill shall be
operated in such a manner that the necessary measures are taken to prevent
accidents and limit their consequences;
(iv) adequate provisions, by
way of a financial security or any other equivalent, on the basis of
modalities to be decided by Member States, has been or will be made by the
applicant prior to the commencement of disposal operations to ensure that
the obligations (including after-care provisions) arising under the permit
issued under the provisions of this Directive are discharged and that the
closure procedures required by Article 13 are followed. This security or
its equivalent shall be kept as long as required by maintenance and
after-care operation of the site in accordance with Article 13(d). Member
States may declare, at their own option, that this point does not apply to
landfills for inert waste;
(b) the landfill project is in line with the
relevant waste management plan or plans referred to in Article 7 of
Directive 75/442/EEC;
(c) prior to the commencement of disposal
operations, the competent authority shall inspect the site in order to
ensure that it complies with the relevant conditions of the permit. This
will not reduce in any way the responsibility of the operator under the
conditions of the permit.
Article 9
Content of the
permit
Specifying and supplementing the provisions set out in Article 9
of Directive 75/442/EEC and Article 9 of Directive 96/61/EC, the landfill
permit shall state at least the following:
(a) the class of the
landfill;
(b) the list of defined types and the total quantity of waste
which are authorised to be deposited in the landfill;
(c) requirements
for the landfill preparations, landfilling operations and monitoring and
control procedures, including contingency plans (Annex III, point 4.B), as
well as provisional requirements for the closure and after-care
operations;
(d) the obligation on the applicant to report at least
annually to the competent authority on the types and quantities of waste
disposed of and on the results of the monitoring programme as required in
Articles 12 and 13 and Annex III.
Article 10
Cost of the
landfill of waste
Member States shall take measures to ensure that all
of the costs involved in the setting up and operation of a landfill site,
including as far as possible the cost of the financial security or its
equivalent referred to in Article 8(a)(iv), and the estimated costs of the
closure and after-care of the site for a period of at least 30 years shall
be covered by the price to be charged by the operator for the disposal of
any type of waste in that site. Subject to the requirements of Council
Directive 90/313/EEC of 7 June 1990 on the freedom of access to
information on the environment (9)Member States shall ensure transparency
in the collection and use of any necessary cost
information.
Article 11
Waste acceptance procedures
1. Member
States shall take measures in order that prior to accepting the waste at
the landfill site:
(a) before or at the time of delivery, or of the
first in a series of deliveries, provided the type of waste remains
unchanged, the holder or the operator can show, by means of the
appropraite documentation, that the waste in question can be accepted at
that site according to the conditions set in the permit, and that it
fulfils the acceptance criteria set out in Annex II;
(b) the following
reception procedures are respected by the operator:
- checking of the
waste documentation, including those documents required by Article 5(3) of
Directive 91/689/EEC and, where they apply, those required by Council
Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 of 1 February 1993 on the supervision and
control of shipments of waste within, into and out of the European
Community (10);
- visual inspection of the waste at the entrance and at
the point of deposit and, as appropriate, verification of conformity with
the description provided in the documentation submitted by the holder. If
representative samples have to be taken in order to implement Annex II,
point 3, level 3, the results of the analyses shall be kept and the
sampling shall be made in conformity with Annex II, point 5. These samples
shall be kept at least one month;
- keeping a register of the
quantities and characteristics of the waste deposited, indicating origin,
date of delivery, identity of the producer or collector in the case of
municipal waste, and, in the case of hazardous waste, the precise location
on the site. This information shall be made available to the competent
national and Community statistical authorities when requested for
statistical purposes;
(c) the operator of the landfill shall always
provide written acknowledgement of receipt of each delivery acepted on the
site;
(d) without prejudice to the provisions of Regulation (EEC) No
259/93, if waste is not accepted at a landfill the operator shall notify
without delay the competent authority of the non-acceptance of the
waste.
