1. Review of Annexes I and II of the Groundwater Directive 2006/118/EC
Balázs Horváth
DG ENV C.1 Water Unit

2. Legal basis for the review
Article 10 GWD:
The Commission shall review Annexes I and II every six years. Based on the review, it shall, if
appropriate, come forward with legislative proposals to amend Annexes I and/or II.
During the negotiations of the Directive the European Parliament asked for this regular review

3. Target of the review
Annex I: Groundwater quality standards – they are European wide standards currently including Nitrates and Pesticides
Annex II Part A: Guidelines for the establishment of threshold values by Member States in accordance with Article 3
Annex II Part B: Minimum list of pollutants and their indicators for which Member States have to consider establishing threshold values in accordance with Article 3
Annex II Part C: Information to be provided by Member States with regard to the pollutants and their indicators for which
threshold values have been established
Procedure to amend:
Co-decision (Art 10)
Regulatory procedure with scrutiny (Art 8) in case of technical adaptations; otherwise Art 10
Regulatory procedure with scrutiny (Art 8) in case of adding new pollutants or indicators; otherwise Art 10

4. Key steps so far
2012: Preliminary consultation with MS and stakeholders in the framework of the Common Implementation Strategy for the WFD
April 2013: call for evidence
Key problems and objectives for the review have been identified
A set of policy options has been proposed to tackle them

5. Policy options considered
Problem
Sub- problem
General objective
Specific objectives
Policy options considered 1.
New scientific and technical information on substances of concern might require adjustment of the pollutant lists -
Ensure a high and equal level of protection of groundwater resources including transboundary groundwater bodies
- Consider the latest scientific and technical knowledge
- Identify substances for which uniform QSs could be set
Upgrade of naturally occurring and/or synthetic substances of Annex II Part B to Annex I and establishment of a common EU groundwater QS
2. Insufficient comparability of TVs (Annex II part A)
Variation and lack of transpa-rency in metho-dologies applied by Member States
Enhance the comparability of the assessment of groundwater chemical status throughout the EU
Move towards a uniform and transparent procedure for establishing TVs
- A harmonized procedure for determination of NBLs
- More precise relationship between NBLs and TVs
- Exclude NBLs from the TV establishment but consider them later in compliance regime

6. Policy options considered
Problem
Sub- problem
General objective
Specific objectives
Policy options considered
3. Insufficient transparency and reporting of information on groundwater chemical status (Annex II part C) -
Base decision-making on sufficient, correct, robust and transparent information
- Optimise transparency and quality of reporting and remove reporting deficits
- Strengthen and clarify reporting requirements
Several proposals for extending reporting through amendments of Annex II Part C
Additional reporting of key elements of the compliance regime
4. Insufficient knowledge base
Risks or poor status may remain unde-tected
Increase the knowledge base on the occurrence and fate of substances of concern
- Provide a mechanism to improve the knowledge base and make future identification of substances of concern more effective
- Ensure improved knowledge base on monitoring data
Establish a mechanism for systematic gathering of monitoring data on pollutants of concern,
Include a reporting requirement to an EU-wide chemical monitoring database
Make TV establishment and monitoring mandatory for all Annex II Part B substances

7. On-going activities - Public Consultation (30 July - 22 October 2013):
To collect opinions on different options
To identify missing options
To gather data on impacts
- Stakeholder conference on 9 October 2013 in Brussels back-to-back with WG Groundwater (10-11 October)

8. Planned timelines
2012: Preliminary consultation with MS and stakeholders in the framework of the Common Implementation Strategy for the WFD
April 2013: call for evidence
30 July 2013 – 22 October 2013: public consultation
9 October 2013: stakeholder conference
November 2013 – early 2014: consultation on likely approach with MS and stakeholders in the framework of the CIS
Commission proposal in 2014