URBAN WASTE WATER TREATMENT REGULATIONS

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 549.22

URBAN WASTE WATER TREATMENT

REGULATIONS

1st May, 2004

LEGAL NOTICE 340 of 2001, as amended by Legal Notices 192 of 2004,

120 of 2005, 426 of 2007 and 373 of 2024.

The title of these regulations is the Urban Waste Water

Treatment Regulations.

(1) These regulations concern the collection, treatment and

discharge of urban waste water and the treatment and discharge of

waste water from certain industrial sectors.

(2) The objective of these regulations is to protect the

environment from the adverse effects of the abovementioned waste

water discharges.

For the purpose of these regulations and unless the context

otherwise requires

"agglomeration" means an area where the population and, or

economic activities are sufficiently concentrated for urban waste

water to be collected and conducted to an urban waste water

treatment plant or to a final discharge point;

"appropriate treatment" means treatment of urban waste water by

any process and, or disposal system which after discharge allows

the receiving waters to meet the relevant quality objectives and the

relevant provisions of these and other regulations;

"coastal waters" means the waters outside the low-water line or

the outer limit of an estuary;

"collecting system" means a system of conduits which collects

and conducts urban waste water;

"competent authority" means the Department for Environment

Protection under the guidance of the Director for Environment

Protection and such other body or person as the Minister

responsible for the environment may by order in the Gazette

prescribe and different bodies or persons may be designated as the

competent authority for different provisions and different purposes

of these regulations;

"domestic waste water" means waste water from residential

settlements and services which originates predominantly from the

human metabolism and from household activities;

"estuary" means the transitional area between fresh-water and

coastal waters; the authorities shall establish the outer (seaward)

limits of estuaries for the purposes of these regulations;

"eutrophication" means the enrichment of water by nutrients,

especially compounds of nitrogen and, or phosphorus, causing an

accelerated growth of algae and higher forms of plant life to

produce an undesirable disturbance to the balance of organisms

present in the water and to the quality of the water concerned;

"industrial waste water" means any waste water which is

discharged from premises used for carrying on any trade or

industry, other than domestic waste water and run-off rain water;

"population equivalent" means the organic biodegradable load

having a five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BODS) of 60g of

oxygen per day;

"primary treatment" means treatment of urban waste water by a

physical and, or chemical process involving settlement of

suspended solids, or other processes in which the BODS of the

incoming waste water is reduced by at least 20% before discharge

and the total suspended solids of the incoming waste water are

reduced by at least 50%;

"secondary treatment" means treatment of urban waste water by a

process generally involving biological treatment with a secondary

settlement or other process in which the requirements established in

Table 1 of Annex I are respected;

"sludge" means

(i)

residual lodge from sewage plants treating domestic or

urban waste waters and from other sewage plants

treating waste waters of a composition similar to

domestic and urban waste waters;

(ii) residual sludge from septic tanks and other similar

installations for the treatment of sewage;

(iii) residual sludge from sewage plants other than those

referred to in paragraphs (i) and (ii);

"urban waste water" means domestic waste water or the mixture

of domestic waste water with industrial waste water and, or run-off

rain water.

(1) The competent authority shall ensure that all

agglomerations are provided with collecting systems for urban

waste water according to these categories

(a) those with a population equivalent of more than

15,000, and

(b) those with a population equivalent of between 2,000

and 15,000

Provided that the discharge of urban waste water into

receiving waters which are considered "sensitive areas" as defined

by the competent authority under regulation 6 shall ensure that

collection systems are provided for agglomerations of more than

10,000 population equivalent

Provided further that, where the establishment of a

collecting system is not justified either because it would produce

no environmental benefit or because it would involve excessive

cost, individual systems or other appropriate systems which

achieve the same level of environmental protection shall be used

Provided further that the provisions of this subregulation

shall apply as follows to

(i)

Marsa Land and Gozo-Main by the 1st May,

2004;

(ii) Malta South by the 30th June, 2004;

(iii) G]arb and Nadur by the 31st December, 2005;

and

(iv) the rest of Malta by the 31st October, 2006.

