Report for the Hearing delivered in Case 291/84

I — Facts and procedure

1. Council Directive No 80/68/EEC of 17 December 1979 on the protection of groundwater against pollution caused by certain dangerous substances (Official Journal 1980, L 20, p. 43) required Member States to adopt the measures needed to prevent the direct or indirect discharge into groundwater of certain substances (set out in List I of the annex thereto) and to limit the discharge of other substances (set out in List II of the annex). Under Article 21 of the directive, the measures for implementing the directive, of which the Commission was to be informed immediately, were to be adopted within two years of its notification. That two-year period expired on 19 December 1981.

2. The application was lodged at the Court Registry on 4 December 1984.

II — Conclusions of the parties

1. The Commission claims that the Court should:

2. The Netherlands Government does not submit any formal conclusions to the Court.

III — Submissions and arguments of the parties

1. In its application the Commission begins by setting out the effects of a directive with regard to Member States according to Article 189 of the EEC Treaty. It emphasizes the duty of the Member States to observe the time-limits laid down for the implementation of directives, and refers to the case-law of the Court, in particular the jugments of 26 February 1976 in Case 52/75 Commission v Italian Republic [1976] ECR 277 and 22 September 1976 in Case 10/76 Commission v Italian Republic [1976] ECR 1359.

2. In its statement of defence, the Netherlands Government explains that the delay in implementing the directive is due to the fact that, after its adoption, a number of serious cases of soil pollution in the Netherlands necessitated the urgent enactment of remedial measures to protect public health and the environment, the drafting of which demanded time and manpower which delayed the preparation of the legislation needed to give effect to Council Directive 80/68/EEC.

3. In its reply the Commission maintains in the first instance that, according to the case-law of the Court, the reasons adduced to justify the failure to implement the directive are unacceptable.

4. In its rejoinder the Netherlands Government, states that Article 31 of the Wet Chemische Afvalstoffen contains a prohibition on the disposal of chemical waste or waste oil by dumping it on or in the soil, whilst the Stoffen- en Processenbesluit Wet Chemische Afvalstoffen (Decree on substances and procedures under the law on chemical waste) defines the term chemical waste so as to cover virtually all the substances enumerated in Lists I and II of the directive.

IV — Replies to questions put by the Court

1. The Commission claims that the provisions of Directive No 80/68/EEC which are not implemented, or not satisfactorily implemented, in Netherlands law are the following:

2. The Netherlands Government states that the Wet Bodembescherming (Law on soil protection) is expected to come into force soon, following its adoption by the First Chamber of Parliament, which is to debate the matter around March 1986. It also informs the Court of the preparation of (a) the necessary regulations regarding the discharge or dumping of substances mentioned in List I or List II, which are due to be published and enter into force during 1986, and (b) measures on groundwater, the preliminary draft of which will be prepared by the end of January 1987.

1 Language of the Case: Dutch.