The European Union Birds Directive stipulates the obligations of member states in relation to protecting birdlife, partly through requiring the introduction of what is referred to as "Special Protected Areas" to protect designated species of birds. In December 2007, the European Court of Justice ruled that Spain was failing to meet its obligations in the area covered by the Segarra Garrigues irrigation project. This required a significant change in the layout and size of the irrigated areas, and concurrently reduced the amount of water permitted to be removed from the Segre River. This added to the construction costs, which were entirely covered by the Procuring Authority, and required a renegotiation of the PPP contract to deal with the reduction in the water available for the irrigation. This was carried out by renegotiations between 2013 and 2015. One of the outcomes was to allow the extension of the construction period for 15 years on top of the original nine years, making a total of 24 years for the construction period. The operations phase remains as 30 years after construction is completed, and this remains viable as revenue from landowners is only used to cover operational costs, not to pay back any construction costs.