(2) Collecting systems described in subregulation (1) shall

satisfy the requirements of Annex I (A).

(1) The competent authority shall ensure that urban waste

water entering collecting systems shall before discharge, be subject

to secondary treatment or an equivalent treatment according to

these categories

(a) all discharges from agglomerations of more than

15,000 population equivalent,

(b) all discharges from agglomerations of between 10,000

and 15,000 population equivalent,

(c) discharges to fresh-water and estuaries from

agglomerations of between 2,000 and 10,000

population equivalent

Provided that the provisions of this subregulation shall

apply as follows to

(i)

Marsa Land by the 1st May, 2004;

(ii)

Gozo-Main by the 31st October, 2004;

(iii)

G]arb and Nadur by the 31st December, 2005;

(iv)

Malta North by the 31st October, 2006; and

(v)

the rest of Malta by the 31st March, 2007.

(2) Discharges from urban waste water treatment plants

described in subregulation (1) shall satisfy the relevant

requirements of Annex I (B).

(3) The load expressed in population equivalent shall be

calculated on the basis of the maximum average weekly load

entering the treatment plant during the year, excluding unusual

situations such as those due to heavy rain.

(1) For the purposes of subregulation (2), the competent

authority shall identify sensitive areas according to the criteria laid

down in Annex II.

(2) The competent authority shall ensure that urban waste

water entering collecting systems shall, before discharge into

sensitive areas, be subject to more stringent treatment than that

described in regulation 4, for all discharges from agglomerations of

more than 10,000 population equivalent.

(3) Discharges from urban waste water treatment plants

described in subregulation (2) shall satisfy the relevant

requirements of Annex I (B).

(4) Alternatively, requirements for individual plants set out in

subregulations (2) and (3) need not apply in sensitive areas where it

can be shown that the minimum percentage of reduction of the

overall load entering all urban waste water treatment plants in that

area is at least 75% for total phosphorus and at least 75% for total

nitrogen.

(5) Discharges from urban waste water treatment plants which

are situated in the relevant catchment areas of sensitive areas and

which contribute to the pollution of these areas shall be subject to

subregulations (2), (3) and (4).

(6) The competent authority shall ensure that the identification

of sensitive areas is reviewed at intervals of no more than four

years.

(7) The competent authority shall ensure that areas identified

as sensitive, as listed in Annex II following review under

subregulation (6), shall meet the above requirements.

(8) The competent authority does not have to identify sensitive

areas for the purpose of these regulations if it implements the

treatment established under subregulations (2), (3) and (4).

(1) For the purposes of subregulation (2), the competent

authority may identify less sensitive areas according to the criteria

laid down in Annex II.

(2) Urban waste water discharges from agglomerations of

between 10,000 and 150,000 population equivalent to coastal

waters and those from agglomerations of between 2,000 and 10,000

population equivalent to estuaries situated in areas described in

subregulation (1) may be subjected to treatment less stringent than

that prescribed in regulation 5 provided that such discharges

receive at least primary treatment as defined in regulation 3 in

conformity with the control procedures laid down in Annex I (D)

and comprehensive studies indicate that such discharges will not

adversely affect the environment.

(3) The competent authority shall ensure that the identification

of less sensitive areas is reviewed at intervals of not more than four

years from when they are identified.

(4) The competent authority shall ensure that areas no longer

identified as less sensitive shall meet the requirements of

regulations 5 and 6, as appropriate.

The competent authority shall ensure that urban waste

water entering collecting systems shall before discharge be subject

to appropriate treatment as defined in regulation 3 in the following

cases

(a) for discharges to fresh-water and estuaries from

agglomerations of less than 2,000 population

equivalent,

(b) for discharges to coastal waters from agglomerations

of less than 10,000 population equivalent.

In exceptional circumstances, when it can be demonstrated

that more advanced treatment will not produce any environmental

benefits, discharges into less sensitive areas of waste waters from

agglomerations of more than 150,000 population equivalent may be

subject to the treatment provided for in regulation 7 for waste water

from agglomerations of between 10,000 and 150,000 population

equivalent.

