Vol. 437 No. 6
334 Mr. Nealon asked the Minister for the Environment the total amount of money made available to coastal towns for coastal sewage treatment to conform to the European Union Directive on waste water; the exact amount of money allocated to each coastal town included under the scheme; the source of these funds; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The Environmental Action Programme (1990) envisages expenditure of up to £400 million on coastal sewage treatment by the year 2000. Good progress has been made towards this objective under the Operational Programme for Water, Sanitary and other Local Services 1989-1993 and the ENVIREG Operational Programme. A total of £42.464 million was expended on the installation and upgrading of treatment facilities in coastal areas in 1993.
The Operational Programme for Environmental Services, 1994-1999 which is currently being prepared, will continue to make provision for coastal sewage treatment projects in line with the EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive and the Government's standing commitment to eliminate untreated discharges of sewage from major coastal towns by the year 2000. Allocations to individual areas will be made on an annual basis within the framework of the Programme.
