51996AG0228(01)

COMMON POSITION (EC) No 4/96

adopted by the Council, on 6 October 1995

with a view to adopting Council Directive 96/. . ./EC on the landfill of waste

(96/C 59/01)

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),

Whereas the Council resolution of 7 May 1990 on waste policy (4) welcomes and supports the Community strategy document and invites the Commission to propose criteria and standards for the disposal of waste by landfill;

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;

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;

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;

Whereas both the quantity and toxicity of waste intended for landfill should be reduced where appropriate; whereas the use of pretreatment processes should therefore be encouraged to ensure that landfill is compatible with the objectives of this Directive;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

Whereas, because of particular conditions, it may appear desirable, without prejudice to existing Community legislation and while guaranteeing adequate environmental protection, not to apply certain provisions of this Directive to certain well-defined landfill sites;

Whereas certain techniques should be permitted in well-defined circumstances only if additional strict and stringent conditions are complied with;

Whereas 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, because of the particular features of the landfill method of waste disposal; 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;

Whereas, in each case, checks should be made to establish whether the waste may be placed in the landfill for which it is intended;

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 standardized limit values; whereas to that end a consistent and standardized system of waste characterization, 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; whereas the technical committee will need to define specific acceptance criteria for mono-landfills;

Whereas, pending the establishment of such methods of analysis or of the limit values necessary for characterization, 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;

Whereas it is necesary to establish common monitoring procedures during the operation and aftercare phases of a landfill in order to identify any possible adverse environmental effect of the landfill and take the appropriate corrective measures;

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 aftercare period;

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;

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 aftercare of the site;

Whereas under the polluter pays principle it is necessary, inter alia, to take into account any damage to the environment produced by a landfill; whereas, as a result, encouragement should be given to the fixing of rates for waste disposal in a landfill in such a way as to cover all the costs involved in the setting up and operation of the facility and the financial security or its equivalent which the site operator must provide and, where appropriate, the cost of closing the site including the necessary aftercare, so as to ensure that these costs are not borne by the public purse;

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;

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;

Whereas adaptation of the Annexes to this Directive to scientific and technical progress and the standardization of the monitoring, sampling and analysis methods must be adopted under the same committee procedure;

Whereas the Member States must send regular reports to the Commission on the implementation of this Directive,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

Overall objective of the Directive

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 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, as well as the resulting risks to human health, from landfilling of waste.

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 domestic waste, as well as other waste which, because of its nature or composition, is similar to domestic waste;

(c) 'hazardous waste' means any waste which is covered by Council Directive 91/689/EEC of 12 December 1991 on hazardous waste (1);

(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;

(f) 'landfill' means a waste disposal site for the deposit of the waste onto or into land, 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 excluding facilities where waste is unloaded in order to permit its preparation for further transport for recovery, treatment or disposal elsewhere, and temporary (i.e. less than one year) deposit of waste prior to recovery, treatment or disposal;

(g) 'mono-landfill' means a landfill as defined in Article 2 (f) or part of it where only waste comparable with respect to origin, composition, and the characteristics of their leachates, is deposited;

(h) 'joint-disposal' means the disposal of non-hazardous waste with hazardous waste at a landfill for hazardous waste;

(i) 'treatment' means the physical, chemical or biological processes that change the characteristics of the waste in order to reduce its volume or hazardous nature, facilitate its handling or enhance recovery;

(j) 'leachate' means any liquid percolating through the deposited waste and emitted from or contained within a landfill;

(k) 'landfill gas' means all the gases generated from the landfilled waste;

(l) 'eluate' means the solution obtained by a simulated laboratory leaching test;

(m) '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 aftercare phase;

(n) 'underground storage' means a permanent waste storage facility in a deep geological cavity such as a salt or potassium mine.

Article 3

Scope

1. Member States shall apply this Directive to any landfill as defined in Article 2 (f).

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 fertilization or improvement,

- the use of inert waste which is suitable, in redevelopment/restoration and filling-in work, or for construction purposes,

- the deposit of dredging sludges alongside small waterways from where they have been dredged out,

- the deposit of unpolluted soil.

