The team supports the AGE in considering possible exemptions under Articles 4.4 and 4.5 of the Water Framework Directive for surface waters. This is in particular:
- Establishing the foundations (compiling relevant data and information, evaluating the results from the existing management plan (MWP) and MaPro, evaluating the Commission’s evaluation reports on the 3rd MWP from comparable Member States regarding exemptions pursuant to Articles 4.4 and 4.5)
- Validating the existing approach from the pilot application and finalizing a detailed methodology for the potential consideration of exemptions pursuant to Articles 4.4 and 4.5 of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) for surface waters in the 4th MWP
- Supporting the application of the approach to all surface water bodies as a basis for finalizing the methodology and applying potential exemptions within the framework of the 4th MWP
- Determining the data requirements and providing accompanying support in interpreting the results and assisting with decision-making
Systematic identification of potential synergies/conflicts with other EU directives (including setting deadlines):- Systematic identification of potential synergies/conflicts with nature conservation regarding the achievement of of good ecological status (moors/wetlands/wetland biotopes)
- Inquiry to the Commission regarding the handling of the new EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (EWD), Nature Restoration Law, etc., including planning instruments
- Preparation and analysis of existing data and derivation of supplementary information for the assessment of ecological status and target achievement. The Ecological Status of Waters (OST) serves as a basis for defining target achievement and the possible application of exceptions:
- Preliminary evaluation of land use in the (sub-)catchment areas of the upstream watercourses and assessment of its influence on target achievement
- Preliminary evaluation of planned hydromorphological measures to assess the feasibility of achieving the OST
- Preliminary evaluation of the assessments of biological quality components and identification of anomalies in the assessment results
- Estimation of the recolonization potential in tributaries and derivation of recommendations (e.g., regarding biological monitoring)
- Evaluation of the discharge fractions of wastewater treatment plant effluents (in NW), stormwater retention basin inflows and groundwater proportions in surface water and assessment of the impact on achieving the ecological status target (2-stage)
- Preliminary analysis of upstream watercourses with deteriorating ecological status in comparison of monitoring cycles and assessment of relevance with reference to Art. 4.7 WFD
- Preliminary evaluation of existing monitoring data for success checks of hydromorphological measures
- Preliminary evaluation of the designation of high-risk watercourses
- Preliminary review of the river typology (in cases of conspicuous conditions)
- Preliminary validation of the designation of high-risk watercourses (in cases of conspicuous conditions) and derivation of adapted measures (at a generalized level)
- Test application for cost-benefit analysis and alternatives assessment in the context of cost proportionality at up to ten selected upstream watercourses and (further) development of key components of the method. In addition, the final method for cost-benefit analysis and alternatives assessment is to be applied across the entire area; as the basis for the preparation of the 4th BWP.