European Communities (Control of Major Accident Hazards Involving Dangerous Substances) Regulations, 2000

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 476/2000
• Year: 2000

ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS
Preliminary and General
Regulation
1. Citation. 2. Construction of Enactment. 3. Interpretation. 4. Application. 5. Competent authorities. 6. Immunity of competent authorities. 7. Revocations and savings.
Major Accident Hazards
8. Demonstration of safe operation. 9. General duties of operators. 10. Major accident prevention policy. 11. Notification of establishments. 12. Safety reports. 13. Review and revision of safety reports. 14. Investigation of details of a safety report. 15. Internal emergency plans. 16. External emergency plans. 17. Supplementary provisions to Regulation 16. 18. Review and testing of emergency plans. 19. Information for the safety of the public. 20. Notice for information.
Major Accidents
21. Scene of major accident. 22. Notification of major accidents. 23. Examination and tests of plant, process or procedure. 24. Special reports on major accidents by inspector. 25. Power of Minister to direct formal investigation. 26. Inquest in case of death by major accident. 27. Notifiable incidents and register.
Enforcement and Regulation
28. Functions of Central Competent Authority. 29. Advice on Land Use Planning. 30. Inspectors. 31. Warrant of appointment as inspector. 32. General powers of inspectors. 33. Powers of inspectors for purpose of safeguarding persons and the environment. 34. Application to High Court by Central Competent Authority. 35. Service of Documents.
Disclosure of Information, Translations of Reports
36. Restrictions on disclosure of information. 37. Translations of reports.
Offences and Penalties
38. Offences. 39. Onus of proof. 40. Liability of operators. 41. Liability of directors and officers of bodies corporate. 42. Forgery of documents. 43. Personation. 44. Obstruction of inspector or authorised officer. 45. Penalties. 46. Prosecution of offences. 47. Cost of prosecutions.
Charges for Services
48. Charges for services
FIRST SCHEDULE
Annex I to Council Directive 96/82/EC
(Application of the Directive)
SECOND SCHEDULE
Annex III to Council Directive 96/82/EC
(Major Accident prevention policy and safety management systems)
THIRD SCHEDULE
Information to be included in a notification under Regulation 11 (1)
FOURTH SCHEDULE
Part I
Purpose of Safety Reports
Part 2
Annex II to Council Directive 96/82/EC
(Data and information in a safety report)
FIFTH SCHEDULE
Part I
Objectives of an Emergency Plan
Part 2
Annex IV to Council Directive 96/82/EC
(Data and information in emergency plans)
SIXTH SCHEDULE
Annex V to Council Directive 96/82/EC
(Public Communication)
SEVENTH SCHEDULE
Annex VI to Council Directive 96/82/EC
(Major accidents and near misses)
EIGHTH SCHEDULE
Notifiable incidents
NINTH SCHEDULE
Annex to Commission Decision of 26 June, 1998 on Harmonised Criteria for Dispensations according to Article 9 of Council Directive 96/82/EC
S.I. No. 476 of 2000.
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (CONTROL OF MAJOR ACCIDENT HAZARDS INVOLVING DANGEROUS SUBSTANCES) REGULATIONS, 2000.
I, MARY HARNEY, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by Section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) as amended by Section 5 of the European Communities (Amendment) Act, 1993 (No. 25 of 1993), and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive 96/82/EC of 9th December, 1996(1) , hereby make the following regulations:
Preliminary And General
Citation.	1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Control of Major Accident Hazards Involving Dangerous Substances) Regulations, 2000.
Construction of Enactment.	2. The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989 (No. 7 of 1989) shall be construed and have effect as if these Regulations were an existing enactment within the meaning of “existing enactments” contained in Section 2(1) of that Act and set out in Part II of the Second Schedule to that Act.
