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Northern Ireland Office

Answer

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on Northern Ireland's compliance with the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. [98336] Angela Smith: The number of works complying with the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive in Northern Ireland for the years 1999 to 2001 is: 1999--8 out of a total of 15 complied--which gives a compliance rate of 53 per cent. 2000--8 out of a total of 15 complied--which gives a compliance rate of 53 per cent. 2001--13 out of a total of 37 complied--which gives a compliance rate of 35 per cent. The apparent fall in the rate of compliance between 2000 and 2001 reflects the phased introduction of targets under the UWWT Directive bringing more waste-water treatment works within its scope. For the year 2002, a total of 35 works have been assessed with the results still needing to be confirmed. However, the initial indication is that compliance is in the region of 50 per cent.-- similar to 1999 and 2000. There is a legacy of under-funding of Northern Ireland's infrastructure. However, the upgrading of Northern Ireland's water and sewerage services to meet EU regulations is a high priority. Over £250 million will be invested on the waste-water infrastructure over the next three years. This increased level of investment has been made possible by the allocation of an additional £180 million for the wider water and sewerage services over the next three years, as was announced in the Budget statement in December 2002. In addition, DRD is actively considering with the Strategic Investment Board the potential for delivering a sizeable Public Private Partnership (PPP) programme which could include a number of wastewater treatment works, as part of the Strategic Investment Programme. This major increase in investment will deliver significant progress towards fall compliance with the Directive.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

98336; 400 c231-2W;400 c229W

Session

2002-03

EC documents

Dir91/271/EEC

Subjects

EU law EU action Domestic waste Northern Ireland Pollution Water Sewage Waste disposal Water treatment

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk