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1. Member States shall ensure that discharges from urban wastewater treatment plants treating urban wastewater from agglomerations of 2 000 p.e. and above satisfy, before being discharged into receiving waters, the relevant requirements of secondary treatment set out in Part B and Table 1 of Annex I in accordance with the methods for monitoring and evaluation of results laid down in Part C of Annex I. Without prejudice to the possibility of using alternative methods as referred to in Part C, point 1, of Annex I, the maximum permitted number of samples which fail to conform to the parametric values of Part B and Table 1 of Annex I is set out in Part C and Table 4 of Annex I. For agglomerations of 2 000 p.e. and above but below 10 000 p.e. which are discharging into coastal waters as defined under Directive 2000/60/EC and which apply appropriate treatment in accordance with Article 7 of Directive 91/271/EEC on 1 January 2025, the obligation set out in the first subparagraph shall not apply until 31 December 2037.

2. For agglomerations discharging urban wastewater into less sensitive areas as referred to in Article 6(1) of Directive 91/271/EEC on 1 January 2025, the obligations set out in paragraph 1, first subparagraph, shall apply on 31 December 2037.

3. By 31 December 2035, Member States shall ensure that discharges from urban wastewater treatment plants treating urban wastewater from agglomerations of 1 000 p.e. and above but below 2 000 p.e. satisfy, before being discharged into receiving waters, the relevant requirements of secondary treatment set out in Part B and Table 1 of Annex I in accordance with the methods for monitoring and evaluation of results laid down in Part C of Annex I. Without prejudice to the possibility of using alternative methods as referred to in Part C, point 1, of Annex I, the maximum permitted number of samples which fail to conform to the parametric values of Part B and Table 1 of Annex I is set out in Part C and Table 4 of Annex I. Member States may derogate from the deadline referred to in the first subparagraph for a maximum period of:

(a) 8 years where on 1 January 2025:

(i) in less than 50 % of the agglomerations referred to in the first subparagraph the urban wastewater discharges are subject to secondary treatment on their territory, in accordance with Part B and Table 1 of Annex I; or (ii) less than 50 % of the urban wastewater load of the agglomerations referred to in the first subparagraph is subject to secondary treatment on their territory, in accordance with Part B and Table 1 of Annex I;

(b) 10 years where on 1 January 2025:

(i) in less than 25 % of the agglomerations referred to in the first subparagraph the urban wastewater discharges are subject to secondary treatment on their territory, in accordance with Part B and Table 1 of Annex I; or (ii) less than 25 % of the urban wastewater load of the agglomerations referred to in the first subparagraph is subject to secondary treatment on their territory, in accordance with Part B and Table 1 of Annex I. Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania may derogate from the deadline referred to in the first subparagraph for a maximum period of:

(a) 12 years where on 1 January 2025, (i) in less than 50 % of the agglomerations referred to in the first subparagraph the urban wastewater discharges are subject to secondary treatment on their territory, in accordance with Part B and Table 1 of Annex I; or (ii) less than 50 % of the urban wastewater load of the agglomerations referred to in the first subparagraph is subject to secondary treatment on their territory, in accordance with Part B and Table 1 of Annex I;

(b) 14 years where on 1 January 2025 (i) in less than 25 % of the agglomerations referred to in the first subparagraph the urban wastewater discharges are subject to secondary treatment on their territory, in accordance with Part B and Table 1 of Annex I; or (ii) less than 25 % of the urban wastewater load of the agglomerations referred to in the first subparagraph is subject to secondary treatment on their territory, in accordance with Part B and Table 1 of Annex I. Where Member States derogate from the deadline referred to in the first subparagraph, they shall ensure that their first national implementation programme referred to in Article 23 includes:

(a) the number of agglomerations of 1 000 p.e. and above but below 2 000 p.e. that lack secondary treatment on 1 January 2025;

(b) a plan detailing the investments necessary to reach full compliance for those agglomerations within the extended deadlines; and (c) the technical or economic reasons justifying the extensions of the deadline referred to in the first subparagraph. The extensions of the deadline referred to in the first subparagraph shall apply only if the conditions of the second or third subparagraph and the fourth subparagraph are fulfilled. The Commission shall notify the Member States if those conditions are not fulfilled by 31 July 2028.

4. Urban wastewater discharges may be subject to treatment less stringent than that prescribed in paragraphs 1 and 3 until 31 December 2045 where they are discharged into:

(a) waters situated in high mountain regions, namely above an altitude of 1 500 m, where it is difficult to apply an effective biological treatment due to low temperatures;

(b) deep marine waters where such discharges of urban wastewater are from agglomerations of below 150 000 p.e. in less-populated outermost regions within the meaning of Article 349 TFEU in which the topography and geography of the territory makes it difficult to apply an effective biological treatment; or (c) urban wastewater from small agglomerations of 1 000 p.e. and above but below 2 000 p.e. situated in regions with a cold climate where it is difficult to apply an effective biological treatment due to low temperatures if the average quarterly water temperature of the inlet is below 6 oC.

The conditions to apply the first subparagraph are that Member States concerned provide the Commission with detailed studies demonstrating that such discharges do not adversely affect the environment and human health and they do not prevent the receiving waters from meeting the relevant quality objectives and the relevant provisions of other relevant Union law.

5. The load expressed in p.e. shall be calculated on the basis of the maximum average weekly load entering the urban wastewater treatment plant during the year, excluding unusual weather situations such as those due to heavy rain.