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1. Member States shall ensure that discharges from urban wastewater treatment plants treating urban wastewater with a load of 150 000 p.e. and above and not applying tertiary treatment on 1 January 2025 satisfy, before being discharged into receiving waters, the relevant requirements of tertiary treatment in accordance with Part B and Table 2 of Annex I by:

(a) 31 December 2033 for discharges from 30 % of those urban wastewater treatment plants;

(b) 31 December 2036 for discharges from 70 % of those urban wastewater treatment plants. By 31 December 2039, Member States shall ensure that all discharges from urban wastewater treatment plants treating urban wastewater with a load of 150 000 p.e. and above satisfy, before being discharged into receiving waters, the relevant requirements of tertiary treatment referred to in Part B and Table 2 of Annex I.

2. By 31 December 2027, Member States shall establish and publish a list of areas on their territory that are sensitive to eutrophication. They shall include with that list information on whether the areas are phosphorus- or nitrogen-sensitive or both. They shall update that list every six years starting on 31 December 2033. The list referred to in the first subparagraph shall include the areas identified in Annex II. The requirement set out in the first subparagraph shall not apply where a Member State implements tertiary treatment in accordance with paragraph 5 in its entire territory.

3. Without prejudice to paragraph 1, Member States shall ensure that discharges from urban wastewater treatment plants treating urban wastewater from agglomerations of 10 000 p.e. and above satisfy, before being discharged into areas included in the list referred to in paragraph 2, the relevant requirements of tertiary treatment set out in Part B and Table 2 of Annex I by:

(a) 31 December 2033 for 20 % of those agglomerations;

(b) 31 December 2036 for 40 % of those agglomerations;

(c) 31 December 2039 for 60 % of those agglomerations;

(d) 31 December 2045 for all of those agglomerations.

4. Member States may derogate from the deadline referred to in paragraph 3, point (d), for a maximum of eight years on condition that:

(a) at least 50 % of the agglomerations concerned are not applying tertiary treatment in accordance with the requirements set out in Directive 91/271/EEC or do not meet the requirements of Part B and Table 2 of Annex I to that Directive on 1 January 2025; and (b) the first national implementation programme submitted under Article 23(2) includes:

(i) the number of agglomerations referred to in paragraph 3 lacking tertiary treatment in accordance with the requirements set out in Directive 91/271/EEC or not meeting the requirements of Part B and Table 2 of Annex I to that Directive on 1 January 2025;

(ii) a plan detailing the investments necessary to reach full compliance for those agglomerations within the extended deadline; and (iii) the technical or economic reasons justifying the extension of the deadline referred to in paragraph 3, point (d).

The extension of the deadline referred to in this paragraph shall be effective only if the conditions of the first subparagraph are fulfilled. The Commission shall notify the Member States if those conditions are not fulfilled by 31 July 2028. However, urban wastewater treatment plants treating a load of 150 000 p.e. and above shall meet the deadlines set in paragraph 1.

5. Discharges of urban wastewater referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3 shall meet the relevant requirements in Part B and Table 2 of Annex I in accordance with the methods for monitoring and evaluation of results laid down in Part C of Annex I. The annual mean of the samples for each parameter referred to in Table 2 of Annex I shall conform to the relevant parametric values set out in that table.

6. For urban wastewater treatment plants that are under construction, under major refurbishment as regards their tertiary treatment or were commissioned after 31 December 2020 and before 1 January 2025, the requirements relating to the nitrogen parameter as referred to in this Article shall apply at the latest five years from the deadlines established in paragraphs 1 and 3.

7. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27 to amend Part C of Annex I in order to adapt the methods for monitoring and evaluation of results in relation to tertiary treatment to scientific and technical progress.

8. By way of derogation from paragraphs 3 and 5, Member States may decide that an individual urban wastewater treatment plant situated in an area included in the list referred to in paragraph 2 is not to be subject to the requirements set out in paragraphs 3 and 5 where it can be shown that the minimum percentage of reduction of the overall load entering all urban wastewater treatment plants in that area is:

(a) at least 75 % for total phosphorus and at least 75 % for total nitrogen from 1 January 2025;

(b) 82,5 % for total phosphorus and 80 % for total nitrogen by 31 December 2039;

(c) 87,5 % for total phosphorus and 82,5 % for total nitrogen by 31 December 2045.

9. Discharges from urban wastewater treatment plants of 10 000 p.e. and above into a catchment area of an area sensitive to eutrophication included in the list referred to in paragraph 2 shall also be subject to paragraphs 3, 5 and 8.

10. Member States shall ensure that discharges from urban wastewater treatment plants which are situated in an area included in the list referred to in paragraph 2 following one of the regular updates of the list required by that paragraph fulfil the requirements laid down in paragraphs 3 and 5 within seven years of the inclusion in that list.

11. Where the number of urban wastewater treatment plants that need to be upgraded to meet the objectives referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3 at national level is not an integer, the number of urban wastewater treatment plants shall be rounded to the nearest integer. In the case of equidistance between two integers, the number shall be rounded down.