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ANNEX II THRESHOLD VALUES FOR GROUNDWATER POLLUTANTS AND INDICATORS OF POLLUTION
Part A: Guidelines for the establishment of threshold values by Member States in accordance with Article 3
Member States will establish threshold values for all pollutants and indicators of pollution which, pursuant to the characterisation performed in accordance with Article 5 of Directive 2000/60/EC, characterise bodies or groups of bodies of groundwater as being at risk of failing to achieve good groundwater chemical status.
Threshold values will be established in such a way that, should the monitoring results at a representative monitoring point exceed the thresholds, this will indicate a risk that one or more of the conditions for good groundwater chemical status referred to in Article 4(2)(b)(ii), (iii) and (iv) are not being met.
When establishing threshold values, Member States will consider the following guidelines:
1. The determination of threshold values should be based on:
(a) the extent of interactions between groundwater and associated aquatic and dependent terrestrial ecosystems;
(b) the interference with actual or potential legitimate uses or functions of groundwater;
(c) all pollutants which characterise bodies of groundwater as being at risk, taking into account the minimum list set up in part B;
(d) hydro-geological characteristics including information on background values and water balance.
2. The determination of threshold values should also take account of the origins of the pollutants, their possible natural occurrence, their toxicology and dispersion tendency, their persistence and their bioaccumulation potential.
3. The determination of threshold values should be supported by a control mechanism for the data collected, based on an evaluation of data quality, analytical considerations, and background levels for substances which may occur both naturally and as a result of human activities.
Part B: Minimum list of pollutants and their indicators for which Member States have to consider establishing threshold values in accordance with Article 3
1. Substances or ions which may occur both naturally and as a result of human activities
Arsenic
Cadmium
Lead
Mercury
Ammonium
Chloride
Sulphate
2. Man-made synthetic substances
Trichloroethylene
Tetrachloroethylene
3. Parameters indicative of saline or other intrusions 1
Conductivity
1 With regard to saline concentrations resulting from human activities, Member States may decide to establish threshold values either for sulphate and chloride or for conductivity.
Part C: Information to be provided by Member States with regard to the pollutants and their indicators for which threshold values have been established
Member States will summarise, in the river basin management plans to be submitted in accordance with Article 13 of Directive 2000/60/EC, the way the procedure set out in Part A of this Annex has been followed.
In particular, Member States will provide, where feasible:
(a) information on the number of bodies or groups of bodies of groundwater characterised as being at risk and on the pollutants and indicators of pollution which contribute to this classification, including the observed concentrations/values;
(b) information on each of the bodies of groundwater characterised as being at risk, in particular the size of the bodies, the relationship between the bodies of groundwater and the associated surface waters and directly dependent terrestrial ecosystems, and, in the case of naturally-occurring substances, the natural background levels in the bodies of groundwater;
(c) the threshold values, whether they apply at the national level, at the level of the river basin district or the part of the international river basin district falling within the territory of the Member State, or at the level of a body or a group of bodies of groundwater;
(d) the relationship between the threshold values and:
(i) in the case of naturally-occurring substances, the observed background levels,
(ii) the environmental quality objectives and other standards for water protection that exist at national, Community or international level, and
(iii) any relevant information concerning the toxicology, eco-toxicology, persistence, bioaccumulation potential, and dispersion tendency of the pollutants.
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