2. Emissions of pollutants to air, water and soil have been reduced over the past decades, as have greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in recent years.

‘emission limit values’ means the mass, expressed in terms of certain specific parameters, concentration and/or level of an emission, which may not be exceeded during one or more periods of time; emission limit values may also be laid down for certain groups, families or categories of substances, in particular for those listed in Annex III. The emission limit values for substances normally apply at the point where the emissions leave the installation, any dilution being disregarded when determining them; with regard to indirect rel ...[+++]eases into water, the effect of a water treatment plant may be taken into account when determining the emission limit values of the installation involved, provided that an equivalent level is guaranteed for the protection of the environment as a whole and provided this does not lead to higher levels of pollution in the environment, without prejudice to Directive 2006/11/ΕC or the Directives implementing it.

1. Member States shall ensure that the composition of their surface waters complies with environmental quality standards for priority substances, expressed as an annual average, or, in the case of pollutants covered by Directives 91/414/EEC and 2003/53/EC,as an average over the period of use adjusted for seasonal variations in volume and for substance use, and as a maximum allowable concentration, as laid down in Part A of Annex I and with environmental quality standards for pollutants listed in Part B of Annex I.

To put it briefly, our committee’s aims were: firstly, to point out the precautionary, preventive action and ‘polluter pays’ principles; secondly, to highlight the need for the rational use of land as part of an ecological form of agriculture; thirdly, to establish national and Community complementary measures for implementation, such as the definition of other pollutants and specific monitoring programmes for sediments and biota; fourthly, to highlight the need for a formal evaluation of the consistency and effectiveness of the various Community acts on water quality; fifthly, to call for the coordination of monitoring programmes and national in ...[+++]ventories when a watercourse runs through several Member States; and sixthly – finally – to demonstrate the need for the Member States to accompany their inventories with a timetable for implementing the objectives for reducing, and indeed phasing out, emissions.

The building of water reservoirs is justified by the climate changes that are under way, which call for much-needed water resources to be collected and protection to be provided against flooding; reservoirs can also be used for clean, environment-friendly energy production.

the amount of each pollutant required to be reported pursuant to paragraph 2 released from the facility to the environment in the reporting year, both in aggregate and according to whether the release is to air, to water or to land, including by underground injection.