Summary
Do you manufacture individual wastewater treatment systems? Do you represent a company that manufactures individual wastewater treatment systems outside the European Union?
Do you wish to improve your visibility via the list of authorised wastewater treatment systems for installation in Wallonia?
In Wallonia, authorisation for a new individual wastewater treatment system (système d’épuration individuelle, SEI) is free of charge.
The authorisation for an SEI is valid for 5 years.
It covers the three categories of individual wastewater treatment systems:
- Wastewater treatment units (from a 5 to 20 population equivalent – PE).
- Wastewater treatment systems (from a 21 to 99 PE).
- Wastewater treatment plants (over a 100 PE).
The usable capacity of individual wastewater treatment systems (SEIs) is determined on the basis of the number of population equivalents (PE) of the dwelling or group of dwellings served by the system.
The advantages of an authorised SEI
In Wallonia, the purchase of authorised systems is encouraged because :
- it can give entitlement to an allowance;
- it guarantees correct information on the implementation of the system, as well as a guide for correct operation.
The list of authorised SEIs in Wallonia is public and, as a result, provides visibility for your company in the on‑site sanitation market.
Proposing a device for authorisation allows it to be assessed by the Committee of Experts for on‑site sanitation in Wallonia.
The experts for on‑site sanitation in Wallonia
The Committee of Experts is composed of representatives chosen for their technical competence in the field and drawn from:
- the Department of the Environment and Water of the Public Service of Wallonia Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment (SPW ARNE);
- academic or scientific bodies of the faculties of science or applied sciences of the universities in Wallonia;
- representative associations in the field of the design, manufacture and installation of SEIs;
- representative associations in the field of training in the installation and operation of SEIs;
- AQUAWAL, the professional union of public operators of the water cycle in Wallonia;
- the Public Water Management Company (Société publique de Gestion de l’Eau, SPGE);
- the Cabinet of the Minister with responsibility for water.
The members are appointed for a term of 5 years. The list of members is published in the Belgian Official Gazette (Moniteur belge) by ministerial decree.
The obligations to be complied with
To have an SEI authorised, as a licensed manufacturer or operator, you must therefore:
- ensure that it complies with certain technical conditions laid down in the regulations;
- provide the system operator and all stakeholders in the sector with a comprehensive information guide and an operating guide for the system;
- enable the system operator to guarantee compliance with the general and sectoral conditions associated with the class 2 environmental permit or class 3 declaration.
See the conditions set out in the ‘Conditions’ section below.
How to apply for authorisation?
To obtain authorisation for your SEI, submit your application and a detailed technical file to the Secretariat of the Committee of Experts for on‑site sanitation (see the ‘Procedure’ section below).
Key points
Authorisation for an individual wastewater treatment system is valid for 5 years. It is free of charge.
The average duration from the application for authorisation to the publication of the authorisation is 5‑6 months (notwithstanding any additional request relating to your file, which would then suspend its examination and extend this period).
In detail
Companies wishing to have a new individual wastewater treatment system authorised for installation in Wallonia:
- manufacturers of individual wastewater treatment systems;
- licensed operators of a product manufactured outside the EU and representing its manufacturer on the Belgian and European markets.
Technical conditions
You must attach to your application a technical file that will enable the on‑site sanitation experts to assess the quality of the individual wastewater treatment system that you propose.
The technical file must specify the conditions for use of the individual wastewater treatment system, i.e. whether it is designed solely for continuous use or also for intermittent use, allowing prolonged and frequent stoppages of the system.
It must contain at least:
- a diagram of the wastewater treatment system;
- the operating principle of each element and any upstream operation that it involves;
- the technical plans listed for each element;
- the description and technical data sheets for the electromechanical equipment and accessories;
- the general layout plan, showing the inspection, maintenance, drainage and control manholes, as well as the means of accessing the various manholes;
- the dimensioning criteria for the various stages of the system;
- the control and monitoring systems.
It must be accompanied by :
- a grid or table explicitly associating the dimensions of the works (volume, surface area, electromechanical power, etc.) according to the nominal load to be treated for all the components of one type of manufacture;
- a guide for the installation of the system with the aim of ensuring the correct installation of the system and its components and providing comprehensive information for the user;
- an operating guide enabling the purchaser to best fulfil their environmental protection obligations, both in terms of day-to-day management and maintenance. The guide must be supplemented by a booklet summarising the main points of attention for use by the operator.
See the technical conditions and the conditions of the authorisation file in more detail in Annex XLVIIIb under the ‘Legal provisions’ section.
Any modification to the wastewater treatment system authorised by the manufacturer must be communicated in advance to the Committee of Experts on on‑site sanitation, which will consider whether a new application for authorisation of the modified SEI is necessary.
Authorisation offers a number of advantages, including:
- better visibility of the authorised system and, consequently, of the manufacturer or operator;
- improved collaboration and exchanges with various stakeholders active on Walloon territory via the Committee of Experts:
- intercommunal services,
- emptying services,
- installers,
- controllers,
- maintenance service providers.
