(j)

a prohibition of direct discharges of pollutants into groundwater subject to the following provisions: Member States may authorise reinjection into the same aquifer of water used for geothermal purposes. They may also authorise, specifying the conditions for: — injection of water containing substances resulting from the operations for exploration and extraction of hydrocarbons or mining activities, and injection of water for technical reasons, into geological formations from which hydrocarbons or other substances have been extracted or into geological formations which for natural reasons are permanently unsuitable for other purposes. Such injections shall not contain substances other than those resulting from the above operations, — reinjection of pumped groundwater from mines and quarries or associated with the construction or maintenance of civil engineering works, — injection of natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for storage purposes into geological formations which for natural reasons are permanently unsuitable for other purposes, — injection of carbon dioxide streams for storage purposes into geological formations which for natural reasons are permanently unsuitable for other purposes, provided that such injection is made in accordance with Directive 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the geological storage of carbon dioxide ( 13 ) or excluded from the scope of that Directive pursuant to its Article 2(2), — injection of natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for storage purposes into other geological formations where there is an overriding need for security of gas supply, and where the injection is such as to prevent any present or future danger of deterioration in the quality of any receiving groundwater, — construction, civil engineering and building works and similar activities on, or in the ground which come into contact with groundwater. For these purposes, Member States may determine that such activities are to be treated as having been authorised provided that they are conducted in accordance with general binding rules developed by the Member State in respect of such activities, — discharges of small quantities of substances for scientific purposes for characterisation, protection or remediation of water bodies limited to the amount strictly necessary for the purposes concerned provided such discharges do not compromise the achievement of the environmental objectives established for that body of groundwater;

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Source: EUR-Lex CELLAR · retrieved 2026-08-09 · Text as consolidated on 2026-05-10; changes after this date are not shown.