Use of sewage sludge to fertilise farmland

16.4.2014

Question for written answer P-004944-14
to the Commission
Rule 117
Peter Jahr (PPE)

Directive 86/278/EEC regulates the use of sewage sludge in farming, particularly its spreading on fields as a fertiliser. However, many Member States have taken advantage of Article 13 of the directive and enacted more far-reaching provisions than required by the directive, such as stricter limit values.

1. What is the Commission’s assessment of the tendency in the Member States to adopt stricter provisions concerning the use of sewage sludge in farming? Is the Commission itself planning to revise the directive? If so, what is the Commission’s aim in doing so?

2. Does the Commission consider that, if a Member State were to impose a complete national ban on spreading sewage sludge on farmland, this would be compatible with the EU’s primary and secondary legislation, particularly the current Directive 86/278/EEC?

3. What is the Commission’s assessment of a national ban on spreading sewage sludge, particularly in the light of the free movement of goods in the European Union? What consequences does the Commission anticipate for the importation and use of sewage sludge from other Member States for use as fertiliser on farmland?

OJ C 405, 14/11/2014