§2.1 Examples of various types of IROPI and their justification

Article 6(4) of the Habitats Directive: ‘If, in spite of a negative assessment of the implications for the site and in the absence of alternative solutions, a plan or project must nevertheless be carried out for imperative reasons of overriding public interest, including those of a social or economic nature, the Member State shall take all compensatory measures necessary to ensure that the overall coherence of Natura 2000 is protected. It shall inform the Commission of the compensatory measures adopted. Where the site concerned hosts a priority natural habitat type and/or a priority species, the only considerations which may be raised are those relating to human health or public safety, to beneficial consequences of primary importance for the environment or, further to an opinion from the Commission, to other imperative reasons of overriding public interest.’ IROPI of a social or economic nature (site with non-priority target features) Project: Proposed Upgrade to an existing Water Treatment Plant at Lough Talt, Co. Sligo (Ireland, 2019). Project and Natura 2000 site description: Since the 1950s, an upland lake Lough Talt, part of SAC IE0000633 Lough Hoe Bog, has served as a source of water for a population of more than 13 000 inhabitants via a single Water Treatment Plant (WTP). An upgrade of the WTP is required to provide a consistent supply of potable drinking water, matching the current abstraction levels. The hydrogeological investigations concluded that, during periods of extended dry weather, the lake abstraction operation contributes to a significant drop in lake level which has an adverse impact on the habitat of the Geyer's Whorl Snail Vertigo geyeri. To avoid this impact it would be necessary for the abstraction to be reduced by approximately 50 % during a significant portion of the year. Although V. geyeri has not been recorded at the site since 2007, its population is considered important at the country scale and has to be restored. The proposed conservation measures will improve the habitat conditions through a system of irrigation and rewetting. They do not however mitigate for the historical loss of the species due to abstraction pressures. The proposed project will continue to change the abiotic and biotic dynamics that define the structure and function of V. geyeri population, thus causing delays in achieving its conservation objective. Alternative solutions: Seven alternatives including the ‘do nothing’ scenario (option zero) were assessed according to their health, social, and ecological impacts. The only available option in the immediate short term is to provide upgraded treatment at the existing WTP site to improve the treatment barrier against parasitic protozoans and the exceedances in environmental pollutants trihalomethanes (THM). This upgrade will provide water that is safe to drink to the local population for approximately 7-10 years while a long-term sustainable solution is developed and implemented. IROPI justification: Provide safe and reliable drinking water to a population of more than 13 000. Proposed compensatory measures: The restoration of a sustainable population of Geyer’s whorl snail to the SAC is proposed through a detailed programme of temporary irrigation of the key calcareous fen habitat until the abstraction pressure is removed from the site. In conjunction with the irrigation management, ongoing monitoring of the irrigation system function and staged translocations of snails to the fen habitat are proposed over a four year period, starting with less sensitive species and culminating in the translocation of Vertigo geyeri from another SAC where it has a favourable conservation condition. Justification of IROPI: protection of lives and property Project: Implementation of a dirigible flood protection polder Rösa (Germany, 2014). Project and Natura 2000 site description: The aim of the project is to upgrade the current flood protection structures of a dry polder next to the village of Rösa up to HQ200 (the peak level at maximum discharge occurring once within a 200-year period) protection level. Main elements of the project consist of: about 7,5 km of restored dykes 5 m wide at the bottom and 3 m wide on the crest; new influx and discharge installations; and two flood protection walls 1 225 m and 310 m long. The current dykes ensure protection against HQ100 only, but due to unpredictable extreme weather events, floods exceeding this level are likely and could seriously damage settlements and industry located downstream of the current polder. The project is to be constructed within the SAC DE4340301 Muldeaue oberhalb Pouch, affecting the following target habitat types through direct land take: 6430 – 604 m2 (0,17 % of the area of this habitat type within the SAC); 