3. Without prejudice to Directive 75/442/EEC and to the objectives set out in Article 1 of this Directive:

(a) Articles 6 (except paragraphs 3 and 4 (a) and (b), 7, 8 (9), 9 (1) (c), 11, 12 (4), 13 (1), 13 (3), 14 (4) and 15, Annex I (3) and (4), Annex II (except point 3, level 3 and point 4) and Annex III (3) to (5) of this Directive need not apply to landfill sites for municipal wastes with a total final capacity of less than 25 000 tonnes or for inert wastes with a total final capacity of less than 50 000 tonnes, and serving:

- small islands served by a single landfill, or

- mountainous settlements difficult of access, or

- rural areas with a population density less than 35 inhabitants per km² and only in exceptional circumstances where the nearest landfill cannot be used in an environmentally sound way.

These provisions shall apply only to Member States which wish to transpose them into their national legislation. These Member States shall communicate their intention to the Commission six months from the entry into force of this Directive.

These landfills may receive waste only from these islands, mountainous settlements or rural areas;

(b) Articles 5 (1), fourth indent, 6 (4) (c), 7, 9 (1) (a), Annex I (3) to (5), and Annex III (2), (3) (except the elements concerning gas), and (5) need not apply to underground storage facilities;

(c) Articles 3 (3) (a) and (b), 5 (1) (as regards liquid waste), 6 (except point 3), 7, 12 (2) (except point (b)), 12 (3) and (4), Annex I (2), (3) (except point 3.1) and (4), Annex II (3), level 3, (4) and Annex III (2) and (3) need not apply to sites specifically designed for dredging waste.

Member States which decide to exclude any site or facility from any provision of this Directive in accordance with this paragraph 3 shall adopt regulations specifying the sites or facilities which may be exempted and the conditions under which such exemption may take place. Member States shall report on these regulations and the operations of these sites or facilities to the Commission in accordance with Article 16.

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 for landfill

Member States shall ensure at least that:

1. the following wastes are not accepted in a landfill:

- liquid waste, unless authorized under Article 6 (3) or Article 7,

- waste which, in the conditions of landfill, is explosive, oxidizing, highly flammable or flammable, as defined in Annex III to Directive 91/689/EEC,

- 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,

- any other type of waste which does not fulfil the acceptance criteria determined in accordance with Annex II, unless it is assigned to a mono-landfill as indicated in Article 6 (3) of this Directive;

2. the dilution or mixture of waste solely in order to meet the waste acceptance criteria is prohibited;

3. with the authorization of the competent authority and in accordance with Article 2 (3) of Directive 91/689/EEC, waste may be treated for the purpose of consolidating or stabilizing it.

Article 6

Waste to be accepted in the different classes of landfill

Member States shall ensure that:

1. hazardous waste that fulfils the criteria set out in accordance with Annex II is assigned to a hazardous waste landfill;

2. hazardous waste not fulfilling the criteria set out in accordance with Annex II is treated before disposal in a hazardous waste landfill;

3. any type of inert or non-hazardous waste of a precise comparable type, origin or composition can be assigned to a mono-landfill. Hazardous waste which, after treatment, does not fulfil all the criteria set out in accordance with Annex II shall also be assigned to a mono-landfill. Specific and, if appropriate, additional and more stringent requirements than those provided in this Directive for other landfills receiving the same type of waste shall be fixed by the competent authority for these particular landfills, according to the nature of the waste to be deposited;

4. landfill for non-hazardous waste may be used:

(a) for municipal waste;

(b) for non-hazardous waste of any other origin;

(c) when necessary, with regard to the objectives of Article 1, for non-hazardous sludges compatible with the leachate management procedure (Annex I (2) and Annex III (3)) of the site. This provision may apply only to landfills receiving non-hazardous waste with a high organic content;

(d) after environmental evaluation and in exceptional circumstances, subject to a case-by-case authorization by the competent authority, for small quantities of any other waste or mixture of waste compatible with the landfilled waste, under the following conditions:

- the quantities of other waste accepted in the landfill may not exceed 2 % of the non-hazardous waste accepted during the same period,

- only waste not containing substances listed in Annex II (4) (2) may be accepted,

- this deposit shall take place in separate cells,

- the competent authority shall report on these operations in accordance with Article 16;

5. inert waste landfill sites shall be used only for inert waste.

Article 7

1. Where, at the time when this Directive comes into force, joint disposal is a lawful practice in a Member State, existing landfills for the disposal of hazardous waste may be used for joint disposal if:

- the hazardous waste is mixed with non-hazardous waste which is mainly municipal waste or other similar organic waste,

- the requirements of Article 2 (3) of Directive 91/689/EEC are met,

- the geological and hydrogeological conditions that exist in the areas of the landfills concerned and the experience acquired in this practice in the Member State are such that joint disposal can be carried out without causing harm to the environment,

- the Member State takes measures to ensure that the competent authority imposes specific controls which ensure at least the same level of environmental protection as is achieved for landfills for hazardous waste. The Member State shall notify the Commission of the measures taken under this paragraph, in accordance with Article 16, in order to demonstrate compliance with Article 1.