The competent authority shall ensure that the urban waste

water treatment plants built to comply with the requirements of

regulations 5, 6, 7 and 8 are designed, constructed, operated and

maintained to ensure sufficient performance under all normal local

climatic conditions. When designing the plants, seasonal variations

of the load shall be taken into account.

(1) Without prejudice to any other laws and authorisation,

the competent authority shall ensure that

(a) the discharge of industrial waste water into collecting

systems and urban waste water treatment plants

satisfies the requirement of Annex I (C);

(b) discharges from urban waste water treatment plants

made within agglomerations of 2,000 to 10,000

population equivalent in case of discharges of fresh

waters and estuaries shall satisfy the relevant

requirements of Annex I (B).

(2) The competent authority shall ensure that treated waste

water shall be re-used whenever appropriate. Disposal routes shall

minimize the adverse effects on the environment.

(1) The competent authority shall ensure that

biodegradable industrial waste water from plants belonging to the

industrial sectors listed in Annex III which does not enter urban

waste water treatment plants before discharge to receiving waters,

shall, before discharge, respect conditions established in prior

regulations and, or specific authorization by the competent

authority or appropriate body, in respect of all discharges from

plants representing 4,000 population equivalent or more.

(2) The competent authority shall set requirements appropriate

to the nature of the industry concerned for the discharge of such

waste water.

(1) Sludge arising from waste water treatment shall be re-

used whenever appropriate. Disposal routes shall minimize the

adverse effects on the environment.

(2) The competent authority shall ensure that the disposal of

sludge from urban waste water treatment plants is subject to

general rules or registration or authorization.

(3) The competent authority shall ensure that the disposal of

sludge to surface waters by dumping from ships, by discharge from

pipelines or by other means is phased out.

(4) Until the elimination of the forms of disposal mentioned in

subregulation (3), the competent authority shall ensure that the

total amount of toxic, persistent or bioaccumulable materials in

sludge disposed of to surface waters is licensed for disposal and

progressively reduced.

(1) The competent authority and any other appropriate

bodies as may be notified by order by the Minister in the Gazzette

shall monitor

(a) discharges from urban waste water treatment plants to

verify compliance with the requirements of Annex

I(B) in accordance with the control procedures laid

down in Annex I (D),

(b) amounts and composition of sludges disposed of to

surface waters.

(2) The competent authority shall monitor waters subject to

discharges from urban waste water treatment plants and direct

discharges as described in regulation 12 in cases where it can be

expected that the receiving environment will be significantly

affected.

(3) In the case of a discharge subject to the provisions of

regulation 6 and in the case of disposal of sludge to surface waters,

the competent authority shall monitor and carry out any other

relevant studies to verify that the discharge or disposal does not

adversely affect the environment.

(1) The competent authority shall ensure that every two

years the relevant authorities or bodies publish situation reports on

the disposal of urban waste water and sludge in their areas.

(2) The competent authority shall determine the methods and

formats to be adopted for reporting under subregulation (1).

Any person shall be guilty of an offence under these

regulations if

(a) he fails to comply with any order lawfully given in

terms of any provisions of these regulations; or

(b) he contravenes any restrictions, prohibition or

requirement imposed by or under these regulations; or

(c) he conspires or attempt, or aids, or abets, any other

person by whatever means, including advertising,

counseling or procurement to comply with any order

lawfully given in terms of any of the provisions of

these regulations, or to contravene any restriction,

prohibition or requirement imposed by or under the

said regulations.

Any person who commits an offence against these

regulations shall, on conviction, be liable

(a) on a first conviction to a fine (multa) of not less than

one thousand and one hundred and sixty-four euro and

sixty-nine cents (€1,164.69) but not exceeding two

thousand and three hundred and twenty-nine euro and

thirty-seven cents (€2,329.37);

(b) on a second or subsequent conviction, to a fine (multa)

of not less than two thousand and three hundred and

twenty-nine euro and thirty-seven cents (€2,329.37),

but not exceeding four thousand and six hundred and

fifty-eight euro and seventy-five cents (€4,658.75) or

to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or

to both such fine and imprisonment

Provided further that the court shall order any person who

has been found guilty of committing an offence against these

regulations to pay for the expenses incurred by the public entities

and, or other persons acting on their behalf involved in the

implementation of these regulations and restitution of the

environment as a result of the said offence, the revocation of the

permit issued by the Police and the confiscation of the corpus

delicti.