2. For landfill sites which have been exempted from provisions
of this Directive by virtue of Article 3(4) and (5), Member States shall
take the necessary measures to provide for:
- regular visual inspection
of the waste at the point of deposit in order to ensure that only
non-hazardous waste from the island or the isolated settlement is accepted
at the site; and
- a register on the quantities of waste that are
deposited at the site be kept.
Member States shall ensure that
information on the quantities and, where possible, the type of waste going
to such exempted sites forms part of the regular reports to the Commission
on the implementation of the Directive.
Article 12
Control and
monitoring procedures in the operational phase
Member States shall take
measures in order that control and monitoring procedures in the
operational phase meet at least the following requirements:
(a) the
operator of a landfill shall carry out during the operational phase a
control and monitoring programme as specified in Annex III;
(b) the
operator shall notify the competent authority of any significant adverse
environmental effects revealed by the control and monitoring procedures
and follow the decision of the competent authority on the nature and
timing of the corrective measures to be taken. These measures shall be
undertaken at the expense of the operator.
At a frequency to be
determined by the competent authority, and in any event at least once a
year, the operator shall report, on the basis of aggregated data, all
monitoring results to the competent authorities for the purpose of
demonstrating compliance with permit conditions and increasing the
knowledge on waste behaviour in the landfills;
(c) the quality control
of the analytical operations of the control and monitoring procedures
and/or of the analyses referred to in Article 11(1)(b) are carried out by
competent laboratories.
Article 13
Closure and after-care
procedures
Member States shall take measures in order that, in
accordance, where appropriate, with the permit:
(a) a landfill or part
of it shall start the closure procedure:
(i) when the relevant
conditions stated in the permit are met; or
(ii) under the
authorisation of the competent authority, at the request of the operator;
or
(iii) by reasoned decision of the competent authority;
(b) a
landfill or part of it may only be considered as definitely closed after
the competent authority has carried out a final on-site inspection, has
assessed all the reports submitted by the operator and has communicated to
the operator its approval for the closure. This shall not in any way
reduce the responsibility of the operator under the conditions of the
permit;
(c) after a landfill has been definitely closed, the operator
shall be responsible for its maintenance, monitoring and control in the
after-care phase for as long as may be required by the competent
authority, taking into account the time during which the landfill could
present hazards.
The operator shall notify the competent authority of
any significant adverse environmental effects revealed by the control
procedures and shall follow the decision of the competent authority on the
nature and timing of the corrective measures to be taken;
(d) for as
long as the competent authority considers that a landfill is likely to
cause a hazard to the environment and without prejudice to any Community
or national legislation as regards liability of the waste holder, the
operator of the site shall be responsible for monitoring and analysing
landfill gas and leachate from the site and the groundwater regime in the
vicinity of the site in accordance with Annex III.
Article
14
Existing landfill sites
Member States shall take measures in
order that landfills which have been granted a permit, or which are
already in operation at the time of transposition of this Directive, may
not continue to operate unless the steps outlined below are accomplished
as soon as possible and within eight years after the date laid down in
Article 18(1) at the latest:
(a) with a period of one year after the
date laid down in Article 18(1), the operator of a landfill shall prepare
and present to the competent authorities, for their approval, a
conditioning plan for the site including the particulars listed in Article
8 and any corrective measures which the operator considers will be needed
in order to comply with the requirements of this Directive with the
exception of the requirements in Annex I, point 1;
(b) following the
presentation of the conditioning plan, the competent authorities shall
take a definite decision on whether operations may continue on the basis
of the said conditioning plan and this Directive. Member States shall take
the necessary measures to close down as soon as possible, in accordance
with Article 7(g) and 13, sites which have not been granted, in accordance
with Article 8, a permit to continue to operate;
(c) on the basis of
the approved site-conditioning plan, the competent authority shall
authorise the necessary work and shall lay down a transitional period for
the completion of the plan. Any existing landfill shall comply with the
requirements of this Directive with the exception of the requirements in
Annex I, point 1 within eight years after the date laid down in Article
18(1);
(d) (i) within one year after the date laid down in Article
18(1), Articles 4, 5, and 11 and Annex II shall apply to landfills for
hazardous waste;
(ii) within three years after the date laid down in
Article 18(1), Article 6 shall apply to landfills for hazardous
waste.