TO OBTAIN AUTHORISATION FOR A NEW SEI
- Submit your application for authorisation to the Secretariat of the Committee of Experts on on‑site sanitation in Wallonia:
By mail:
Secretariat of the Committee of Experts on on‑site sanitation
Avenue de Stassart, 14-16
5000 Namur
By email to: hind.chaiboub@spge.be
Include the following information in your written application:
- your identity (that of the applicant);
- the trade name of the individual wastewater treatment system that you wish to have authorised;
- the manufacturing centres.
Attach the full technical file and the operating guide and information guide (see the ‘Conditions’ section above for further details on the composition of the file).
- Acknowledgement of receipt of your application for authorisation by the Secretariat of the Committee of Experts on on‑site sanitation.
The Secretariat will check the completeness and admissibility of your application within 20 working days from the date of receipt of your application and send you an acknowledgement of receipt.
If your application is incomplete:
- The Secretariat of the Committee will inform you, by email or registered mail, of the missing documents to be sent to it.
- From the date of the letter or email, you will have 30 working days within which to provide the missing elements of your application for authorisation.
- These missing elements will be added to your application within 10 working days, at the end of which you will receive an acknowledgement of receipt if your application is complete.
If the file has not been completed, or is not deemed to be complete within the specified time limit, you will receive a letter stating that your application for authorisation is not being taken into account.
- Examination of the application and assessment of the case by the Committee of Experts on on‑site sanitation
The experts will examine your application according to three criteria:
- technical criterion,
- operational criterion,
- information criterion,
Each criterion is rated.
To receive authorisation, your SEI must obtain a minimum overall average rating of 70%. In addition, no criterion can be given a score of less than 50%.
During the examination, the Committee of Experts may ask you for any information it deems necessary to carry out its examination or task.
The processing time for your application will be suspended pending receipt of the additional information.
- Reasoned opinion of the Committee of Experts
The reasoned opinion (positive or negative) of the Committee of Experts will be sent within 3 months once the application for authorisation has been deemed to be complete and admissible to the Department of the Environment and Water of the Public Service of Wallonia Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment.
The Director-General of the Department of the Environment and Water of the Public Service of Wallonia Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment will take a decision on the basis of the opinion received by the Committee of Experts.
In the event of a positive reasoned opinion, the Director-General will issue the authorisation within 2 months of the Committee’s opinion. Authorisation will take the form of an administrative decision which includes, in particular:
- a specific reference number:
- presented as follows: year/ manufacturer’s code/ system code/ system version,
- shown on an identification plate visible on the SEI,
- certifying that the device complies with the requirements of the authorisation issued by the SPW ARNE;
- a descriptive extract from the file (technical and operational data);
- the references of the installation guide (for the correct installation) and operating guide (for good management and performance guarantee).
The authorisation will be granted for a type of manufacture which, for a given size variation, does not differ in design in the number or arrangement of the components making up the system.
You will receive a copy of the authorisation order and an extract from the reasoned opinion of the Committee of Experts where any points for improvement are to be considered for your SEI.
The authorisation is valid for a period of 5 years. It will be published in the Belgian Official Gazette (Moniteur belge) as an extract.
In the event of a negative reasoned opinion, the Director-General will refuse the authorisation within 2 months. You will be invited to send in a new application and to make any necessary improvements to your SEI authorisation application. To do so, you will receive an extract from the reasoned opinion containing the negative points relating to your SEI.
You are also free to withdraw your application.
- Addition of your SEI to the list of authorised SEIs
Your authorised SEI will then be added to the list of authorised SEIs on the website of the Public Water Management Company.
The duration of your authorisation is 5 years. Renewal is not possible. You will then have to submit a new application.
/!\ Submit your application in good time (ideally 6 months before the date of expiry)
/!\ When submitting your new application, please take the following into account:
- the points for improvement mentioned in the extract from the reasoned opinion relating to your previous authorisation;
- the evolution of the integral and sectoral conditions relating to SEIs.
APPEALS
To challenge an administrative decision, you may file an appeal with the Council of State.
- Code de l'eau (Water Code) R401 to R417, as well as Annex XLVIIIb for compiling the technical file for requesting authorisation (Only available in French)
- Ministerial Order of 15 November 2022 on the renewal of the members of the Committee of Experts on on site sanitation (Only available in French)
- Decree of the Walloon Government of 1 December 2016 laying down the full and sectoral conditions relating to individual wastewater treatment systems and repealing the Orders of the Walloon Government of 25 September 2008 laying down the full conditions relating to individual wastewater treatment units and individual wastewater treatment systems and of 6 November 2008 laying down sectoral conditions relating to individual wastewater treatment plants and individual wastewater treatment systems installed in derogation from the obligation to connect to the sewerage system (Only available in French)