2. Where, at the time when this Directive comes into force, joint disposal is a lawful practice in a Member State, and where the detailed conditions referred to in paragraph 1 are not fulfilled, the practice may be continued for a maximum period of five years after this Directive comes into force, after which it shall be banned.

Article 8

Application for a permit

Member States shall ensure that the application for a landfill permit must contain at least particulars of the following:

1. the identity of the applicant and, when they are different entities, of the operator;

2. the description of the types and total quantity of waste to be deposited;

3. the proposed capacity of the disposal site;

4. the description of the site, including its hydrological and geological characteristics;

5. the proposed methods for pollution prevention and abatement;

6. the proposed operation, monitoring and control plan;

7. the proposed plan for the closure and aftercare procedures;

8. 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 (1), the information provided by the developer in accordance with Article 5 of that Directive;

9. the financial security by the applicant, or any other equivalent provision, as required under Article 9 (1) (c).

Article 9

Conditions of the permit

Member States shall ensure that:

1. the competent authority does not issue a landfill permit unless it is satisfied that:

(a) without prejudice to Article 3 (3), the landfill project complies with all the requirements of this Directive, including the Annexes;

(b) the management of the landfill site will be in the hands of a technically competent person; professional and technical development and training of landfill operators and staff are provided;

(c) adequate provision, 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 at the time of receiving the permit to ensure that the obligations (including aftercare provisions) arising under the permit issued under the provisions of this Directive are discharged and that the closure procedures required by Article 14 are followed. This security or its equivalent shall be kept as long as required by maintenance and aftercare operation of the site in accordance with Article 14 (4);

(d) the landfill project is compatible with the relevant waste management plan or plans referred to in Article 7 of Directive 75/442/EEC;

2. 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 case the responsibility of the operator under the conditions of the permit.

Article 10

Content of the permit

Specifying and supplementing the provisions set out in Article 9 of Directive 75/442/EEC, the landfill permit shall state at least the following:

(a) the class of the landfill;

(b) the list of defined types and quantities of waste which are authorized to be deposited in the landfill;

(c) requirements for the landfill preparations, landfilling operations and monitoring and control procedures, including whenever possible contingency plans (Annex III (4) (B)), as well as provisional requirements for the closure and aftercare 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 13 and 14 and Annex III.

Article 11

Cost of the landfill of waste

Member States shall encourage the fixing of the price to be charged for the disposal of any type of waste in a landfill at a level covering at least all the costs involved in the setting up and operation of the site, including as far as possible the cost of providing the financial security referred to in Article 9 (1) (c), without prejudice for interested Member States to have the possibility of fixing prices covering as well the estimated costs of the closure and aftercare of the site.

Article 12

Waste acceptance procedures

Member States shall take measures in order that (prior to accepting the waste at the landfill site):

1. 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 appropriate 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 (Annex II);

2. the following reception procedures are respected by the operator:

(a) 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 (1);

(b) 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, level 3, the results of the analyses shall be kept and the sampling shall be made in conformity with Annex II (5). Whenever possible, these samples shall be kept at least one month;

(c) 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;

3. the operator of the landfill shall always provide written certification of each delivery accepted on the site;

4. notwithstanding the provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 259/93, if waste is not accepted at a landfill the operator shall notify the competent authority of the non-acceptance of the waste.

Article 13

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:

1. the operator of a landfill shall carry out during the operational phase a control and monitoring programme as specified in Annex III;

2. 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 at the end of each calendar 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;

3. the quality control of the analytical operations of the control and monitoring procedures and/or of the analyses referred to in Article 12 (2) (b) are carried out by competent laboratories.

Article 14

Closure procedure

Member States shall ensure that, in conformity with the permit:

1. a landfill or part of it shall start the closure procedure:

(a) when the relevant conditions stated in the permit are met; or

(b) under the authorization of the competent authority, at the request of the operator; or

(c) by reasoned decision of the competent authority;

2. 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 authorization for the closure. This shall not in any way reduce the responsibility of the operator under the conditions of the permit;

3. after a landfill has been definitively closed, the operator shall be responsible for its maintenance, monitoring and control in the aftercare 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;

4. for as long as the competent authority considers that a landfill is likely to cause a hazard to the environment, 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 15

Existing landfill sites

Member States shall ensure 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 10 years after the entry into force of the Directive and within specific time periods to be determined by Member States:

1. the operator of a landfill shall prepare and present to the competent authority, for its 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.