Article 15
Obligation to report
At intervals of three
years Member States shall send to the Commission a report on the
implementation of this Directive, paying particular attention to the
national strategies to be set up in pursuance of Article 5. The report
shall be drawn up on the basis of a questionnaire or outline drafted by
the Commission in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 6 of
Directive 91/692/EEC (11) The questionnaire or outline shall be sent to
Member States six months before the start of the period covered by the
report. The report shall be sent to the Commission within nine months of
the end of the three-year period covered by it.
The Commission shall
publish a Community report on the implementation of this Directive within
nine months of receiving the reports from the Member
States.
Article 16
Committee
Any amendments necessary for
adapting the Annexes to this Directive to scientific and technical
progress and any proposals for the standardisation of control, sampling
and analysis methods in relation to the landfill of waste shall be adopted
by the Commission, assisted by the Committee established by Article 18 of
Directive 75/442/EEC and in accordance with the procedure set out in
Article 17 of this Directive. Any amendments to the Annexes shall only be
made in line with the principles laid down in this Directive as expressed
in the Annexes. To this end, as regards Annex II, the following shall be
observed by the Committee: taking into account the general principles and
general procedures for testing and acceptance criteria as set out in Annex
II, specific criteria and/or test methods and associated limit values
should be set for each class of landfill, including if necessary specific
types of landfill within each class, including underground storage.
Proposals for the standardisation of control, sampling and analysis
methods in relation to the Annexes of this Directive shall be adopted by
the Commission, assisted by the Committee, within two years after the
entry into force of this Directive.
The Commission, assisted by the
Committee, will adopt provisions for the harmonisation and regular
transmission of the statistical date referred to in Articles 5, 7 and 11
of this Directive, within two years after the entry into force of this
Directive, and for the amendments of such provisions when
necessary.
Article 17
Committee procedure
The Commission
shall be assisted by a Committee composed of the representatives of the
Member States and chaired by the representative of the Commission.
The
representative of the Commission shall submit to the Committee a draft of
the measures to be taken. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the
draft within a time limit which the chairman may lay down according to the
urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority laid
down in Article 148(2) of the Treaty in the case of decisions which the
Council is required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes
of the representatives of the Member States within the Committee shall be
weighted in the manner set out in that Article. The chairman shall not
vote.
The Commission shall adopt the measures envisaged if they are in
accordance with the opinion of the Committee.
If the measures envisaged
are not in accordance with the opinion of the Committee, or if no opinion
is delivered, the Commission shall, without delay, submit to the Council a
proposal relating to the measures to be taken. The Council shall act by a
qualified majority.
If on the expiry of a period of three months from
the date of referral to the Council, the Council has not acted, the
proposed measures shall be adopted by the Commission.
Article
18
Transposition
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws,
regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this
Directive not later than two years after its entry into force. They shall
forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
When Member States adopt these
measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be
accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official
publication. The methods of making such a reference shall be laid down by
Member States.
2. Member States shall communicate the texts of the
provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this
Directive to the Commission.
Article 19
Entry into force
This
Directive will enter into force on the day of its publication in the
Official Journal of the European Communities.
Article
20
Addressees
This Directive is addressed to the Member
States.
Done at Luxembourg, 26 April 1999.
For the
Council
The President
J. FISCHER
(1) OJ C 156, 24.5.1997, p.
10.
(2) OJ C 355, 21.11.1997, p. 4.
(3) Opinion of the European
Parliament of 19 February 1998 (OJ C 80, 16.3.1998, p. 196), Council
common position of 4 June 1998 (OJ C 333, 30.10.1998, p. 15) and Decision
of the European Parliament of 3 February 1999 (OJ C 150, 28.5.1999, p.
78)
(4) OJ C 122, 18.5.1990, p. 2.
