19.5.2009 Official Journal of the European Union L 123/87 COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 16 July 2008 on the State aid which Italy proposes to grant to the steel company Lucchini Siderurgica SpA (C 25/2000 (ex N 149/99)) (notified under document number C(2008) 3515) (Only the Italian text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2009/389/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 88(2) thereof, Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and in particular Article 62(1)(a) thereof, Having called on interested parties to submit their comments pursuant to those provisions ('), and having regard to their comments, Whereas: 1. PROCEDURE (1)  On 21 December 2000, the Commission adopted a negative final decision in case C 25/2000 Lucchini (previously numbered N 145/99), which concerned envi- ronmental aid that Italy was planning to grant to the steel plant Lucchini SpA (Lucchini) (3). The recipient challenged the decision before the Court of First Instance. On 19 September 2006 the Court annulled the decision in so far as it found that the sum of ITL 2,7 billion (EUR 1 396 000) in aid towards investments in the coking plant and the sum of ITL 1,38 billion (EUR 713 550) in aid towards investments in the water and sewerage system were incompatible with the C 248, 23.10.2007, p. 25. (") O ¢ o L 163, 20.6.2001, p. 24. common market. It upheld the Commission’s decision with respect to the steelworks, the blast furnace and the fume extraction system (3). On 9 August 2007, the Commission sent Italy a request for information, which was answered by letter dated 5 September 2007. Further information was gathered in an on-site visit to the production plant in Piombino, Tuscany, on 10 September 2007 (¥). A final request for information dated 3 October 2007 was answered by letter of 7 November 2007. 2. DESCRIPTION 2.1. The undertaking and the installations concerned The Lucchini steel plant is located in Piombino, Tuscany, on the shores of the Mediterranean. It is situated in an urban area, only a couple of hundred metres away from water used for swimming and fishing, and the local population will accept its presence only if proper attention is paid to the scale of the environmental impact. The coking plant The coking plant distils coal at temperatures between 1240 °C and 1 250 °C in order to obtain coke, which is needed for the production of pig iron. A coke oven battery is composed of a series of narrow, high and deep ovens set up next to each other. The ovens are separated by a walled burning chamber in which gas is burnt to heat the ovens. The ovens are filled from the top with coal. To empty a coke oven, doors on both sides are opened and the coke is pushed out of the oven with a pusher machine. (%) Case T-166/01 Lucchini v Commission [2006] ECR 1I-2875. (*) The on-site visit was carried out by two DG Competition officials and one steel expert from DG Enterprise and Industry.