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1. This Regulation applies whenever treated urban waste water is reused, in accordance with Article 12(1) of Directive 91/271/EEC, for agricultural irrigation as specified in Section 1 of Annex I to this Regulation.

2. A Member State may decide that it is not appropriate to reuse water for agricultural irrigation in one or more of its river basin districts or parts thereof, taking into account the following criteria:

(a) the geographic and climatic conditions of the district or parts thereof;

(b) the pressures on and the status of other water resources, including the quantitative status of groundwater bodies as referred to in Directive 2000/60/EC;

(c) the pressures on and the status of the surface water bodies in which treated urban waste water is discharged;

(d) the environmental and resource costs of reclaimed water and of other water resources. Any decision taken pursuant to the first subparagraph shall be duly justified on the basis of the criteria referred to in that subparagraph and submitted to the Commission. It shall be reviewed as necessary, in particular taking into account climate change projections and national climate change adaptation strategies, and at least every six years taking into account river basin management plans established pursuant to Directive 2000/60/EC.

3. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, research or pilot projects in relation to reclamation facilities may be exempted from this Regulation where the competent authority establishes that the following criteria are met:

(a) the research or pilot project will not be carried out within a water body used for the abstraction of water intended for human consumption or a relevant safeguard zone designated pursuant to Directive 2000/60/EC;

(b) the research or pilot project will be subject to appropriate monitoring. Any exemption pursuant to this paragraph shall be limited to a maximum period of five years. Crops resulting from a research or pilot project exempted pursuant to this paragraph shall not be placed on the market.

4. This Regulation applies without prejudice to Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 and does not preclude food business operators from obtaining the water quality required to comply with that Regulation by using, at a subsequent stage, several water treatment options alone or in combination with non-treatment options, or from using alternative water sources for agricultural irrigation.