(5) OJ L 194, 25.7.1975, p. 39.
Directive as last amended by Commission Decision 96/350/EC (OJ L 135,
6.6.1996, p. 32).
(6) OJ L 257, 10.10.1996, p. 26.
(7) OJ L 377,
31.12.1991, p. 20. Directive as last amended by Directive 94/31/EC (OJ L
168, 2.7.1994, p. 28);
(8) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985, p. 40. Directive as
amended by Directive 97/11/EC (OJ L 73, 14.3.1997, p. 5).
(9) OJ L 158,
23.6.1990, p. 56.
(10) OJ L 30, 6.2.1993, p. 1. Regulation as amended
by Regulation (EC) No 120/97 (OJ L 22, 24.1.1997, p. 14).
(11) OJ L
377, 31.12.1991, p. 48.
ANNEX I
GENERAL REGUIREMENTS FOR
ALL CLASSES OF LANDFILLS
1. Location
1.1. The location of a landfill
must take into consideration requirements relating to:
(a) the
distances from the boundary of the site to residential and recreation
areas, waterways, water bodies and other agricultural or urban
sites;
(b) the existence of groundwater, coastal water or nature
protection zones in the area;
(c) the geological and hydrogeological
conditions in the area;
(d) the risk of flooding, subsidence,
landslides or avalanches on the site;
(e) the protection of the nature
or cultural patrimony in the area.
1.2. The landfill can be authorised
only if the characteristics of the site with respect to the abovementioned
requirements, or the corrective measures to be taken, indicate that the
landfill does not pose a serious environmental risk.
2. Water control
and leachate management
Appropriate measures shall be taken, with
respect to the characteristics of the landfill and the meteorological
conditions, in order to:
- control water from precipitations entering
into the landfill body,
- prevent surface water and/or groundwater from
entering into the landfilled waste,
- collect contaminated water and
leachate. If an assessment based on consideration of the location of the
landfill and the waste to be accepted shows that the landfill poses no
potential hazard to the environment, the competent authority may decide
that this provision does not apply,
- treat contaminated water and
leachate collected from the landfill to the appropriate standard required
for their discharge.
The above provisions may not apply to landfills
for inert waste.
3. Protection of soil and water
3.1. A landfill
must be situated and designed so as to meet the necessary conditions for
preventing pollution of the soil, groundwater or surface water and
ensuring efficient collection of leachate as and when required according
to Section 2. Protection of soil, groundwater and surface water is to be
achieved by the combination of a geological barrier and a bottom liner
during the operational/active phase and by the combination of a geological
barrier and a bottom liner during the operational/active phase and by the
combination of a geological barrier and a top liner during the passive
phase/post closure.
3.2. The geological barrier is determined by
geological and hydrogeological conditions below and in the vicinity of a
landfill site providing sufficient attenuation capacity to prevent a
potential risk to soil and groundwater.
The landfill base and sides
shall consist of a mineral layer which satisfies permeability and
thickness requirements with a combined effect in terms of protection of
soil, groundwater and surface water at least equivalent to the one
resulting from the following requirements:
- landfill for hazardous
waste: K [le ] 1,0 × 10[minus ] 9 m/s; thickness [ge ] 5 m,
- landfill
for non-hazardous waste: K [le ] 1,0 × 10[minus ] 9 m/s; thickness [ge ] 1
m,
- landfill for inert waste: K [le ] 1,0 × 10[minus ] 7 m/s;
thickness [ge ] 1 m,
m/s: meter/second.
Where the geological barrier
does not naturally meet the above conditions it can be completed
artificially and reinforced by other means giving equivalent protection.
An artificially established geological barrier should be no less than 0,5
metres thick.
3.3. In addition to the geological barrier described
above a leachate collection and sealing system must be added in accordance
with the following principles so as to ensure that leachate accumulation
at the base of the landfill is kept to a minimum:
Leachate collection
and bottom sealing
>TABLE POSITION>
Member States may set
general or specific requirements for inert waste landfills and for the
characteristics of the abovementioned technical means.
