Environmental protection agency act, 1992

• Enactment Date: 23 April 1992
• Act Number: 7

Number 7 of 1992
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ACT, 1992
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
PART I
Preliminary and General
Section 1. Short title. 2. Commencement. 3. Interpretation. 4. Environmental protection, environmental pollution and environmental medium. 5. Best available technology not entailing excessive costs. 6. Regulations. 7. Orders. 8. Offences. 9. Penalties. 10. Payment of certain fines to Agency. 11. Prosecution of offences. 12. Cost of prosecutions. 13. Powers of authorised person.
14. Service of notices. 15. Immunity of Agency. 16. Indemnification of Director General, directors and other persons. 17. Expenses of Minister. 18. Amendment of Act of 1963 and Air Pollution Act, 1987.
PART II
Environmental Protection Agency
19. Establishment of Environmental Protection Agency. 20. Incorporation of Agency. 21. Director General. 22. Deputy Director General. 23. General functions of Director General and Deputy Director General. 24. Directors. 25. Meetings and procedure of Agency. 26. Agency's quorum, vacancies, etc. 27. Advisory Committee. 28. Functions of Advisory Committee. 29. Staff of the Agency. 30. Transfer of staff of public authorities. 31. Conditions related to transfer of staff. 32. Dissolution of An Foras Forbartha Teoranta. 33. Superannuation of Director General and directors. 34. Superannuation of staff of Agency. 35. Membership of House of Oireachtas or European Parliament. 36. Membership of a local authority. 37. Declaration of interests. 38. Disclosure of interests. 39. Disclosure of confidential information. 40. Prohibition of certain communications. 41. Committees and consultative groups.
42. Consultants and advisers. 43. Establishment of regional environmental units. 44. Provision of services to Agency. 45. Agreements between Agency and other public authorities. 46. Grants to Agency. 47. Borrowing by Agency. 48. Acceptance of gifts by Agency. 49. Charges for services. 50. Accounts and audits. 51. Annual report and information to Minister.
PART III
Functions of the Agency
52. Functions generally. 53. Assignment of additional functions. 54. Transfer of functions. 55. Advisory functions in relation to Ministers of the Government. 56. Advisory functions in relation to local authorities. 57. Assistance to local authorities. 58. Drinking water. 59. Sewage or other effluents. 60. Agency functions in relation to water or sewage treatment. 61. Monitoring in relation to sanitary authorities' effluents. 62. Landfill sites for waste disposal. 63. Performance of statutory functions by local authorities. 64. Hydrometric programme. 65. Environmental monitoring programme. 66. Establishment of an accreditation scheme. 67. Access to monitoring results. 68. Monitoring activities of public authorities. 69. Environmental quality data storage system. 70. State of the environment reports.
71. Environmental research. 72. Environmental impact assessment. 73. Environmental approval. 74. Environmental audit. 75. Environmental quality objectives. 76. Codes of practice. 77. Evidence of code of practice. 78. Labelling of products and services. 79. General policy directives. 80. Consultation by the Agency. 81. Consultation with the Agency.
PART IV
Integrated Pollution Control
82. Licences. 83. Grant of licences. 84. Conditions attached to a licence. 85. Processing of applications for licences or reviews of licences. 86. Oral hearing and written report. 87. Regulations regarding licences. 88. Review of licences. 89. Register of licences. 90. Limit on duration of licence. 91. Change of ownership of activity. 92. Alterations of activity. 93. Charges in relation to emissions. 94. Fees. 95. Special cases. 96. Monitoring of environmental quality and emissions. 97. Discharges to sewers. 98. Application of other Acts. 99. Transitional arrangements.
PART V
General Pollution Control
100. Extension to Agency of certain powers under Local Government (Water Pollution) Act, 1977. 101. Extension to Agency of certain powers under Air Pollution Act, 1987. 102. Management plans. 103. Emission limit values and quality standards. 104. Special reports and investigations. 105. Inquiries.