If the competent authority determines that, as a consequence of an evaluation of the effects of the landfill on the environment, the landfill complies with the requirements of this Directive as defined in Article 1, it may be unnecessary to implement corrective measures;

2. 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 Articles 8 (7) and 14, sites which have not been granted, in accordance with Article 9, a permit to continue to operate;

3. on the basis of the approved site-conditioning plan, the competent authority shall authorize the necessary work and shall lay down a transitional period for the completion of the plan. This plan shall be implemented within 10 years after the entry into force of the Directive;

4. within two years of transposition of this Directive, Articles 4, 5, 6, 12 and Annex II shall apply to landfills for hazardous waste.

Article 16

Obligation to report

At intervals of three years, and for the first time three years after the entry into force of this Directive, Member States shall send to the Commission a report on the implementation of this Directive. The report shall be drawn upon 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 (1). 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 17

Committee

Any amendments necessary for adapting the Annexes to this Directive to scientific and technical progress and any proposals of standardization about control, sampling and analysis methods in relation to the landfill of waste shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 18 of Directive 75/442/EEC.

Article 18

Entry into force

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive within two years of 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

This Directive will enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Article 20

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at . . .

For the Council

The President

(1) OJ No C 190, 22. 7. 1991, p. 1 and OJ No C 212, 5. 8. 1993, p. 33.

(2) OJ No C 40, 17. 2. 1992, p. 112.

(3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 28 October 1992 (OJ No C 305, 23. 11. 1992, p. 79). Council common position of . . . (not yet published in the Official Journal and Decision of the European Parliament of . . . (not yet published in the Official Journal).

(4) OJ No C 122, 18. 5. 1990, p. 2.

(5) OJ No L 194, 25. 7. 1975, p. 39. Directive as last amended by Decision 94/3/EC (OJ No L 5, 7. 1. 1994, p. 15).

(1) OJ No L 377, 31. 12. 1991, p. 20. Directive as amended by Directive 94/31/EC (OJ No L 168, 2. 7. 1994, p. 28).

(1) OJ No L 175, 5. 7. 1985, p. 40.

(1) OJ No L 30, 6. 2. 1993, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Decision 94/721/EC (OJ No L 288, 9. 11. 1994, p. 36).

(1) OJ No L 377, 31. 12. 1991, p. 48.

ANNEX I

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL CLASSES OF LANDFILLS

1. Location

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, roads and waterways, water bodies and other industrial, 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 natural or cultural patrimony in the area.

2. The landfill can be authorized only if, following an environmental impact assessment if required under Directive 85/337/EEC, 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 precipations 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

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 and groundwater is to be achieved by the combination of a geological barrier and a bottom liner.

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 (k) 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 ≤ 1,0 × 10-9 m/s.; thickness ≥ 5 m.

- Landfill for non-hazardous waste:

K ≤ 1,0 × 10-9 m/s.; thickness ≥ 1 m.

- Landfill for inert waste:

K ≤ 1,0 × 10-7 m/s.; thickness ≥ 1 m.

m/s = metre/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. In addition to the geological barrier described above a leachate collection and sealing system must be added in accordance with the following principles:

>TABLE>

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>

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 2 and 3 above may be reduced accordingly. Mono-landfills in which the waste deposited does not satisfy the criteria listed in Annex II must comply with paragraphs 2 and 3 above.

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 in Article 17 of this Directive.

4. Gas control

1. Appropriate measures shall be taken in order to control the accumulation and migration of landfill gas (Annex III).

2. Landfill gas shall, except to the extent that the competent authority otherwise determines after environmental evaluation, be collected, treated and used.

3. The collection, treatment and use of landfill gas under paragraph 4.2 shall be carried on in a manner which minimizes damage to or deterioration of the environment and risk to human health.

5. Nuisances and hazards

Measures shall be taken to minimize nuisances and hazards arising from the landfill through:

- emissions of odours and dust,

- wind-blown materials,

- noise and traffic,

- birds, vermin and insects,

- formation of aerosols,

- fires.

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.