If the competent
authority after a consideration of the potential hazards to the
environment finds that the prevention of leachate formation is necessary,
a surface sealing may be prescribed. Recommendations for the surface
sealing are as follows:
>TABLE POSITION>
3.4. If, on the basis
of an assessment of environmental risks taking into account, in
particular, Directive 80/68/EEC(1), the competent authority has decided,
in accordance with Section 2 ("Water control and leachate management"),
that collection and treatment of leachate is not necessary or it has been
established that the landfill poses no potential hazard to soil,
groundwater or surface water, the requirements in paragraphs 3.2 and 3.3
above may be reduced accordingly. In the case of landfills for inert waste
these requirements may be adapted by national legislation.
3.5. The
method to be used for the determination of the permeability coefficient
for landfills, in the field and for the whole extension of the site, is to
be developed and approved by the Committee set up under Article 17 of this
Directive.
4. Gas control
4.1. Appropriate measures shall be taken
in order to control the accumulation and migration of landfill gas (Annex
III).
4.2. Landfill gas shall be collected from all landfills receiving
biodegradable waste and the landfill gas must be treated and used. If the
gas collected cannot be used to produce energy, it must be flared.
4.3.
The collection, treatment and use of landfill gas under paragraph 4.2
shall be carried on in a manner which minimises damage to or deterioration
of the environment and risk to human health.
5. Nuisances and
hazards
Measures shall be taken to minimise nuisances and hazards
arising from the landfill through:
- emissions of odours and dust,
-
wind-blown materials,
- noise and traffic,
- birds, vermin and
insects,
- formation and aerosols,
- fires.
The landfill shall be
equipped so that dirt originating from the site is not dispersed onto
public roads and the surrounding land.
6. Stability
The emplacement
of waste on the site shall take place in such a way as to ensure stability
of the mass of waste and associated structures, particularly in respect of
avoidance of slippages. Where an artificial barrier is established it must
be ascertained that the geological substratum, considering the morphology
of the landfill, is sufficiently stable to prevent settlement that may
cause damage to the barrier.
7. Barriers
The landfill shall be
secured to prevent free access to the site. The gates shall be locked
outside operating hours. The system of control and access to each facility
should contain a programme of measures to detect and discourage illegal
dumping in the facility.
(1) OJ L 20, 26.1.1980, p. 43. Directive
as last amended by Directive 91/692/EEC (OJ L 377, 31.12.1991, p.
48).
ANNEX II
WASTE ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA AND
PROCEDURES
1. Introduction
This Annex describes:
- general
principles for acceptance of waste at the various classes of landfills.
The future waste classification procedure should be based on these
principles,
- guidelines outlining preliminary waste acceptance
procedures to be followed until a uniform waste classification and
acceptance procedure has been developed. This procedure will, together
with the relevant sampling procedures, be developed by the technical
Committee referred to in Article 16 of this Directive. The technical
Committee shall develop criteria which have to be fulfilled for certain
hazardous waste to be accepted in landfills for non-hazardous waste. These
criteria should, in particular, take into account the short, medium and
long term leaching behaviour of such waste. These criteria shall be
developed within two years of the entry into force of this Directive. The
technical Committee shall also develop criteria which have to be fulfilled
for waste to be accepted in underground storage. These criteria must take
into account, in particular, that the waste is not to be expected to react
with each other and with the rock.
This work by the technical
Committee, with the exception of proposals for the standardisation of
control, sampling and analysis methods in relation to the Annexes of this
Directive which shall be adopted within two years after the entry into
force of this Directive, shall be completed within three years from the
entry into force of this Directive and must be carried out having regard
to the objectives set forth in Article 1 of this Directive.
2. General
principles
The composition, leachability, long-term behaviour and
general properties of a waste to be landfilled must be known as precisely
as possible. Waste acceptance at a landfill can be based either on lists
of accepted or refused waste, defined by nature and origin, and on waste
analysis methods and limit values for the properties of the waste to be
accepted. The future waste acceptance procedures described in this
Directive shall as far as possible be based on standardised waste analysis
methods and limit values for the properties of waste to be
accepted.
