Associations urge MEPs to reject delaying the implementation of the rUWWTD

EurEau, Aqua Publica Europea, CEMR, and SGI Europe, representing Europe’s drinking water and wastewater operators, cities and regions, and services of general interest are calling Members of the European Parliament to reject any initiative to suspend or delay the implementation of the recast Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD), and to support its innovative provisions including the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) mechanism.

The recast UWWTD responds to co-legislators’ agreement to better protect human health and the environment by removing micropollutants from urban wastewater (quaternary treatment), and to apply the Polluter-Pays Principle through EPR for producers that place on the European market pharmaceutical and cosmetics products.

A stop-the-clock will trigger the worst-case scenario for wastewater operators, competent authorities (mainly local and regional governments) and local businesses. Without EPR, municipalities (particularly the small ones) will be unable to take over the financing and, hence, the costs will be passed on to the users of water services, putting local businesses and farmers at an increasing competitive disadvantage. It is socially and economically unjustifiable that micropollutants produced outside the EU would not have to contribute to the clean-up effort without EPR.