Select Committee on European Communities Twelfth Report


C. LEGAL AND PROCEDURAL ISSUES

22. ACTION PROGRAMME FOR INTEGRATED GROUNDWATER PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT (9967/96)

Letter from Baroness Hilton of Eggardon, QPM, Chairman of Sub-Committee C, to James Clappison MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment

9967/96 COM (96) 315 Final Commission proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on an action programme for integrated groundwater protection and management.

  This proposal was considered by Sub-Committee C at its meeting on 11 December 1996.

  Although we have cleared the document, we share the Government's concern, as expressed in your Explanatory Memorandum, about the legal basis of the proposal and the apparent inconsistency with other Community water policy initiatives. In this we are of the same view as the House of Commons European Legislation Committee (1st Report 1996-97, item 9, p xxxviii) and, like them, would be interested to see the Commission's explanation of how the groundwater proposal fits in with the proposed Framework Directive on Water Resources.

  Recent concerns expressed, for instance by the RSPB, about the effect of boreholes on wetlands have underlined the importance of groundwater conservation. We shall wish to return to the issue in the context of the draft Framework Directive when it comes to us for scrutiny.

19 December 1996


 
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