Before the definition of such analysis methods and limit
values, Member States should at least set national lists of waste to be
accepted or refuses at each class of landfill, or defined the criteria
required to be on the lists. In order to be accepted at a particular class
of landfill, a type of waste must be on the relevant national list or
fulfil criteria similar to those required to be on the list. These lists,
or the equivalent criteria, and the analysis methods and limit values
shall be sent to the Commission within six months of the transposition of
this Directive or whenever they are adopted at national level.
These
lists or acceptance criteria should be used to establish site specific
lists, i.e. the list of accepted waste specified in the permit in
accordance with Article 9 of this Directive.
The criteria for
acceptance of waste on the reference lists or at a class of landfill may
be based on other legislation and/or on waste properties.
Criteria for
acceptance at a specific class of landfill must be derived from
considerations pertaining to:
- protection of the surrounding
environment (in particular groundwater and surface water),
- protection
of the environmental protection systems (e.g. liners and leachate
treatment systems),
- protection of the desired waste-stabilisation
processes within the landfill,
- protection against human-health
hazards.
Examples of waste property-based criteria are:
-
requirements on knowledge of total composition,
- limitations on the
amount of organic matter in the waste,
- requirements or limitations on
the biodegradability of the organic waste components,
- limitations on
the amount of specified, potentially harmful/hazardous components (in
relation to the abovementioned protection criteria),
- limitations on
the potential and expected leachability of specified, potentially
harmful/hazardous components (in relation to the abovementioned protection
criteria),
- ecotoxicological properties of the waste and the resulting
leachate.
The property-based criteria for acceptance of waste must
generally be most extensive for inert waste landfills and can be less
extensive for non-hazardous waste landfills and least extensive for
hazardous waste landfills owing to the higher environmental protection
level of the latter two.
3. General procedures for testing and
acceptance of waste
The general characterisation and testing of waste
must be based on the following three-level hierarchy:
Level 1: Basic
characterisation. This constitutes a thorough determination, according to
standardised analysis and behaviour-testing methods, of the short and
long-term leaching behaviour and/or characteristic properties of the
waste.
Level 2: Compliance testing. This constitutes periodical testing
by simpler standardised analysis and behaviour-testing methods to
determine whether a waste complies with permit conditions and/or specific
reference criteria. The tests focus on key variables and behaviour
identified by basic characterisation.
Level 3: On-site verification.
This constitutes rapid check methods to confirm that a waste is the same
as that which has been subjected to compliance testing and that which is
described in the accompanying documents. It may merely consist of a visual
inspection of a load of waste before and after unloading at the landfill
site.
A particular type of waste must normally be characterised at
Level 1 and pass the appropriate criteria in order to be accepted on a
reference list. In order to remain on a site-specific list, a particular
type of waste must a regular intervals (e.g. annually) be tested at Level
2 and pass the appropriate criteria. Each waste load arriving at the gate
of a landfill must be subjected to Level 3 verification.
Certain waste
types may be exempted permanently to temporarily from testing at Level 1.
This may be due to impracticability to testing, to unavailability of
appropriate testing procedures and acceptance criteria or to overriding
legislation.
4. Guidelines for preliminary waste acceptance
procedures
Until this Annex is fully completed only Level 3 testing is
mandatory and Level 1 and Level 2 applied to the extent possible. At this
preliminary stage waste to be accepted at a particular class of landfill
must either be on a restrictive national or site-specific list for that
class of landfill or fulfil criteria similar to those required to get on
the list.
The following general guidelines may be used to set
preliminary criteria for acceptance of waste at the three major classes of
landfill or the corresponding lists.Inert waste landfills: only inert
waste as defined in Article 2(e) can be accepted on the
list.
Non-hazardous waste landfills: in order to be accepted on the
list a waste type must not be covered by Directive
91/689/EEC.
