July 13 (SeeNews) - The European Commission (EC) on Thursday requested Romania to tackle emissions from large combustion plants and to ensure compliance on extractive waste.
Four of Romania's industrial plants do not have a permit ensuring that their emissions into air do not exceed the emission limit values set by EU law, the EC said in a press release.
Therefore, the Commission sent Romanian authorities an additional letter of formal notice regarding its non-compliance to the industrial emissions directive which seeks to prevent, reduce and, as far as possible, eliminate pollution arising from industrial activities.
The directive also contains specific permitting requirements for large combustion plants with maximum emission limit values for pollutant emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and dust.
Also on Thursday, the EC sent a letter of formal notice to Romania over its failure to take any measures to comply with a Court of Justice of the EU's judgement on mining waste.
In July 2016, the Court ruled in favour of the Commission and declared that Romania had failed to adopt appropriate measures to prevent the upheaval of dust from the surface of the Boșneag tailing pond.
"Especially during windy periods, this tailing pond is a major source of pollution and health threat for residents in nearby localities such as Moldova Noua (Romania) or Veliko Gradiste (Serbia)," the EC said.
Member states have to ensure that extractive waste is managed without endangering human health or harming the environment.
If Romania fails to act within two months, the Commission may refer Romania back to the Court of Justice of the EU, in which case the country will face fines, the release showed.
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