(1) OJ No L 20, 26. 1. 1980, p. 43. Directive as last amended by Directive 91/692/EEC (OJ No 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 adopted. This procedure will, together with the relevant sampling procedures, be developed by the technical committee established in accordance with Article 17 of this Directive.

This work by the technical committee shall be completed within three years after adoption of the 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 standardized 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 refused at each class of landfill, or define 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 10 of the 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-stabilization processes within the landfill,

- protection against human-health hazards.

A list will have to be drawn up of the minimum criteria to be fulfilled for the acceptance of hazardous waste at mono-landfills.

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 characterization and testing of waste must be based on the following three-level hierarchy:

Level 1: Basic characterization. This constitutes a thorough determination, according to standardized 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 standardized 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 characterization.

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 characterized 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 at 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 or temporarily from testing at level 1. This may be due to impracticability of testing, to unavailability of appropriate testing procedures and acceptance criteria or to overriding legislation.

4. Guidelines for preliminary waste acceptance procedures

1. 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 as 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 as 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, and without prejudice to Article 6 (4) (d) of the Directive, 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 (1). 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 stabilization within the projected lifetime of the landfill.

2. List of types of waste not acceptable under Article 6 (4) (d)

- acid tars,

- immiscible organic solvents or aqueous waste containing > 1 % immiscible organics,

- water miscible organic solvents with concentration > 10 %,

- waste which reacts violently with water or organic matter,

- asbestos (dust or fibres),

- waste containing significant concentrations of following compounds:

- PCB & PCT > 50 ppb (part per billion) (1),

- TCDDs (tetrachlorodibenzodioxin) > 10 ppb for isomer 2,3,7,8,

- PCNs (polychlorinated naphtalenes) > 50 ppm (part per million) total,

- PAH (polyaromatic hydrocarbons) > 20 ppm,

- organometallic compounds (totally excluded),

- chlorinated hydrocarbons (including chlorophenols) > 1 ppm,

- pesticides > 2 ppm,

- free cyanides > 10 ppm.

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.

(1) A temporary exception is made for joint disposal, see Article 7; the compatibility criteria for joint disposal are set nationally by the Member States concerned.

(1) Part per billion, or µg/kg on dry extract, etc.

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 for 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 16), Member States should supply data on the collection method for meteorological data. It is 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 14(3) of this Directive:

>TABLE>

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 if 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.

>TABLE>

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>

C. Trigger levels

Significant adverse environmental effects, as referred to in Articles 13 and 14 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>

(1) Recommended parameters: pH, TOC, phenols, heavy metals, fluoride, As, oil/hydrocarbons.

STATEMENT OF THE COUNCIL'S REASONS

I. INTRODUCTION

1. On 23 April 1991 the Commission submitted a proposal (1) for a Directive, based on Article 100a, on the landfill of waste.

2. The European Parliament delivered its opinion on 28 October 1992 (2) at a first reading. Following receipt of that opinion the Commission submitted an amended proposal (3) on 10 June 1993.

The Economic and Social Committee delivered its opinion on 27 November 1991.

3. As the Council considered that the legal basis should be Article 130s (1) rather than Article 100a as the Commission originally proposed, the European Parliament was consulted on this question and agreed to the change in legal basis in an opinion of 19 May 1995 (4).

4. On 6 October 1995 the Council adopted its common position in accordance with Article 189c of the Treaty.

II. PURPOSE

5. With the aim of preventing or reducing as far as possible negative effects on the environment from landfilling of waste, as well as the resulting risks to human health, this proposal establishes in the form of a framework Directive and on the basis of a classification of waste (hazardous, non-hazardous, inert) and of landfills:

- the procedures for issuing a permit for the acceptance of waste at a landfill, the control and monitoring procedures in the operational phase and the closure procedure,

- the technical conditions to be met by sites and facilities which are to serve as landfills,

- the authorization procedures for the opening of a landfill.

III. ANALYSIS OF THE COMMON POSITION

General comments

6. In view of the above objective and aware of the part played by local, natural conditions in the establishment and operation of landfills, the Council has endeavoured to retain the provisions which guarantee a high level of health and environmental protection without seeking to impose systematic harmonization, which would have been ineffective or even inapplicable given the variations in local conditions. In compliance with the principle of subsidiarity and in the light of the above consideration, the provisions adopted essentially resulted in amendment of the Commission proposal to improve comprehensibility and flexibility while taking account of the scientific and technical developments which have occurred in the meantime. These changes, which the Commission has accepted, relate chiefly to the scope, the Annexes and the role of certain criteria for acceptance of waste (especially eluate criteria).

