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<EntPE>EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT</EntPE>

2004 / / 2009

Commission{PETI}Committee on Petitions</Commission

<TitreType>NOTICE TO MEMBERS</TitreType>

Subject: <Titre>Petition 0907/2006 by José Vincente Edo Váquez (Spanish), on behalf of of the Agrupación de Intréres Urbanístico "Paraje Tos Pelat", on breaches of EC environmental legislation in relation to the approval of the Urban Development General Plan of Llíria (Comunidad deValencia) by local authorities /Titre>

1. Summary of petition

TEXTEThe petitioner contests the approval of the Urban Development General Plan (PGOU) by local authorities of Llíria (Comunidad deValencia) which, according to him, would affect a protected area of around 760,000 square metres. The petitioner argues that the plan breaches EC Directives 92/43 (on the conservation of natural habitats), 79/403 (Birds Directive) and 2001/42 (on the strategic environmental assessment - SEA Directive). The petitioner alleges that the environmental impact assessment has overlooked a number of key environmental aspects and asks Parliament to intervene in order to have the plan modified, especially in respect to the sector SR-28 Golf de Catala.</TEXTE

2. Admissibility

Declared admissible on 27 March 2007. Information requested from the Commission under Rule 192(4).

3. Commission reply, received on 21 September 2007.

I. The petition

The petitioner, on behalf of the Association "Paraje Tos Pelat", complains against an urban development called "Golf Coto de Catala" in the municipality of Lliria (Valencia) based on the Plan General de Ordenación Urbana (PGOU) - Urban Development General Plan.

The petitioner presents the following allegations of non-compliance with EU legislation:

1. The group of land owners could not express its opinion during the "agreement" between the municipality of Lliria and the promoter of the urban development (Roturaciones y Cultivos SA);

2. The principle of equality was not respected in the contractual procedure;

3. EU Directives 79/409/EEC[1] (Birds Directive), 92/43/EC[2] (Habitats Directive) and 2001/42/EC[3] (SEA Directive) have not been respected;

4. Adequate water resources have not been guaranteed for the urban development;

5. There are not enough technical studies done by the Regional Government.

II. The Commission's comments on the petition

Environmental aspects

Directive 2001/42/EC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment defines in Article 3.2 the types of plans and programmes to which the directive applies. Town and country planning and land use are covered by this article.

However, as indicated in Article 13, the directive will only be applied to those plans or programmes whose first formal preparatory act is after 21 July 2004, as well as to all those whose first formal preparatory act is previous to this date and whose adoption or presentation by legislative procedure was 24 months after this date (i.e. 21st July 2006) unless the Member State determines that this is not feasible.

According to the information available, the plan in question was started in May 2002 and approved on 27 October 2003 by the "Resolución" of the "Dirección General de Planificación y Ordenación Territorial" (General Direction of Planning and Land Management) of the Valencian Regional Government. Therefore, the plan is exempt of the application of the SEA Directive.

It should also be noted that the different urban development projects fall under letter b) of section 10 of Annex II of Directive 85/337/EEC[4] as amended by Directive 97/11/EC[5] and Directive 2003/35/EC[6] (EIA Directive). For projects included in Annex II of this directive, Member States have to determine, before giving development consent if they are likely to have significant effects on the environment. If they are, an environmental impact assessment has to be carried out.

According to information provided by the petitioner, an EIA was carried out the Spanish Authorities on 8 November 2004[7].

As regards Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora and Directive 79/409/CEE on the conservation of wild birds, the EIA declares that there is no impact on any protected area. On the basis of information available to the Commission, there is no evidence that the requirements of the above directives have not been respected.

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60/EC of December 2000 establishes the need for detailed planning of the use of water resources to avoid non-sustainable solutions and irreversible damage to the environment, through the development of River Basin Management Plans (RBMP). In accordance with the WFD, the first RBMP shall be published by December 2009.

One of the main challenges of environment policy is its integration into other policies, including those for urbanisation and tourism. Article 14 of the WFD establishes the obligation for Member States to encourage the active involvement of all interested parties in the process of developing RBMP's. The participatory approach of the WFD provides opportunities to improve this integration of policies and to promote the protection and sustainable management of water in the future.

From 2009 on, any plan or programme that has an impact on water resources or water quality will have to be co-ordinated with RBMP provisions, so that the WFD's environmental objectives can be achieved.

Public procurement

To proceed further in this matter, it would be necessary to ask the petitioner for a copy of the agreement (Convenio urbanistico) of 17th May 2002, between the Municipality of Lliria and RUCASA, as approved by the afore-mentioned municipality on 19th May 2005. It is also important to know if the urban development project has been approved as a programa de actuación integrada – PAI (Integrated Action Plan) according to the Law 6/1994, in order to verify whether the rules on public procurement have been respected.

III. Conclusion

The Commission cannot identify any breach of EU environmental directives.

However, should the petitioner provide the European Parliament with additional information on the agreement, the Commission would then re-examine the case.

[1] Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds.OJ L 103, 25.4.1979

[2] Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora.OJ L 206, 22.7.1992

[3] Directive 2001/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001 on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment. Official Journal L 197 of 21.7.2001

[4]Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment. Official Journal L 175, 05/07/1985

[5]Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 amending Directive 85/337/EEC environment the on private the on assessment of the effects of certain public and projects. Official Journal L 073, 14/03/1997

[6] Directive 2003/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003. L 156 17 25.6.2003

[7] Official Journal of the Valencian Government 3.11.2005

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