Air Pollution Act 1987 (Registration of Fuel Bagging Operators and Suppliers, and Marketing, Sale, Distribution and Burning of Specified Fuels) (Amendment) Regulations 2016.

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 571/2016

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 29th November, 2016.

I, DENIS NAUGHTEN, Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 6 (as amended by Section 8 of the Protection of the Environment Act 2003 (No. 27 of 2003)) and 53 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 (No. 7 of 1992) and by sections 10, 22F (inserted by Section 24 of the Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015 (No. 29 of 2015)) and 53 (as amended by Section 26 of that Act) of the Air Pollution Act 1987 (No. 6 of 1987) (as amended) and the Climate Action and Environment (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2016 ( S.I. No. 393 of 2016 ) (as adapted by the Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2016 ( S.I. No. 421 of 2016 )), hereby make the following regulations:

Part 1

PRELIMINARY AND GENERAL

Citation

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Air Pollution Act 1987 (Registration of Fuel Bagging Operators and Suppliers, and Marketing, Sale, Distribution and Burning of Specified Fuels) (Amendment) Regulations 2016

Commencement

2. These Regulations come into effect on 17th November 2016.

Definitions

3. In these Regulations, save where the context otherwise requires:

“Act of 1987” means the Air Pollution Act 1987 (No. 6 of 1987) as amended;

“Act of 2015” means the Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015 (No. 29 of 2015);

“Agency” means the Environmental Protection Agency;

“bagging operator” means a person or body engaged in the business of bagging or baling:

(i) bituminous coal, (ii) low smoke solid fuel, or (iii) low smoke biomass product;

“bituminous coal” means coal falling within CN Code 2701 12 placed on the market for residential heating;

“certificate of conformity” has the same meaning as in the Fuel Regulations;

“Fuels Register” means the register established and maintained under section 22A of the Act of 1987 (inserted by section 24 of the Act of 2015);

“Fuel Regulations” means Air Pollution Act (Marketing, Sale, Distribution and Burning of Specified Fuels) Regulations 2012 ( S.I. No. 326 of 2012 ), as amended;

“Low smoke biomass product” has the same meaning as in the Fuel Regulations;

“Low smoke solid fuel” means a solid fuel which contains coal and which is permissible for sale in a Low Smoke Zone as defined in the Fuel Regulations;

“solid fuel supplier” means any person or body which, within the State:

(a) wholesales or distributes (i) bituminous coal, (ii) low smoke solid fuel, or (iii) low smoke biomass product; or

(b) retails 50% or more of their total annual sales proceeds from the products listed at (a) above.

Part 2

REGISTRATION OF FUEL BAGGING OPERATORS AND SUPPLIERS

Specified Persons

4. The following persons or classes of person are specified for the purposes of Section 53(1)(ca) of the Act of 1987:

(a) Bagging operators supplying bituminous coal, low smoke solid fuel or low smoke biomass product for residential use within the State;

(b) Solid fuel suppliers.

Information to accompany an application

5. (1) An application pursuant to Regulation 4(a) shall be made by 1 September each year or such other date as the Agency may specify and be accompanied by the following information:

(a) Name, address and contact details (including telephone and e-mail details) of the person or persons responsible for the provision of registration information of the organisation;

(b) Fuel brands offered;

(c) Evidence of possession of a current tax clearance certificate issued by the Revenue Commissioners;

(d) such other information as the Agency may reasonably require for the purpose of fulfilling its functions in relation to establishing and maintaining a register of bagging operators;

(e) such fee as may from time to time be set by the Agency.

(2) An application pursuant to Regulation 4(b) shall be made by 1 September each year or such other date as the Agency may specify and accompanied by the following information:

(a) Name and address and contact details (including phone and e-mail details) of the person or persons responsible for the provision of registration information in the organisation;

(b) Trading name;

(c) Companies Registration Office number;

(d) Copy of certificate(s) of conformity for fuels supplied;

(e) Evidence of possession of a current tax clearance certificate issued by the Revenue Commissioners;

(f) such other information as the Agency may reasonably require for the purpose of fulfilling its functions in relation to establishing and maintaining a register of solid fuel suppliers;

(g) such fee as may from time to time be set by the Agency.

(3) A specified person shall notify the Agency of any change to the information provided under paragraphs 5(1) or 5(2) within one month of such change occurring.

Conditions to be satisfied by registered persons

6. A bagging operator shall comply with such directions from the Agency as are necessary to rectify any findings arising from an audit by a certification body under Regulation 9A of the Fuel Regulations.

Period of validity of registration

7. Registrations shall be valid for one year or for such other period as may be specified by the Agency.

Prohibition on fuel activity unless registered

8. A person or class of persons falling within the scope of Regulation 4 shall not carry out a fuel activity unless they are registered on the fuels register.

Part 3

MARKETING, SALE, DISTRIBUTION AND BURNING OF SPECIFIED FUELS

9. The Fuel Regulations are amended as follows:

(1) in Regulation 4 by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of bag:

“‘Bag’ means a receptacle which is sealable containing a quantity of:

(a) bituminous coal;

(b) low smoke solid fuel; or

(c) low smoke biomass product”;

(2) in Regulation 4 by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of solid fuel supplier:

“‘solid fuel supplier’ means any person or body which, within the State:

(a) wholesales or distributes (i) bituminous coal, (ii) low smoke solid fuel, or (iii) low smoke biomass product; or

(b) retails 50% or more of their total annual sales proceeds from the products listed at (a) above”;

(3) in Regulation 4 by the deletion of “‘bagging operator’ means a person or body engaged in the business of bagging or bailing solid fuel;”;

(4) in Regulation 4 by the deletion of ““Bagging Operator” means any person or body who or which carries out the business of bagging coal for residential supply within the State”;

(5) in Regulation 4 by the insertion of the following definition:

“‘Bagging Operator’ means a person or body engaged in the business of bagging or baling:

(i) bituminous coal, (ii) low smoke solid fuel, or (iii) low smoke biomass product;”;

(6) in Regulation 4 by the insertion of the following definition:

“ ‘Licensed Premises’ has the same meaning as it has in the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2008 (No. 17 of 2008)”;

(7) in Regulation 4 by the insertion of the following definition:

“ ‘retailer’ means a person who for the purpose of trade or otherwise in the course of business sells bituminous coal, approved fuel or low smoke biomass product to other persons”;

(8) in Regulations 5, 6, 6A, 6B, 7, 10, Schedule 1, Schedule 2 and Schedule 4, by the substitution of “Low Smoke Zone” for “Specified Area”, and by the substitution of “Low Smoke Zones” for “Specified Areas”, in each place they occur;

(9) in Regulation 5, by the substitution of the following for paragraph (7):

“(7) The records to be kept and maintained by bagging operators relating to Low Smoke Solid Fuel products shall be sufficient to enable the certification body to determine compliance with the requirements of these regulations, including, inter alia, the sulphur content and the smoke emission rate of the solid fuel products, and include at a minimum, those specified in Schedule 7.”;

(10) in Regulation 5(2), by the substitution of the following for subparagraph (b):

“(b) there is printed on such a bag a notice in the form:

(i) set out in Schedule 3 to these regulations in the case of low smoke solid fuel; or

(ii) set out in Schedule 6 to these regulations in the case of low smoke biomass product.”

(11) in Regulation 5(6), by the insertion of the word ‘current’ before ‘certificate of conformity’;

(12) in Regulation 6B, by the...