Interpretation.	3. (1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
“An Bord Pleanála” means the body referred to in section 102 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 (No. 30 of 2000);
“Authority” means the Central Competent Authority;
“Central Competent Authority” has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 5;
“Competent Authority” means an authority referred to in Regulation 5 and to which Article 16 of the Directive relates;
“dangerous substance” means a substance, mixture or preparation—
(a) specified in Part 1 of Annex I to the Directive (which Annex is set out in the First Schedule), or
(b) generally considered to fulfil any of the categories laid down in Part 2 of Annex 1 to the Directive (which Annex is set out in the First Schedule),
and present in the quantities to which Annex 1 (which is set out in the First Schedule) relates for the purpose of the application of Articles 6 and 7 and Article 9 of the Directive;
“Directive” means Council Directive 96/82/EC of 9 December, 1996(1) , on the control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances;
“establishment” means the whole area under the control of an operator where dangerous substances are present in one or more installations, including common or related infrastructures or activities and includes new, existing and other establishments;
“existing establishment” means an establishment which, prior to the commencement of these Regulations, was subject to the provisions of the 1986 to 1992 Regulations;
“external emergency plan” has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 16;
“functional area” means—
(a) in relation to a planning authority, the functional area of that planning authority as defined by the Planning and Development Act, 2000 , and
(b) in relation to a local competent authority, the area in respect of which a public authority has been designated to be a local competent authority;
“functions”, in relation to competent authorities, includes powers and duties and a reference to the performance of a function includes, with respect to powers, a reference to the exercise of a power;
“hazard” means the intrinsic property of a dangerous substance or physical situation, with a potential for creating damage to human health and/or the environment;
“health board” means a health board established under the Health Act, 1970 (No. 1 of 1970), or an Area Health Board established under the Health (Eastern Regional Health Authority) Act, 1999 (No. 13 of 1999);
“inspector”, in relation to a Central Competent Authority, means an officer of the Authority appointed under Regulation 30 to act as an inspector for the purpose of these Regulations;
“installation” means a unit within an establishment in which dangerous substances are, or are intended to be, produced, used, handled or stored, and includes—
(a) equipment, structures, pipework, machinery and tools,
(b) private railway sidings, docks and unloading quays serving the installation, and
(c) jetties, warehouses or similar structures, whether floating or not,
which are necessary for the operation of the installation;
“internal emergency plan” has the meaning assigned it by Regulation 15;
“internal waters” has the same meaning as it has in the Mari-time Jurisdiction Act, 1959 (No. 22 of 1959);
“land” includes any land covered with water;
“local authority” means—
(a) in the case of a county borough, the corporation of the county borough, and
(b) in the case of any other administrative county, the council of the county;
“local competent authority” shall be construed in accordance with Regulation 5;
“major accident” means an occurrence such as a major emission, fire or explosion resulting from uncontrolled developments in the course of the operation of any establishment, leading to a serious danger—
(a) to human health, or
(b) to the environment,
whether immediate or delayed, inside or outside the establishment, and involving one or more dangerous substances;
“Minister” means the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment;
“new establishment” means an establishment—
(a) which began construction or operation after the commencement of these Regulations, or
(b) in respect of which there has been a modification after the commencement of these Regulations which makes it subject to Regulations 12 to 19 of these Regulations;
(c) which becomes an establishment to which these Regulations apply by virtue of a modification taking place after the commencement date of these Regulations;
“notifiable incident” has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 27;
“notification” has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 11;
“operator” means any person who operates or holds an establishment or installation or has been given, by or under any enactment, decisive economic power in the technical operation thereof and where the context requires includes any person who proposes to have any such responsibility;
“other establishment” means an establishment which, prior to the commencement of these Regulations, was not subject to the provisions of the 1986 to 1992 Regulations;
“planning authority” has the meaning assigned to it by the Planning and Development Act, 2000 (No. 30 of 2000);
“presence of dangerous substances” includes those substances present as a raw material, product, by-product, residue or intermediate and the anticipated presence of such substances and the presence of those which it is reasonable to believe may be generated during the loss of control of an industrial chemical process and the word...