Green light for European Soil Monitoring Directive

The European Parliament voted on Thursday, 23 October in favour of the European Soil Monitoring Directive. With 341 votes in favour and 220 against, the new law was adopted. This is an important step for Europe’s drinking water, because about 75% of the drinking water in Europe is made from groundwater. Twenty days after publication of the Soil Monitoring Directive in the EU’s Official Journal, Member States will have three years to implement the new legislation.

In July 2023, the European Commission proposed a draft for the soil monitoring law. The draft proposal was drawn up because around 60% of Europe’s soils are in poor condition due to urbanisation, intensive agricultural practices and climate change. The Soil Monitoring Directive aims to ensure that by 2050 all soils in Europe are in good health. The goal is for every Member State to measure the condition of its farmland and industrial land, share that data and identify contaminated areas.

Non-binding targets

Over the past two years the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Member States have negotiated about the final text of the new law. The European Parliament’s rapporteur, Martin Hojsík, had to drop some of the original ambition. The original proposal from the European Commission included binding targets for soil health for the Member States, but in the final text only non-binding targets remain. And countries are allowed to decide themselves how to monitor soil and how to act on contamination.

Soil protection vital for drinking water resources

The association of Dutch drinking water companies Vewin still welcomes the fact that an agreement has finally been reached, but it would have liked to see more ambition. “The Soil Monitoring Directive recognises that healthy soil contributes to public health and, through natural filtration, plays a protective role for the groundwater used for drinking water. The prioritisation of areas with contaminated soils where water is abstracted for drinking water production, as well as the monitoring of pollutants such as PFAS, pesticides, and microplastics, are positive developments”, says Vewin on its website.

Amendments proposed by water sector

Since the draft proposal was presented Vewin has supported the proposal for the Soil Monitoring Directive, together with the European federation of national water services EurEau. Both organisations have advocated for the importance of groundwater and the direct link between soil and groundwater in the directive’s objectives, scope, and definitions. This advocacy led to the inclusion of several amendments through the European Parliament. The most important of these are that potentially contaminated sites located in areas used for drinking water abstraction will be prioritised for soil investigation. In addition, measures to reduce risks to surrounding water bodies used for drinking water abstraction must comply with the acceptable risk standards set out in the Drinking Water Directive.

Asses financial costs during implementation

Many farmers and industrial organisations have been reluctant to support the new law. Germany’s largest farmers’ group denounced the law as bureaucratic and costly. Farming representatives warned that implementation must not raise costs for producers. “Soil health is crucial for the sustainability and viability of the European agricultural sector,” the agricultural think tank Farm Europe said in a statement welcoming the law’s adoption. But it also urges national authorities to ‘regularly assess the financial costs to farmers and foresters of improving soil health and resilience’.