PiS MEP Jadwiga Wiśniewska today submitted a question to the European Commission regarding a conflict between regulations aimed at accelerating the extraction of critical raw materials and those intended to reduce groundwater pollution.
"The Groundwater Directive (2006/118/EC) imposes an obligation to prevent groundwater pollution levels from being exceeded. Annex X to the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) lists substances resulting from the extraction of rare earth metals, such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury, whose presence in water bodies Member States are required to limit. The mining of critical raw materials (tungsten, copper) is associated with environmental pollution, particularly of deep, groundwater, and surface waters.
Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 on critical raw materials accelerates the exploration and extraction of strategic resources in the EU, which leads to a conflict with the Water Framework Directive and EU water protection regulations. The risk of water pollution will occur in part of the Silesian Voivodeship, as deposits of tungsten, molybdenum, and copper are located within Main Groundwater Body 327, which supplies water to the region’s residents. “The area is home to over 1.1 million residents,” the parliamentary question states.
The Polish politician therefore asks whether, given the clear conflict between the provisions of the regulation on critical raw materials and the Water Framework Directive in cases where both resources are present in the same area, the provisions of the regulation will be suspended.
Furthermore, Wiśniewska wants to know whether, in light of the 2022 European Parliament resolutions and the 2010 UN resolution—which establish access to water as a human right—and given that Poland is a country vulnerable to hydrogeological drought, will the provisions of the Regulation, the application of which would harm water resources and hinder residents’ access to water, will not be enforced.