PART VI
Miscellaneous
106. Regulations for control of noise. 107. Power of local authority or Agency to require measures to be taken to prevent or limit noise. 108. Noise as a nuisance. 109. Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989. 110. Access to information on the environment. 111. Genetically modified organisms. 112. Register kept in computer or other non-legible form and evidence of entries. 113. Increase of certain penalties.
FIRST SCHEDULE
Activities to whichPart IVapplies
SECOND SCHEDULE
Enactments in respect of which Functions may be Transferred to the Agency
THIRD SCHEDULE
Amendment of Air Pollution Act, 1987
Acts Referred to Air Pollution Act, 1987 1987, No. 6 Civil Service Regulation Act, 1956 1956, No. 46 Criminal Procedure Act, 1967 1967, No. 12 European Assembly Elections Act, 1977 1977, No. 30 European Assembly Elections Act, 1984 1984, No. 6 European Communities Act, 1972 1972, No. 27 Fisheries (Consolidation) Act, 1959 1959, No. 14 Harbours Act, 1946 1946, No. 9 Health Act, 1970 1970, No. 1 Holidays (Employees) Act, 1973 1973, No. 25 Local Authorities (Works) Act, 1949 1949, No. 17 Local Government Act, 1941 1941, No. 23 Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963 1963, No. 28 Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1982 1982, No. 21 Local Government (Roads and Motorways) Act, 1974 1974, No. 6 Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act, 1948 1948, No. 3 Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act, 1962 1962, No. 26 Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act, 1964 1964, No. 29 Local Government (Water Pollution) Act, 1977 1977, No. 1 Local Government (Water Pollution) (Amendment) Act, 1990 1990, No. 21 Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851 1851, c. 93 Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878 1878, c. 52 Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989 1989, No. 7 The Dublin Corporation Waterworks Act, 1861 1861, c. 172 Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977 1977, No. 10 Waterworks Clauses Act, 1847 1847, c. 17 Waterworks Clauses Act, 1863 1863, c. 93
European Communities Regulations Referred to
European Communities (Asbestos Waste) Regulations, 1990 S.I. No. 30 of 1990 European Communities (Control of Water Pollution by Asbestos) Regulations, 1990 S.I. No. 31 of 1990 European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Motorways) Regulations, 1988 S.I. No. 221 of 1988 European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations, 1989 S.I. No. 349 of 1989 European Communities (Quality of Water Intended for Human Consumption) Regulations, 1988 S.I. No. 81 of 1988 European Communities (Toxic and Dangerous Waste) Regulations, 1982 S.I. No. 33 of 1982 European Communities (Transfrontier Shipment of Hazardous Waste) Regulations, 1988 S.I. No. 248 of 1988 European Communities (Waste) Regulations, 1979 S.I. No. 390 of 1979 European Communities (Waste) Regulations, 1984 S.I. No. 108 of 1984
Number 7 of 1992
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ACT, 1992
AN ACT TO MAKE FURTHER AND BETTER PROVISION FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE CONTROL OF POLLUTION, TO ESTABLISH AN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, FOR THESE AND OTHER PURPOSES TO INCREASE CERTAIN EXISTING MONETARY PENALTIES AND TO PROVIDE FOR OTHER MATTERS CONNECTED WITH THE MATTERS AFORESAID. [23rd April, 1992]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:
PART I Preliminary and General
	Short title.	1.—This Act may be cited as the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992.
	Commencement.	2.—(1) Part I (other than section 18 (1)), Part II (other than section 43), Part III , Part IV (other than section 93) and Part VI will come into operation on the passing of this Act.
	(2) The remaining provisions of this Act shall come into operation on such day or days as may be fixed therefor by any order or orders of the Minister, either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision or with reference to a particular area or areas, and different days may be so fixed for different purposes and different provisions of this Act and for different areas.
	Interpretation.	3.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
	“activity” means any process, development or operation specified in the First Schedule;
	“the Act of 1963” means the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963 ;
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