7. On the basis of the above guidelines the Council was able to include - verbatim, in substance or in part:

- the European Parliament amendments the Commission had incorporated into its amended proposal, with the exception of amendments 14, 24, 32, 41, 42, 49, 60, 67, 75, 76, 78, 79, 86 and 90,

- amendments 1, 4, 9, 13, 23, 26, 31, 38, 54, 55 and 56, which the Commission had not incorporated in its amended proposal.

8. Specific comments

(The references below relate, save where otherwise indicated, to the text of the amended proposal. References to the common position are given in bold type.)

The following modifications were made by the Council to the Commission's amended proposal and were accepted by the Commission:

(i) Articles 1 and 5

Article 1 covers only the scope and does not spell out the general objective of the Directive. In its common position the Council considered that the objective should be mentioned (Article 1) and the proposal situated in the general context of Directive 75/442/EEC. Article 1 is supplemented by recitals 1 to 3 which incorporate inter alia the substance of Parliament's amendments 1 and 4.

In the common position, the scope is defined by Article 3 (1) together with Article 2 (f), which defines a landfill and includes 'internal' waste disposal sites (European Parliament amendment 13). Inasmuch as all the provisions of the Directive are applicable, unless covered by the exceptions given in Article 3, Article 5 is redundant and has been deleted.

Exclusions from the scope (Article 1 (2)) are listed in Article 3, paragraph 2 of which lists a number of operations which are not regarded as landfill (the spreading of sludges, construction work, etc.) while paragraph 3 specifies that certain provisions are not to apply - in certain well-defined circumstances and in compliance with the objectives of the Directive - to certain landfill sites (small islands, mountainous settlements, etc.) or types of landfill (underground storage).

(ii) Articles 2, 3 and 4

Articles 2 and 3 have been combined in Article 2; the definition of industrial waste has been deleted, since the origin of waste is not decisive in the structure of the Directive; the definition of inert waste (paragraph (e)) has been considerably expanded;

definition (f) (landfill) combines definitions (g) (transfer station) and (h) (storage);

definition (i) (treatment) does not include the term 'thermic' (amendment 10) as that is already covered by the word 'physical';

Definitions (h) (joint disposal) and (n) (underground storage) have been introduced in view of the provisions of Article 3 (3) (c) and Article 7;

Definition (m) (operator) has been made more specific with the reference to responsibility having been expanded;

Since the types of waste are defined in Article 2 and the waste acceptable in the various classes of landfill stipulated in Articles 5 to 7, Article 4 has been reduced to a statement of the three classes of landfill.

(iii) Article 9

This Article has been incorporated in Article 5:

- paragraph 1 provides that liquid waste is accepted only in mono-landfills (Article 6 (3) or as part of joint disposal (Article 7)). The Council's position on this point is thus more restrictive than that contained in the amended proposal,

- paragraph 3 provides that waste may be treated (stabilized or consolidated).

(iv) Article 10

This Article has been incorporated into Articles 6 and 7 (as regards paragraphs 5 (d) and (e)):

- since the acceptance criteria have been defined in Annex II, it is necessary only to refer to it (see paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4) for each type of waste and paragraph 1 thus becomes redundant,

- paragraphs 3 to 5 have been redrafted and simplified (paragraphs 1 to 4) so as to highlight the treatment requirements applicable to hazardous waste and make a clear distinction between joint disposal and other forms of landfill (deletion of paragraphs 2 and 5 (d) and (e)),

- Articles 4 (4) and 10 (6) (a) have been incorporated into Article 6 (3) (mono-landfill for inert or non-hazardous waste),

- paragraph 4 (c) considerably limits the possibilities offered by paragraph 5 (c) since only sludge non-hazardous in certain conditions is authorized and liquid waste is ruled out (European Parliament amendment 23),

- under extremely restrictive conditions (authorization on a case-by-case basis, the exclusion of substances listed in (Annex II (4.2)) etc.) defined in paragraph 4 (d), waste other than municipal or non-hazardous waste may be accepted for a non-hazardous waste landfill site,

- the definition in Article 2 (f) of inert waste is precise enough to allow paragraph 6 to be replaced by the simplified wording of paragraph 5,

- Article 7 incorporates the limitations originally found in various provisions of the amended proposal relating to joint disposal, but lays down more stringent conditions (natural conditions, level of protection the landfill site affords), which, if not fulfilled, will result in this practice being banned no later than five years after entry into force of this Directive.

