Will article 41 Decree 63/2013 stop the useless remediation?

Article 243 of Legislative Decree 152/2006 and amends, has been replaced by the following Article 243: <<” (Management of pumped groundwater) 1) In cases where the contaminated groundwater represent a situation of health risk, in addition to elimination the contamination source, for contamination diffusion mitigation measures must be taken in accordance with the general aims and objectives of protection, preservation and conservation of water resources established by the third party, where possible and economically feasible. 2) Physical or hydraulic confinement with pumping and treatment of contaminated groundwater are allowed only in cases where it’s not possible to eliminate, prevent or reduce the health risk to acceptable levels associated to the flow and diffusion of contaminated groundwater.[…]

The change in 2006 and 2008 (in a more or less restrictive mode) in reference to the obligation to comply with the CSC to the compliance point (POC) has always been based on a “geometric” criterion:

  • in 2006 with the Legislative Decree no. n. 152 the POC: “… must necessarily be outside of the contaminated site, approximately at a distance ranging between 50 and 500 meters from the contamination source “;
  • in 2008 with the Legislative Decree no. n. 41 “… the compliance point is usually not fixed beyond the contaminated site remediation boundaries and the related subject of CSR for each contaminant must be fixed equivalent to CSC”;

Can article 41 abrogate the “geometric criterion” and consider the groundwater remediation conditioned from health risk analysis outcomes?

1 – article 41 indicates that in the “health risk” presence (non-environmental risk!) we must intervene with “mitigation measures of the contamination diffusion “in addition to the source removal. Will be the opposite also true? That is, can be disregarded the “mitigation measures of the contamination diffusion“ in the health risk absence?

2 -article 41 indicates that the contamination containment in the site is allowed only in cases where it is not possible to eliminate the health risk (not the environmental risk!) associated with the diffusion. Will be the opposite also true? That is, it can be disregarded the contamination containment in the site in presence of actions to reduce the health risk in the site?

 

Articoli correlati

, ,