Forestry Regulations 2017.

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 191/2017
• Year: 2017

ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS

PART 1

PRELIMINARY AND GENERAL

1. Citation and commencement.

2. Interpretation.

PART 2

CONTROL OF FELLING OF TREES

3. Application for felling licence.

4. Site Notice.

PART 3

CONTROL OF AFFORESTATION

5. Application for afforestation licence.

PART 4

CONTROL OF FOREST ROAD WORKS

6. Application for forest road licence.

PART 5

CONTROL OF AERIAL FERTILISATION OF FORESTS

7. Application for aerial fertilisation licence.

8. Restrictions in respect of aerial fertilisation.

PART 6

CONSULTATION

9. Notice to consultation body.

10. Public consultation.

11. Site Notice in respect of afforestation and forest road works.

PART 7

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT

12. Definitions.

13. Environmental impact assessment of forestry development.

14. Where development affects another Member State.

15. Application of Regulations to public of Member State.

16. EIS: Exemption.

17. Review of decision.

18. Costs in civil proceedings.

PART 8

APPROPRIATE ASSESSMENT

19. Protection of European sites.

PART 9

DECISIONS

20. Decision of Minister on application.

21. Notification of decision.

PART 10

MISCELLANEOUS

22. Penal provision.

23. Revocation.

SCHEDULE 1

Information to be provided by the Applicant for Afforestation or Forest Road Licence

SCHEDULE 2

Requirements as to the Manner of Application of Fertiliser from the Air

SCHEDULE 3

Criteria regarding sub-threshold development

SCHEDULE 4

Information to be Contained in an EIS

S.I. No. 191 of 2017

FORESTRY REGULATIONS 2017

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 16th May, 2017.

I, MICHAEL CREED, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 6 , 10 , 17 , 22 and 30 of the Forestry Act 2014 (No. 31 of 2014) and for the purpose of giving further effect to Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 20111 , as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014,2 Directive 2006/11/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 February 20063 , and Directive 2009/147/EC4 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 and Council Directive 92/43/EEC5 of 21 May 1992 insofar as those Directives apply to forestry developments, hereby make the following regulations:

PART 1

PRELIMINARY AND GENERAL

Citation and commencement

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Forestry Regulations 2017.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on 24 May 2017.

Interpretation

2. (1) In these Regulations—

“Act of 1976” means the Wildlife Act 1976 ;

“aerial fertilisation” means to apply fertiliser to a forest by use of aircraft;

“aquatic zone” means a permanent or seasonal river, stream or lake shown on an Ordnance Survey map;

“consultation body” means—

(a) where relevant, a Minister of the Government,

(b) the Environmental Protection Agency,

(c) the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs,

(d) Inland Fisheries Ireland,

(e) the relevant local authority (as defined under section 2 (as amended by the Local Government Reform Act 2014 (No. 1 of 2014) of the Local Government Act 2001 (No. 37 of 2001)),

(f) the National Roads Authority,

(g) An Taisce — The National Trust for Ireland,

(h) any other person having a statutory function or a specialist skill or expertise in or knowledge of a particular relevance that the Minister considers appropriate having regard to the matters referred to in the application;

“Dangerous Substances Directive” means Directive 2006/11/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 February 2006;

“decision” means a decision by the Minister under Regulation 20;

“EIA” means environmental impact assessment;

“EIA Directive” means Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014;

“environmental impact assessment” has a same meaning as in the EIA Directives;

“EIS” means an environmental impact assessment report satisfying the requirements of Article 5.1 of the EU Directive and prepared by competent experts;

“European Site” has the same meaning as in the Habitats Regulations;

“Habitats Regulations” means the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011 ( S.I. No. 477 of 2011 );

“Natura Impact Statement” has the same meaning as in the Habitats Regulations;

“Principal Act” means the Forestry Act 2014 (No. 31 of 2014);

“proposed treatment area” means the total area in hectares of forest land proposed for aerial fertilisation, but does not include exclusion zones and areas to be untreated;

“publish” means publishing on the internet website of the Minister or in such other manner as the Minister may direct;

“sub-threshold development” means—

(a) in the case of afforestation, afforestation of less than 50 hectares, or

(b) in the case of forest road works, the construction of a forest road under 2000 metres in length;

“urban area” for the purposes of Section 19(1)(a) of the Principal Act means an area that comprised a city, town or borough specified in Part 2 of Schedule 5 and in Schedule 6 of the Local Government Act 2001 before the enactment of the Local Government Reform Act 2014 .

