European Communities Environmental Objectives (Surface Waters) Regulations, 2009

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 272/2009
• Year: 2009

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 24th July, 2009.

WHEREAS, I, JOHN GORMLEY, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 (3) of the European Communities Act 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) as inserted by section 2 of the European Communities Act 2007 (No. 18 of 2007), consider it necessary for the purpose of giving further effect to Directive 2006/11/EC 1 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 February 2006 on pollution caused by certain dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment of the Community, Directive 2000/60/EC 2 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, and Directive 2008/105/EC 3 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on environmental quality standards in the field of water policy, amending and subsequently repealing Directives 82/176/EEC, 83/513/EEC, 84/156/EEC, 84/491/EEC, 86/280/EEC and amending Directive 2000/60/EC 1 of the European Parliament and of the Council to make provision for offences under the following Regulations to be prosecuted on indictment:

AND WHEREAS, I consider that it is necessary, having regard to section 3(3) of the Act of 1972, and for the purpose of ensuring that penalties in respect of an offence prosecuted in that manner under the following Regulations are effective, proportionate and have a deterrent effect, having regard to the acts or omissions of which the offence consists, to make such provisions in the following Regulations:

NOW THEREFORE, I JOHN GORMLEY, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) as amended by the European Communities Act 2007 ( S.I. No. 18 of 2007 ) and for the purpose of giving further effect to Directive 2006/11/EC 1 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 February 2006 on pollution caused by certain dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment of the Community, Directive 2000/60/EC 2 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, and Directive 2008/105/EC 3 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on environmental quality standards in the field of water policy, amending and subsequently repealing Directives 82/176/EEC, 83/513/EEC, 84/156/EEC, 84/491/EEC, 86/280/EEC and amending Directive 2000/60/EC 1 of the European Parliament and of the Council hereby make the following Regulations:

PART I PURPOSE AND INTERPRETATION

Citation and commencement

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities Environmental Objectives (Surface Waters) Regulations 2009.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 30th of July 2009.

Purpose and scope of the Regulations

2. These Regulations apply to all surface waters and are made to give effect to the measures needed to achieve the environmental objectives established for bodies of surface water by Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, hereinafter known as the Water Framework Directive, including the environmental quality standards established by Directive 2008/105/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and to give further effect to the requirements of Directive 2006/11/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, hereinafter known as the Dangerous Substances Directive and include the following:

(a) measures for the protection of surface water bodies whose status is determined to be high or good (or good potential as the case may be) and measures requiring the restoration of surface water bodies of less than good status (or good potential as the case may be) to not less than good status (or good potential) by not later than 22 December 2015;

(b) measures establishing environmental quality standards for priority substances and certain other pollutants as provided for in Article 16 of the Water Framework Directive that are to apply in calculating the chemical status of bodies of surface water;

(c) measures that provide for the progressive reduction of pollution by priority substances in accordance with the provisions of Article 4(1)(a)(iv) and Article 16(1) and (8) of the Water Framework Directive;

(d) measures establishing a list of priority hazardous substances for which measures are to be put in place with the aim of ceasing or phasing out of emissions, discharges and losses of these substances as provided for by Article 4(1)(a)(iv) and Article 16(1) and (8) of the Water Framework Directive;

(e) measures establishing environmental quality standards for the pollutants listed in points 1 to 9 of Annex VIII of the Water Framework Directive that are to apply in calculating the ecological status or, where relevant, the ecological potential of bodies of surface water in accordance with the provisions and objectives of Article 4(1)(a)(ii) and 4(1)(a)(iii) of that Directive;

(f) measures establishing environmental quality standards for the general conditions specified in Annex V of the Water Framework Directive that are to apply in calculating the ecological status or, where relevant, the ecological potential of bodies of surface water in accordance with the provisions and objectives of Article 4(1)(a)(ii) and 4(1)(a)(iii) of that Directive;

(g) measures establishing the ecological quality ratios that represent the boundaries between high and good ecological status and between good and moderate ecological status for the biological quality elements specified in Annex V of the Water Framework Directive that are to apply in calculating the ecological status of bodies of surface water in accordance with the provisions and objectives of Article 4 of that Directive;

(h) the laying down of rules for the presentation and reporting of surface water monitoring results and the classification of ecological status, ecological potential and the chemical status of surface water bodies in accordance with the requirements of Article 15, Annex V and Annex VII of the Water Framework Directive;

(i) measures to prevent and reduce the pollution of waters by dangerous substances and give further effect to the requirements of Articles 6 and 9 of the Dangerous Substances Directive;

(j) measures that provide for the establishment and operation of programmes in order to achieve the objectives established under Article 4(1) (a) of the Water Framework Directive including the reduction in pollution of waters by List II substances as required by Articles 6 and 9 of the Dangerous Substances Directive.

Interpretation

3. (1) In these Regulations, save where the context otherwise requires,—

“Act of 1972” means the European Communities Act of 1972 as amended by the European Communities Act 2007 ;

“Act of 1977” means the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act 1977 as amended by the Local Government (Water Pollution) (Amendment) Act 1990 ;

“Act of 1992” means the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 as amended by the Protection of the Environment Act 2003 and the Water Services Act 2007 ;

“Act of 1996” means the Waste Management Act 1996 as amended by the Waste Management (Amendment) Act 2001 , Part 3 of the Protection of the Environment Act 2003 , Part 2 of the Waste Management (Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Regulations 2005 ( S.I. No. 290 of 2005 ), Waste Management (Environmental Levy) (Plastic Bag) Order 2007 ( S.I. No. 62 of 2007 ), Waste Management (Registration of Brokers and Dealers) Regulations 2008 ( S.I. No. 113 of 2008 ) and the Waste Management (Certification of Historic Unlicensed Waste Disposal and Recovery Activity) Regulations 2008 ( S.I. No. 524 of 2008 );

“Act of 2000” means the Planning and Development Act 2000 (No. 30 of 2000) as amended;

“Agency” means the Environmental Protection Agency;

“artificial water body” means a body of surface water created by human activity;

“body of surface water” means a discrete and significant element of surface water such as a lake, reservoir, stream, river or canal, part of a stream, river or canal, a transitional water or a stretch of coastal water;

“coastal water” means surface water on the landward side of a line, every point of which is at a distance of one nautical mile on the seaward side from the nearest point of the baseline from which the breadth of territorial waters is measured, extending where appropriate up to the outer limit of transitional waters;

“co-ordinating local authority” has the same meaning as in the 2003 Regulations;

“Commission” means the Commission of the European Communities;

“Dangerous Substances Directive” means Directive 2006/11/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 February 2006 on pollution caused by certain dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment of the Community;

“Directive 2008/105/EC” means Directive 2008/105/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on environmental quality standards in the field of water policy, amending and subsequently repealing Council Directives 82/176/EEC, 83/513/EEC, 84/156/EEC, 86/280/EEC and amending Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council;

“Directive 91/414/EEC” means Council Directive 91/414/EEC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 1991 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market;

“Directive 96/61/EC” means Council Directive 96/61/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 September 1996 concerning integrated pollution prevention and control as amended by Directives 2003/35/EC and 2003/87/EC, and Regulation 1882/2003/EC;

“ecological status” is an expression of the quality of the structure and...