6510 – 40 665 m2 (20,33 %); 91F0: 456 m2 (0,46 %). According to the official German methodology for assessing impact significance, all these impacts are considered ‘significant’ (including those with apparently negligible land take, as many factors other than the mere percentage of land take are considered). Alternative solutions: No project alternative exists due to the character of the river valley; however, the search for alternatives resulted in many smaller adjustments being made to the project which would reduce its adverse effects (such as e.g. change in dyke slope inclination enabling reestablishment of grasslands, tiny relocations of dykes and walls, etc.). IROPI justification: Construction of the polder dyke is necessary in order to increase the dyke’s safety as well as protect the population from floods. Therefore, the main IROPI justification is linked to the public safety and human health. Proposed compensatory measures: Habitat type 6430 will be created inside the SAC in a ratio 1 : 8. Habitat type 6510 will be re-created on the slopes of the dyke mostly outside the SAC in a ratio 1 : 5. The lost forest habitats 91F0 (having a quality ‘D’) will be compensated by planting of a new forest with the same species composition in a ratio 1 : 4 as well as planting a tree ‘mantle’ along existing forests in a ratio 1 : 16, all mostly outside the site. To maintain the network coherence, the SAC area will be increased to embrace the locations of compensatory measures. Justification of IROPI: other reasons including social and economic ones Project: Public works for a high-speed train between Tours and Bordeaux (France, 2013). Project and Natura 2000 site description: The project is for a new high-speed train line between Tours and Bordeaux. This includes the laying of a new line (302 km) and its connection t- o existing railway lines (38 km), as well as lateral pathways, basins, electricity facilities, over and underpasses (for agriculture paths, fauna passages), working platforms, and ancillary facilities. The route is to cross four SPAs (FR5412006 Vallée de la Charente en amont d’Angoulême, FR5412018 Plaines du Mirebelais et du Neuvillois, FR5412021 Plaines de Villefagnan, FR5412022 Plaine de la Mothe St Héray Lezay) and two SACs (FR5402010 Vallée du Lary et du Palais, FR5400405 Coteaux calcaires laine de la Mothe St Héray Lezay). Adverse effects consist of the likely destruction of 1,9 ha of wet meadows and 4,2 ha of secondary habitats important for conservation of the Corncrake Crex. It will also directly affect 185 ha and indirectly (disturbance) affect 2 947 ha of potential habitats of Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax; lead to the destruction of 2 ha of habitat (wet heathland) of False Ringlet Coenonympha oedippus; as well as the destruction of 0,35 ha of one of the best occurrences of 6210 Semi-natural dry grasslands and scrubland facies on calcareous substrates (Festuco-Brometalia) and fragment the local connectivity of this habitat. Alternative solutions: Three alternatives for the route were assessed. With regard to the high-speed line, there is not much flexibility to introduce partial shifts of the route; and it was concluded that the chosen alternative has the least adverse impacts on Natura 2000 sites while being still technically feasible. IROPI justification: With 340 km of new line between Tours and Bordeaux, this high-speed line (TGV) is one of the most important railway projects on a European scale. It will create an efficient link on the Atlantic coast to meet the growing demand for mobility. With a commercial speed of 300 km/h, it will make it easier for travellers to travel and improve service to towns on the route. Barely more than two hours to connect Paris to Bordeaux, the competitive advantage of rail transport over air transport becomes decisive, thus promoting modal shift. This project will play an essential role in strengthening the trans-European axis connecting, via the Atlantic coast, the regions of N and E Europe to the SW of France and the Iberian Peninsula. It will also boost the activity of the territories concerned: improving competitiveness and expanding markets for regional businesses; facilitation of travel for activities requiring high mobility, a major argument for a new establishment or relocation from Paris to the regions; development of tourism, in particular short-term stays; creation of jobs, during construction and operation; development major urban projects. For travellers, the train is a fast and comfortable means of transport, 34 times safer than the car. A TGV can transport up to 1 000 passengers at 300 km/h. It is also an energy-efficient and space-saving mode of travel. The high-speed train has a key role to play in reducing the energy bill and developing regions sustainably. It produces 20 