EU legal adviser hands pharma a win on wastewater costs

Key takeaways

An EU Advocate General recommended striking down the directive rule that assigned pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies at least 80 percent of the cost of a new wastewater cleanup treatment stage.

The directive, which came into force early last year, requires a 'quaternary treatment stage'—a fourth round of cleaning to remove micropollutants—and names pharmaceuticals and cosmetics as the primary source of those compounds.

The directive's broader environmental requirements remain in force regardless, and member states face a December 2028 deadline for industry contributions to waste-management programs.

The cleanup effort was projected to save about $7.5 billion annually by 2040 in future environmental and health benefits.

The Court of Justice of the EU is not bound by the Advocate General's opinion but frequently follows such recommendations.

Pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies across Europe may be off the hook for the largest share of a continent-wide water cleanup effort, after a legal adviser to the EU's top court recommended striking down the rule that assigned them the bill. That rule is an EU directive, a binding legal instruction that member states must write into their national laws by a set date. The recommendation is an early reprieve for industries facing both a hard compliance deadline and a substantial collective cost.

What the directive required

The directive revised an earlier version of the same rules and came into force early last year. It was designed to protect human health and the environment from harmful discharges of urban wastewater, with the stated goal of delivering cleaner rivers, lakes, groundwater, and coasts across the continent.

At its center is what the rule calls a "quaternary treatment stage." Here is what that means: a fourth round of cleaning in the wastewater treatment process, engineered to remove micropollutants. Micropollutants are trace chemical compounds that reach waterways at very low concentrations, and the directive identifies pharmaceuticals and cosmetics as their primary source. Standard municipal treatment plants were not designed to capture them, so the directive added a new treatment step and assigned at least 80 percent of the cost to the industries generating the compounds.

The effort was projected to save about $7.5 billion annually by 2040. That is a projection of future environmental and health benefits, not money already saved. Member states must ensure that pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies contribute to waste-management programs addressing the substances they generate, and the deadline for that is December 2028.

What the recommendation changes

An Advocate General issues formal legal opinions to the Court of Justice of the European Union, the bloc's highest court, before the court rules on a case. The court does not have to follow those opinions, but it frequently does.

If the court sides with the recommendation and annuls the financing provision, the question of who pays for the quaternary treatment stage would need to be worked out before the December 2028 deadline. The directive's broader environmental requirements remain on the books regardless.

Frequently asked

What is a quaternary treatment stage?

It is a fourth round of cleaning in the wastewater treatment process, engineered to remove micropollutants—trace chemical compounds that reach waterways at very low concentrations.

Who was originally assigned to pay for the new treatment?

The directive assigned at least 80 percent of the cost to the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries, which it identifies as the primary source of the micropollutants.

Does the recommendation eliminate the directive entirely?

No; if the court annuls the financing provision, only the question of who pays must be reworked before the December 2028 deadline, while the directive's broader environmental requirements remain in place.

Is the Advocate General's recommendation binding on the court?

No, the Court of Justice of the European Union does not have to follow the Advocate General's opinions, but it frequently does.

What was the cleanup effort projected to save?

It was projected to save about $7.5 billion annually by 2040, a projection of future environmental and health benefits rather than money already saved.

EU legal adviser hands pharma a win on wastewater costs

Key takeaways

What the directive required

What the recommendation changes

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Frequently asked