UWWTD & Omnibus on environmental legislation

On December 10, the European Commission published the Omnibus on Environment legislation Package, alongside an updated cost study on the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme under the recast Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD). This package aims at removing unnecessary administrative obligations and reducing complexity in the fields of industrial emissions, circular economy, environmental assessments and geospatial data.

The main elements from the Omnibus on environmental legislation related to the water sector are:

• Relevant provisions of the Water Framework Directive will be stress-tested in 2026, including the recently agreed exemptions to the non-deterioration principle with a view to determine whether they have brought tangible improvements

• The Water Reuse Regulation can be subject to potential revision in 2027

• The EU Commission will complete the ongoing evaluation of the Nitrate Directive, looking at the best way to achieve its objectives and enabling innovative and alternative use of manure to stimulate new businesses
• The EU Commission proposed amendments to the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) and to the Medium Combustion Plants Directive. The Commission also proposed amendments to the Industrial Emissions Portal Regulation (IEPR)​:

• 1. Livestock and aquaculture operators will be exempted from reporting on the use of water, energy and raw materials.
  2. Member States will be able to report more information on behalf of farmers on issues such as off-site transfers of waste and of pollutants in wastewater, on production volume and number of operating hours.

On the updated cost study by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) on the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), the JRC confirms that the expected EPR costs remain consistent with the 2022 Impact Assessment, after accounting for inflation, new cost data, and adjustments made in the final Directive. This means that there are no unexpected cost surges for producers and that the potential impacts on prices or profit margins remain within the ranges already assessed during the legislative process. The Commission sees no need to reopen the UWWTD within the Omnibus package.

More info on the Omnibus package on environmental legislation is available here.