Hazardous waste landfills: a preliminary rough list for
hazardous waste landfills would consist of only those waste types covered
by Directive 91/689/EEC. Such waste types should, however not be accepted
on the list without prior treatment if they exhibit total contents or
leachability of potentially hazardous components that are high enough to
constitute a short-term occupational or environmental risk or to prevent
sufficient waste stabilisation within the projected lifetime of the
landfill.
5. Sampling of waste
Sampling of waste may pose serious
problems with respect to representation and techniques owing to the
heterogeneous nature of many wastes. A European standard for sampling of
waste will be developed. Until this standard is approved by Member States
in accordance with Article 17 of this Directive, the Member States may
apply national standards and procedures.
ANNEX
III
CONTROL AND MONITORING PROCEDURES IN OPERATION AND AFTER-CARE
PHASES
1. Introduction
The purpose of this Annex is to provide the
minimum procedures for monitoring to be carried out to check:
- that
waste has been accepted to disposal in accordance with the criteria set
for the category of landfill in question,
- that the processes within
the landfill proceed as desired,
- that the environmental protection
systems are functioning fully as intended,
- that the permit conditions
for the landfill are fulfilled.
2. Meteorological data
Under their
reporting obligation (Article 15), Member States should supply data on the
collection method for meteorological data. It us up to Member States to
decide how the data should be collected (in situ, national meteorological
network, etc.).
Should Member States decide that water balances are an
effective tool for evaluating whether leachate is building up in the
landfill body or whether the site is leaking, it is recommended that the
following data are collected from monitoring at the landfill or from the
nearest meteorological station, as long as required by the competent
authority in accordance with Article 13(c) of this Directive:
>TABLE
POSITION>
3. Emission data: water, leachate and gas
control
Sampling of leachate and surface water if present must be
collected at representative points. Sampling and measuring (volume and
composition) of leachate must be performed separately at each point at
which leachate is discharged from the site. Reference: general guidelines
on sampling technology, ISO 5667-2 (1991).
Monitoring of surface water
is present shall be carried out at not less than two points, one upstream
from the landfill and one downstream.
Gas monitoring must be
representative for each section of the landfill. The frequency of sampling
and analysis is listed in the following table. For leachate and water, a
sample, representative of the average composition, shall be taken for
monitoring.
The frequency of sampling could be adapted on the basis of
the morphology of the landfill waste (in tumulus, buried, etc). This has
to be specified in the permit.
>TABLE POSITION>
4. Protection
of groundwater
A. Sampling
The measurements must be such as to
provide information on groundwater likely to be affected by the
discharging of waste, with at least one measuring point in the groundwater
inflow region and two in the outflow region. This number can be increased
on the basis of a specific hydrogeological survey and the need for an
early identification of accidental leachate release in the
groundwater.
Sampling must be carried out in at least three locations
before the filling operations in order to establish reference values for
future sampling. Reference: Sampling Groundwaters, ISO 5667, Part 11,
1993.
B. Monitoring
The parameters to be analysed in the samples
taken must be derived from the expected composition of the leachate and
the groundwater quality in the area. In selecting the parameters for
analysis account should be taken of mobility in the groundwater zone.
Parameters could include indicator parameters in order to ensure an early
recognition of change in water quality(1).
>TABLE POSITION>
C.
Trigger levels
Significant adverse environmental effects, as referred
to in Articles 12 and 13 of this Directive, should be considered to have
occurred in the case of groundwater, when an analysis of a groundwater
sample shows a significant change in water quality. A trigger level must
be determined taking account of the specific hydrogeological formations in
the location of the landfill and groundwater quality. The trigger level
must be laid down in the permit whenever possible.
The observations
must be evaluated by means of control charts with established control
rules and levels for each downgradient well. The control levels must be
determined from local variations in groundwater quality.
5. Topography
of the site: data on the landfill body
>TABLE
POSITION>
(1) Recommended parameters: ph, TOC, phenols, heavy
metals, fluoride, AS, oil/hydrocarbons.
End of the document