times less greenhouse gasses than the car and 45 times less than the plane. It does not generate any local atmospheric pollution: electric trains provide 90 % of the traffic. For the community, the cost of transporting passengers or goods in terms of pollution, accidents and climatic impacts is 4,5 times higher by road than by rail. Proposed compensatory measures: 35 ha were purchased for the Corncrake to compensate the 6,1 ha of habitat loss. For Little bustard, the compensation scheme in three SPAs will comprise 702 ha: 160 ha will be purchased and 542 ha will have a management contract with measures in line with the management plans for SPAs. A monitoring programme is foreseen and a private body will participate in a reintroduction programme. 5 ha of land with the habitat type 6210 will be purchased (compensation 1 : 14). Justification of IROPI: other reasons further to an opinion from the Commission Project: Deepening the Danube waterway between Straubing and Vilshofen; section Straubing-Deggendorf (Germany, 2019). Project and Natura 2000 site description: On Danube River between Straubing – Deggendorf (about 40 km), the conditions for navigation during the low water periods (draught 2 m) were never put in place, contrary to the section up- (2,90 m) and downstream (2,70 m) making this a bottleneck. The draught of 2,50 m can only been reached on middle water, which is available for only 144 days/year. The aim of the project is to overcome this obstacle to navigation, and to build improved flood protection measures. The final design will result in the deepening of the riverbed by 20 cm to -2,20 cm, as compared to today’s low water stand of -2,00 m. It will also further deepen the riverbed by 45 cm to -2,65 cm. in a 9,7 km long section. Meanwhile the flood protection measures should provide protection against Q100 (the maximum discharge occurring once within a 100-year period). The project section of Straubing-Vilshofen has the highest number of accidents due to the current profile of the ship fairway. The study puts the number of accidents at 39 per year (2004), increasing to 55,4 by 2025 due to the increasing volume of transport. The project will affect a large SAC (4 720 ha) DE7142301 Donauauen zwischen Straubing und Vilshofen. Likely significant impacts, both direct, indirect and in-combination, were identified on 7 fish species, 1 butterfly species and 1 mollusc species and 7 habitat types, including the priority 91E0* alluvial forests with Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus excelsior. Alternative solutions: In addition to the selected project design, four other alternatives as well as zero alternative were thoroughly assessed. None of the alternatives would give rise to a significantly lower impact than the chosen option because they would either cover a larger area of the SAC than the proposed project or would significantly affect a larger habitat for protected species. IROPI justification: (a) Meeting the objective of national and European transport policy: Deepening the Danube between Straubing and Vilshofen closes a gap in the existing waterway connection linking the North Sea to the Black Sea via the Rhine, the Main, the Main-Danube Canal and the Danube. Under the EU Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013 on Union guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network, the Danube federal waterway forms part of the core network of the European TEN-T network, and is of high economic interest for Europe. (b) Better connectivity for inland ports: The project will improve navigation conditions in the project area when water levels in the Danube are low. Unlike other modes of transport, shipping on the Danube still has free transport capacity, which could be used more efficiently by deepening the ship fairway. (c) Safety and ease of navigation: The implementation of the project could reduce the frequency of accidents from anticipated 55,4 to 42,4 per year, despite the increase in traffic. (d) Predicted increase in transport: The freight volume is expected to increase from 7.0 million tonnes/year (2007) to 9,7 million tonnes/year by 2025 or to increase by 50 % to 10,5 million tonnes/year. Proposed compensatory measures: All habitat types affected, including the priority one 91E0*, will be compensated by creation of new habitats at a ratio of 3:1. For Maculinea nausithous, new grassland habitats will be created, as well as new habitats for Unio crassus in a form of new river islands and river branches (the latter serving also the affected fish species). Long-term monitoring and conservation management of new habitats is envisaged. Commission’s opinion (full version published at: (https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/management/opinion_en.htm):

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07