(1) The provisions of articles 23 and 30(1) of the Criminal

Code shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to proceedings in respect of

offences against these regulations, so however that the

disqualification from holding or obtain a licence, permit or

authority shall in no case be for less than one year.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of article 370 of the

C r i m i n a l C o d e , p r o c e e d i n g s f o r a n o ff e n c e a g a i n s t t h e s e

regulations shall be taken before the Court of Magistrates (Malta)

or the Court of Magistrates (Gozo), as the case may be, and shall be

in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Code regulating

the procedure before the said courts as courts of criminal

judicature.

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of the Criminal Code, the

Attorney General shall always have a right of appeal to the Court of

Criminal Appeal from any judgement given by the Court of

Magistrates (Malta) or the Court of Magistrates (Gozo) in respect

of proceedings for any offence against these regulations.

The Annexes to these regulations are being published in

the English language with the English text of these regulations.

URBAN WASTE WATER TREATMENT

ANNEX I

Amended by

L.N. 120 of 2005.

REQUIREMENTS FOR URBAN WASTE WATER

Collecting systems *

A.

Collecting systems shall take into account waste water treatment requirements.

The design, construction and maintenance of collecting systems shall be

undertaken in accordance with the best technical knowledge not entailing excessive

costs, notably regarding

-

volume and characteristics of urban waste water,

-

prevention of leaks,

-

limitation of pollution of receiving waters due to storm water overflows.

Discharge from urban waste water treatment plants to receiving waters †

B.

1. Waste water treatment plants shall be designed or modified so that

representative samples of the incoming waste water and of treated effluent can be

obtained before discharge to receiving waters.

2. Discharges from urban waste water treatment plants subject to treatment in

accordance with Articles 4 and 5 shall meet the requirements shown in Table l.

3. Discharges from urban waste water treatment plants to those sensitive areas

which are subject to eutrophication as identified in Annex II shall in addition meet

the requirements shown in Table 2 of this Annex.

4. More stringent requirements than those shown in Table 1 and,or Table 2

shall be applied where required to ensure that the receiving waters satisfy any other

relevant Directives.

5. The points of discharge of urban waste water shall be chosen, as far as

possible, so as to minimize the effects on receiving waters.

C.

Industrial waste water

Industrial waste water entering collecting systems and urban waste water

treatment plants shall be subject to such pre-treatment as is required in order to

-

protect the health of staff working in collecting systems and treatment

plants,

-

ensure that collecting systems, waste water treatment plants and

associated equipment are not damaged,

-

ensure that the operation of the waste water treatment plant and the

treatment of sludge are not impeded,

-

ensure that discharges from the treatment plants do not adversely affect

the environment, or prevent receiving water from complying with other

regulations,

-

ensure that sludge can be disposed of safety in an environmentally

acceptable manner.

D.

Reference methods for monitoring and evaluation of results

*Given that it is not possible to construe collecting systems and treatment plants in a way such that all waste

water can be treated during situations such as unusually heavy rainfall. Member States shall decide on

measures to limit pollution from storm water overflows. Such measures could be based on dilution rates or

capacity in relation to dry weather flow, or could specify a certain acceptable number of overflows per year.

†Ibid.

URBAN WASTE WATER TREATMENT

1. The competent authority shall ensure that a monitoring method is applied

which corresponds at least with the level of requirements described below.

Alternative methods to those mentioned in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 may be used

provided that it can be demonstrated that equivalent results are obtained.

2. Flow-proportional or time-based 24-hour samples shall be collected at the

same well-defined point in the outlet and if necessary in the inlet of the treatment

plant in order to monitor compliance with the requirements for discharged waste

water laid down in these regulations.