(v) Article 6

In an effort to clarify and simplify the text, Article 8 lists the main particulars which were included in Annex II (which is thus deleted) and which must be covered by the information given in the application for authorization submitted to the competent authority.

The financial security from the applicant, which did not feature specifically in Annex II, is included explicitly. Paragraph 2 containing practical details of the processing of the application (additional information, deadlines for decisions) has been deleted.

(vi) Articles 7, 14, 17, 18 and 20a

Article 9 contains:

- the bulk of Article 7, apart from the additional inspection obligation (paragraph 1 (a)) since the wording of paragraph 2 ('the competent authority shall inspect the site . . .') does not prejudge the number of inspections to be effected and the specific wording suggested by the European Parliament (amendment 76, 'prior to any operations') is clearly impractical. Paragraph 2 also makes it clear that the inspection 'will not reduce in any case the responsibility of the operator'. That reference and other similar references (Article 14) were felt to be sufficient at this stage given the national provisions which exist on the question and the more wide-ranging study of liability for environmental damage the Commission has initiated.

By the same token and given that 'it is necessary, (. . .), to take into account any damage to the environment' (recital 21) the Council did not consider it appropriate to make provision for the establishment of landfill aftercare funds. The responsibility of operators in this respect is already made abundantly clear by the Directive and it is for the Member States to choose the most appropriate way of ensuring that these responsibilities are shouldered. As a result, Articles 14 and 18 have been deleted,

- in paragraph 1 (c), Article 17 ('financial guarantee'), which is thus deleted as a separate Article, and adds (paragraph 1 (b)) a provision on the training of operators and staff which corresponds to Article 20a (a).

(vii) Articles 8 and 16

Article 10 includes the bulk of that Article save for paragraph 2 (revision of an authorization, which is merely a particular instance of authorization), clarifies the link with the general authorization provisions of Directive 75/442/EEC and establishes the requirement that the type of waste deposited in the landfill be specified (information needed in the light of Articles 4, 6 and 7).

Regardless of the content of the authorization, Article 16 on the cost of the landfill of waste is incorporated as a separate provision in Article 11, with the proviso that Member States may not in all cases set the prices, because of the way in which the landfill is administered, and must possibly confine themselves to 'encouraging' the coverage of certain elements by prices.

European Parliament amendment 37 (training programmes) is already covered by Article 9 (1) (b), without prejudice to how it is to be funded.

(viii) Article 11

Article 12 incorporates a simplified, clearer version of Article 11 which retains only those elements essential for an efficient acceptance procedure.

Thus, in paragraph 1 what matters is to be able to demonstrate that the waste meets the conditions set and not whether it is the holder or the operator who has to produce the documentation. In paragraph 2 (a), the nature of the documents to be checked is indicated. In paragraph 2 (b), the introduction of an obligation to keep samples will improve the possibilities of subsequent checks. In paragraph 2 (c), the method of producing and collecting municipal waste is taken account of in that the identity of the collector (rather than the producer) is required. Since various reporting obligations have already been laid down elsewhere, paragraph 2 (e) has been deleted.

Where follow-up of the acceptance procedure is concerned, the production of a written certificate by the operator is sufficient, and since a contractual agreement between the producer/holder and the operator adds nothing to the validity of the acceptance, paragraph 3 has been deleted as well as the second sentence of paragraph 4.

Finally, given that it is for the operator to set the acceptance procedure in motion, it is logical that he - rather than the holder - be required (paragraph 4) to notify the competent authority if waste is not accepted, and pointless to refer vaguely ('responsibility' other than the civil liability referred to in Article 14?) to his responsibility; paragraph 6 has therefore been deleted.

(ix) Articles 12 and 13

In the interests of greater clarity, only those provisions of Article 12 relating to the operational phase have been included in Article 13, where the main addition to the text in the amended proposal is the introduction (paragraph 2) of an obligation on the operator to report on the outcome of the monitoring procedures.

Article 14 contains those provisions of Article 12 which also apply to the aftercare phase, and Article 13.

- paragraph 1 refers to the conditions laid down in the permit and is thus able to cover other reasons for closure besides saturation of capacity; paragraph 1 (b) stipulates that the competent authority is responsible for authorizing closure and that it is not the owner or operator who makes the decision, although the operator may make the request. The right of appeal referred to in paragraph 1 (c) exists in all national legislations and does not therefore need to be specifically mentioned in this Directive.

