Spain faces fines for not complying with judgment from 2011 over poor waste water collection and treatment
The European Commission is taking Spain back to the Court of Justice of the EU for its failure to fully and completely comply with the Court judgement of 2011 . Spanish regional authorities must ensure that urban waste water is adequately collected and treated in 17 agglomerations across the country to prevent serious risks to human health and the environment . Under this Directive , towns and cities with a population equivalent of more than 15 000 inhabitants which discharge the urban waste water into receiving waters not considered to be “ sensitive areas ” were required to have systems for collecting and treating their waste water in place as of 1 January 2001 . It follows that Member States must ensure that urban waste waters are adequately collected and treated before they are discharged into the environment . 17 agglomerations are concerned : Matalascañas , Alhaurín el Grande , Isla Cristina , Tarifa , Coín , Estepona-San Pedro de Alcántara and , respectively , Nerja and Barbate ( Andalucía ), Gijón Este ( Asturias ), Santiago de Compostela , Aguiño-Carreira-Ribeira and , respectively , Vigo ( Galicia ), Benicarló , Peñíscola and , respectively , Teulada-Moraira ( Comunidad Valenciana ), Noreste ( Valle Guerra ) and Valle de Güímar ( Tenerife , Islas Canarias ). For full report see : EU Commission press release .
Wipes , Tampons and scouring pads decorate the Montañar
The recent storms have littered the Montañar beach with diverse personall hygiene items including thousands of paper towels and wipes . A few weeks ago , authorities had to struggle with a plug of 350 kilos of wipes which caused a blowout in San Javier