Good international laboratory practices aiming at minimizing the degradation of

samples between collection and analysis shall be applied.

3. The minimum annual number of samples shall be determined according to

the size of the treatment plant and be collected at regular intervals during the year

-

2,000 to 9,999 p.e.

12 samples during the first year.

four samples in subsequent years, if it can be

shown that the water during the first year

complies with the provisions of the

Directive; if one sample of the four fails, 12

samples must be taken in the year that

follows.

-

10,000 to 49,999 p.e.

12 samples.

-

50,000 p.e. or over

24 samples.

4. The treated waste water shall be assumed to conform to the relevant

parameters if, for each relevant parameter considered individually, samples of the

water show that it complies with the relevant parametric value in the following way

(a) for the parameters specified in Table 1 and Article 3(7), a maximum

number of samples which are allowed to fail the requirements,

expressed in concentrations andcor percentage reductions in Table 1 and

Article 3(7), is specified in Table 3;

(b) for the parameters of Table 1 expressed in concentrations, the failing

samples taken under normal operating conditions must not deviate from

the parametric values by more than 100%. For the parametric values in

concentration relating to total suspended solids deviations of up to

150% may be accepted;

(c) for those parameters specified in Table 2 the annual mean of the

samples for each parameter shall conform to the relevant parametric

values.

5. Extreme values for the water quality in question shall not be taken into

consideration when they are the result of unusual situations such as those due to

heavy rain.

Table 1: Requirements for discharges from urban waste water treatment plants

subject to Articles 4 and 5 of the Directive. The values for concentration

or for the percentage of reduction shall apply.

Parameters

Concentration

Minimum

Reference method of

percentage of

measurement

reduction (1)

Biochemical oxygen

25 mg/l O 2

70-90

Homogenized, unfiltered,

d emand (BODS at

undecanted

sample.

without

Determination of dissolved

nitrification (2)

oxygen before and after

five-day incubation at

40 under Article 4(2) 20ºC ± 1ºC, in complete

d a r k n es s . A d d i t i o n o f a

nitrification inhibitor

Chemical oxygen

125 mg/l O 2

Homogenized, unfiltered,

demand (COD)

undecanted

sample.

Potassium dichromate

35 mg/l (1)

90 (1)

To t a l s u s p e n d e d

- Filtering

of

a

representative sample

through a 0,45 µm filter

35 under Article 4(2) 90 under Article 4(2)

mem br ane. Dr yi ng at

(more than 10 000

(more than 10 000

105ºC and weighing

p.e.)

p.e.)

- Centrifuging

of

a

representative sample

(for at least five mins

|

with mean acceleration

60 under Article 4(2) 70 under Article 4(2)

of 2 800 to 3 200 g)

(2 000 - 10 000 p.e.) (2 000 - 10 000 p.e.)

drying at 105ºC and

weighing

(1) Reduction in relation to the load of the influent.

(2) The parameter can be replaced by another panmeter: total organic carbon (TOC) or total

oxygen demand (TOD) if a relationship can be established between BOD5 and the substitute

(3) This requirement is optional.

Analyses concerning discharges from lagooning shall be carried out on filtered samples;

however, the concentntion of total suspended solids in unfiltered water samples shall not

exceed 150 mg/l.

Table 2: Requirements for discharges from urban waste water treatment plants to

sensitive areas which are subject to eutrophication as identified in Annex

II. One or both parameters may be applied depending on the local

situation. The values for concentration or for the percentage of reduction

shall apply

Parameters

Concentration

Minimum

Reference method of

percentage of

measurement

reduction (1)

Total phosphorus

2 mg/l P

Molecular absorption

(10 000 - 100 000

spectrophotometry

p.e.)

1 mg/l P

(more than 100 000

p.e.)

Total nitrogen (2)

15 mg/l N

70-80

Molecular absorption

(10 000 - 100 000

spectrophotometry

p.e.)

10 mg/l N

(more than 100 000

p.e.) (3)

URBAN WASTE WATER TREATMENT

(1) Reduction in relation to the load of the influent.

