L 26914 Official Journal of the European Communities 10.10.2001 (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 8 October 2001 granting Portugal a derogation regarding urban waste water treatment for the agglomeration of the Estoril coast (notified under document number C(2001) 2657) (Only the Portuguese text is authentic) (2001/720/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 concerning urban waste water treatment ('), as amended by Commission Directive 98/15/EC (), and in particular, Article 8(5) thereof, Whereas: 1) () ) Article 8(5) of Directive 91/271/EEC provides a conces- sion whereby, in exceptional circumstances, discharges into less sensitive areas of waste water from agglomera- tions exceeding 150 000 population equivalents may nonetheless be subject to the less stringent requirements set out in Article 6(2). In such circumstances, Member States are required to submit beforehand the relevant documentation to the Commission, showing that the discharges receive at least primary treatment and that they will not affect the envir- onment. Portugal has identified its coastal waters, except those of the Algarve region, as a ‘less sensitive area’ under Article 6 of Directive 91/271/EEC. On 16 June 1999 Portugal sent a request to the Commission under Article 8(5) of Directive 91/271/EEC, concerning the discharge of waste waters into the Atlantic Ocean near the Tagus estuary, from the agglom- eration of the Estoril coast, which accounts for 720 000 population equivalents. 135, 30.5.1991, p. 40. 0] L 0] L 67, 7.3.1998, p. 29. () (10) At the request of the Commission, Portugal sent the Commission additional information on the matter, by letters dated 25 November 1999 and 15 February 2000. The hydrodynamic conditions of the western coast of Portugal, which result from the wind conditions, tides, currents and dispersion, are some of the most favourable of European coastal waters for the dilution and disper- sion of waste water. Moreover, the point of discharge is situated outside the outer limit of the Tagus estuary. Consequently, the criteria for less sensitive areas are applicable to the point of discharge. The point of discharge is far away from the bathing areas of the Estoril coast. The documentation transmitted by Portugal demon- strates that the discharge will not have any impact on the dissolved oxygen rate, the trophic status, the trans- parency and the benthic community of the receiving waters. The bathing waters along the agglomeration of the Estoril coast have not, for years, complied with the requirements of Council Directive 76/160/EEC of 8 December 1975 concerning the quality of bathing water (°), as last amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden, inasmuch as the micro- biological concentrations in those waters exceed the standards specified in that Directive. Since 1995, seven of the twelve bathing areas of the agglomeration of the Estoril coast, namely the beaches of Carcavelos, Parede, Rainha, Cresmina, S. Pedro de Estoril, Tamariz and Torre, have not complied with the mandatory bacteriological values of Directive 76/ 160/EEC. () O] L 31, 5.2.1976, p. 1.