- paragraphs 3 and 4 have been merged into paragraph 2 which, by referring to the assessment of the reports submitted by the operator, covers the information referred to in paragraph 3.

- since Annex I lists the general requirements applicable to landfills, in particular with respect to cover and sealing, there is no further need for paragraph 2.

- the precise time limits laid down in paragraphs 5 (10 years) and 5a (30 years) have not been adopted since they cannot be relevant to all types of landfill and since the nature of the risk in question might require monitoring over a longer period. That eventuality is covered by paragraphs 3 and 4, which also reiterate the obligation to take any corrective measures necessary after closure.

(x) Articles 15 and 21

- where the time limits were concerned, it seemed entirely unrealistic - given administrative practices and the technical delays involved in the conditioning of existing sites and the redirecting of waste following the closure of a landfill - to prescribe an overall time limit of four years (paragraph 3 (a), (b) and (c)) and to specify intermediate deadlines. The Council thought it was more realistic to adopt a maximum total time limit of 10 years after entry into force of the Directive (introductory passage to Article 15) while setting a closer deadline for landfill for hazardous waste (two years after transposition, Article 15 (4)) for the implementation of certain provisions.

- the other features of the draft set out clearly the stages to be gone through and refer to the provisions to be followed in the event of closure (paragraph 2).

- the same assessment of the inevitable administrative delay involved in transposing such a technical Directive led the Council to opt for a transposition period of two years (Article 18 (1)).

(xi) Articles 19 and 20

- the reporting obligation and the detailed rules for the report provided for in Article 19 are set out in Article 16 within the context of Directive 91/692/EEC. The information to be given in the reports is to be determined under the procedure laid down in Article 6 of that Directive; Annex IVa is thus deleted. The Commission will be responsible for passing on the appropriate information to the European Environment Agency so that the Member States do not have to submit their report twice.

- in a similar desire to maintain consistency with existing legislation, the Council decided (Article 17) that the tasks set out in Article 20 should be entrusted to the committee set up by Article 18 of Directive 75/442/EEC.

(xii) Annexes

Annex I sets out in Section 1 the requirements of Annex I (1) but does not include the contents of Sections 2 to 6 since these are either extremely detailed provisions to be laid down at the appropriate administrative level or provisions covered by Articles 12 and 13.

Since the specific need for environmental protective measures varies with the nature of the waste deposited (hence the fact that some provisions may not apply to landfill for inert waste), Sections 2 and 3 incorporate Sections 7 and 8, with clarifications, in particular as regards the concept of a geological barrier, the additional requirement for a double barrier (Section 3.1) and the specifications for the sealing systems at both top and bottom. In Section 5, the hazard of fires has been added to the nuisances listed in Section 10.

Annex II subsumes Annex III with substantial amendments. These amendments are warranted since Annex III was based on acceptance procedures essentially involving eluate criteria for which harmonized test methods are not yet available. The same is true of the sampling methods applied to the waste. As a result, Annex II sets out the guidelines to be followed by the technical committee with a view to establishing within a fixed deadline (three years) a uniform procedure for the classification and acceptance of waste and lays down an interim acceptance procedure (national lists or equivalent criteria, checks to be made). With respect to the provisions on joint disposal (Section 6, particularly 6 (3) and 6 (4)), it no longer seemed advisable to adopt harmonized provisions on this matter in view of the exceptional nature of this technique (Articles 6 (4) (d) and 7).

Section 1 of Annex III stresses the specific objectives of the control and monitoring procedures rather than the accumulation of data in order to improve knowledge. As a result, the main provisions included from Annex IV are those which support these objectives; the presentation has been improved and geared more towards the specific features of each landfill site. This takes the form of greater detail as regards the sampling points (Sections 3 and 4), a differentiation of the measurements to be made depending on the type of landfill/waste (table in Section 3), the introduction of additional instruments (trigger level for the contingency plan in Section 4 (c)) to protect groundwater, and the optional nature of water balances (in Section 2); Section 4 is thus deleted.

(1) OJ No C 190, 22. 7. 1991, p. 1.

(2) OJ No C 305, 23. 11. 1992, p. 79.

(3) OJ No C 212, 5. 8. 1993, p. 33.

(4) OJ No C 151, 19. 6. 1995, p. 378.