(2) Total nitrogen means: the sum of total Kjeldahl-nitrogen (organic N + NH 1 ) nitrate

(NO 1 )-nitrogen nod nitrite (NO 2 )-nitrogen.

(3) Alternatively, the daily average must not exceed 20 mg/l N. This requirement refers to a

water temperature of 12ºC or more during the operation of the biological reactor of the waste

water treatment plant. As a substitute for the condition concerning the temperature, it is

possible to apply a limited time of operation, which takes into account the regional climatic

conditions. This alternative applies if it can be shown that paragraph 1 of Annex I D is

fulfilled.

Table 3

Series of samples taken

Maximum permitted number of samples

in any year

which fail to conform

4 - 7

8 - 16

17 - 28

29 - 40

41 - 53

54 - 67

68 - 81

82 - 95

96 - 110

111 - 125

126 - 140

141 - 155

156 - 171

172 - 187

188 - 203

204 - 219

220 - 235

236 - 251

252 - 268

269 - 284

285 - 300

301 - 317

318 - 334

335 - 350

351 - 365

ANNEX II

CRITERIA FOR IDENTIFICATION OF SENSITIVE

AND LESS SENSITIVE AREAS

A. Sensitive areas

A water body must be identified as a sensitive area if it falls into one of the

following groups

(a) natural freshwater lakes, other freshwater bodies, estuaries and coastal

waters which are found to be eutrophic or which in the near future may

become eutrophic if protective action is not taken.

The following elements may be taken into account when considering

which nutrient should be reduced by further treatment

(i)

lakes and streams reaching lakes, reservoirs, closed bays which

are found to have a poor water exchange, whereby accumulation

may take place. In these areas, the removal of phosphorus should

be included unless it can be demonstrated that the removal will

have no effect on the level of eutrophication. Where discharges

from large agglomerations are made, the removal of nitrogen may

also be considered;

(ii) estuaries, bays and other coastal waters which are found to have a

poor water exchange, or which receive large quantities of

nutrients. Discharges from small agglomerations are usually of

minor importance in those areas, but for large agglomerations, the

removal of phosphorus and, or nitrogen should be included unless

it can be demonstrated that the removal will have no effect on the

level of eutrophication;

(b) surface freshwaters intended for the abstraction of drinking water which

could contain more than the concentration of nitrate laid down under the

relevant regulations concerning the quality required of surface water

intended for the abstraction of drinking water if action is not taken;

(c) areas where further treatment than that prescribed in regulation 5 of

these regulations is necessary to fulfill other regulations.

Less sensitive areas

A marine water body or area can be identified as a less sensitive area if the

discharge of waste water does not adversely affect the environment as a result of

morphology, hydrology or specific hydraulic conditions which exist in that area.

When identifying less sensitive areas, the competent authority shall take into

account the risk that the discharged load may be transferred to adjacent areas where

it can cause detrimental environmental effects. The competent authority shall

recognize the presence of sensitive areas outside its national jurisdiction.

The following elements shall be taken into consideration when identifying less

open bays, estuaries and other coastal waters with a good water

exchange and not subject to eutrophication or oxygen depletion or

which are considered unlikely to become eutrophic or to develop

oxygen depletion due to the discharge of urban waste water.

URBAN WASTE WATER TREATMENT

ANNEX III

INDUSTRIAL SECTORS

1. Milk-processing

2. Manufacture of fruit and vegetable products

3. Manufacture and bottling of soft drinks

4. Potato-processing

5. Meat industry

6. Breweries

7. Production of alcohol and alcoholic beverages

8. Manufacture of animal feed from plant products

9. Manufacture of gelatine and of glue from hides, skin and bones

10. Malt-houses

11. Fish-processing industry

1. Given that it is not possible to construct collecting systems and treatment plants in a way such

that all waste water can be treated dming situations such as unusually heavy rainfall. Member States shall

decide on measures to limit pollution from storm water overflows. Such measures could be based on

dilution rates or capacity in relation to dry weather flow, or could specify a certain acceptable number of

overflows per year.

2. Ibid.