Protocol between France, Belgium and Luxembourg to establish a tripartite standing committee on polluted waters
Source: http://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%2066/v66.pdf,. Downloaded 20130716
The Tripartite Committee on classified establishments, which met at Brussels from 4 to 8 April 1950, under the auspices of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, noting, on the one hand, that its work has resulted in the conclusion of an arrangement with regard to the problems raised by the installation in the vicinity of the frontier or storage depots of explosive materials /or civil use, and, on the other hand, that its work in connexion with the problem. of water pollution requires detailed technical study, hereby assumes the title of " Tripartite Standing Committee on Polluted Waters ".
The Committee hereby sets up a joint technical sub-committee for the- Espierre, which shall consist of:
For France, the following authorities of the Nord Department:
The Prefect or his representative, head of delegation.
The Departmental Chief Engineer of Bridges and Highways.
The Chief Engineer of Mines, in charge of the Mineralogical Division.
The Inspector of Classified Establishments.
The Inspector of Waters and Forests.
For Belgium:
The Governor of West Flanders or his representative, head of delegation-
The Chief of the Service of the Office of Water Purification.
The Chief Engineer, Director of Bridges and Highways of the Escaut (Scheldt), riverain section, West Flanders.
The Inspector *of Waters and Forests, delegated by the Ministry of Agriculture.
The Chief Inspector, Director of Public Health.
Each delegation may be assisted by experts of its own choosing.
It is understood that any member of the Tripartite Standing Committee on Polluted Waters is entitled to take part in the work of the joint technical sub-committee.
The joint technical sub-committee shall have the following terms of reference :
(a) to define the pollution factors (industrial or communal origin, degree of intensity, etc.), collect any appropriate technical opinions, assess each State's share of responsibility for the pollution;
(b) to draw up a report for submission to the Tripartite Standing Committee on Polluted Waters on the action to be recommended.
The joint technical sub-committee for the Espierre is empowered to deal in the same way with the problems raised by the pollution of the waters of the Haine, the Escaut (Scheldt) and the Lys canals.
The joint technical sub-committee shall hold its first meeting within two months of the date of signature of this Protocol.
The discussions of the joint technical sub-committee shall take place at Lille and at Courtrai alternately, and shall be under the chairmanship of the head of the host delegation. The first meeting shall be held at Lille at the request of the Prefect of the Nord Department.
The joint technical sub-committee shall establish its own agenda and rules of procedure; notwithstanding, every six months it shall furnish a report on the progress of its work to the Tripartite Standing Committee on Polluted Waters.
The report shall be addressed to the heads of the French, Belgian and Luxembourg delegations through their respective Ministries of Foreign Affairs.
The Tripartite Standing Committee on Polluted Waters shall be required to meet immediately upon receiving each half-yearly report from the sub-committee. Its meetings shall take place at Brussels and Paris alternately.
The chairman and secretariat of each meeting shall be provided by the host delegation.
The Tripartite Standing Committee on Polluted Waters reserves the right to set up further technical sub-committees when it takes up the study of the pollution of other waterways deemed to be the cause of unhealthy conditions in the territory of one of the three signatory States.
The Tripartite Standing Committee on Polluted Waters consists at present of the following :
For France : two representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the representative of the Ministry of the Interior and the representative of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce;
For Belgium : the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Director General of Health and the Head of the Office for the Purification of Waste Water;
For the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg : the Director of the Agricultural Services.
The provisions of the present Protocol enter into force immediately.
DONE at Brussels, in three copies, on the 8th day of April, 1950.
For the Belgian Government:
(Signed) L. GEERAERTS
(Signed) P. VAN DE CALSEYDE
For the French Government:
(Signed) Comte DE HAUTECLOCQUE
For the Government of the Grand Duchy:
(Signed) Robert ALs