(2) Subject to paragraph (1), a word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the EIA Directive or the Dangerous Substances Directive has, in these Regulations, the same meaning as in that Directive.

PART 2

CONTROL OF FELLING OF TREES

Application for felling licence

3. An application for a licence in respect of tree felling shall, in addition to the information specified in section 17(2) of the Principal Act, include—

(a) the telephone number and e-mail address, if any, of the person applying,

(b) the telephone number and e-mail address, if any, of the owner of the lands (if different to the person referred to in paragraph (a)),

(c) the location of the land to which the application relates.

Site notice

4. (1) Where the Minister has granted a licence for the felling of trees, the person to whom the licence is granted shall erect a notice, in a form determined by the Minister, at the entrance to the land to which the licence relates, advising the public that the tree felling is being carried out or timber extraction is ongoing in accordance with a licence issued by the Minister.

(2) A notice under paragraph (1) shall-

(a) be clearly legible, affixed on rigid, durable material and secured against damage from bad weather and other causes,

(b) be maintained in position on the land concerned for so long as the felling of trees is carried out or timber extraction is ongoing or for such longer periods as the Minister may require,

(c) include the licence number and provide details of where further information may be obtained, and

(d) immediately be renewed or replaced if the notice is removed or becomes defaced or illegible in the period required under subparagraph (b).

(3) Where the Minister considers that the site notice is not sufficient to comply with the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2) or does not adequately inform the public, the Minister may require the applicant to erect or fix such further site notice or notices in such a manner and in such terms as he or she may determine.

PART 3

CONTROL OF AFFORESTATION

Application for afforestation licence

5. (1) An application for a licence in respect of afforestation shall, in addition to the information specified in section 22(2) of the Principal Act, include-

(a) the telephone number and e-mail address, if any, of the person applying,

(b) the telephone number and e-mail address, if any, of the owner of the lands (if different to the person referred to in paragraph (a)), and

(c) where the person applying is a company registered under the Companies Act 2014 ,

(i) the name and the address, telephone number and e-mail address, if any, of the company, and

(ii) the registration number of the company.

(2) An application for a licence in respect of afforestation shall be accompanied by—

(a) an Ordnance Survey map or other map acceptable to the Minister, with the boundary of the land to which the application relates, and all internal plots, where applicable, delineated and shall clearly show the following details—

(i) public roads,

(ii) forest roads,

(iii) aquatic zones,

(iv) wayleaves,

(v) archaeological sites or features,

(vi) hedgerows, and

(vii) any other features which may be relevant to the application,

(b) a plot table, which shall accompany the map, detailing the number of each plot, the area of each plot, and the species of trees to be planted in each plot,

(c) the information set out in Schedule 1 or an environmental impact statement where the application involves an area of 50 hectares or more, or where the Minister has determined that an environmental impact assessment is necessary, and

(d) such other information that the Minister considers necessary to issue a licence or determine appropriate conditions.

PART 4

CONTROL OF FOREST ROAD WORKS

Application for forest road licence

6. (1) An application for a licence in respect of forest road works shall, in addition to the information specified in section 22(2) of the Principal Act, include-

(a) the telephone number and e-mail address, if any, of the person applying,

(b) the telephone number and e-mail address, if any, of the owner of the lands (if different to the person referred to in paragraph (a)),

(c) where the person applying is a company registered under the Companies Act 2014 —

(i) the name and the address, telephone number and e-mail address, if any, of the...