Protection of the Environment Act, 2003

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 27/2003

Number 27 of 2003
PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT ACT 2003
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
PART 1
Preliminary and General
Section 1. Short title and collective citations. 2. Commencement. 3. Repeals and revocations. 4. Definitions.
PART 2
Amendment of Act of 1992
Chapter 1
Amendment of Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 13, 14, 63 and Part III of Act of 1992
5. Amendment of section 3 of Act of 1992. 6. Amendment of section 4 of Act of 1992. 7. Amendment of section 5 of Act of 1992. 8. Amendment of section 6 of Act of 1992. 9. Amendment of section 7 of Act of 1992. 10. Amendment of section 9 of Act of 1992. 11. Amendment of section 13 of Act of 1992. 12. Amendment of section 14 of Act of 1992. 13. Amendment of section 63 of Act of 1992. 14. Environmental inspections.
Chapter 2
Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Under Act of 1992
15. Substitution of new Part for Part IV of Act of 1992.
Chapter 3
Groundwater Protection
16. Insertion of Part IVA in Act of 1992.
Chapter 4
Amendment of Section 111 of, and First Schedule to, Act of 1992
17. Amendment of section 111 of Act of 1992. 18. Substitution of new First Schedule to Act of 1992.
PART 3
Amendment of Act of 1996
19. Amendment of section 2 of Act of 1996. 20. Amendment of section 5 of Act of 1996. 21. Amendment of Act of 1996 consequent on section 20. 22. Amendment of section 10 of Act of 1996. 23. Evidence of consent of landowners in certain cases. 24. Amendment of section 14 of Act of 1996. 25. Amendment of section 16 of Act of 1996. 26. Amendment of section 22 of Act of 1996. 27. Further amendment of section 22 of Act of 1996: minor textual corrections. 28. Amendment of section 29 of Act of 1996. 29. Amendment of section 32 of Act of 1996. 30. Amendment of section 33 of Act of 1996. 31. Amendment of section 34 of Act of 1996. 32. Amendment of section 35 of Act of 1996. 33. Amendment of section 39 of Act of 1996. 34. Relationship between Act of 1996 and Act of 1992. 35. Amendment of section 40 of Act of 1996. 36. Amendment of section 41 of Act of 1996. 37. Reckoning of certain periods. 38. Additional power to amend waste licences. 39. Amendment of section 44 of Act of 1996. 40. Amendment of section 46 of Act of 1996. 41. Power to revoke or suspend waste licence. 42. Amendment of section 49 of Act of 1996. 43. Operator of landfill facility to impose charge for disposals. 44. Insertion of Part VA in Act of 1996 (end-of-life vehicles). 45. Amendment of section 54 of Act of 1996. 46. Extension to Agency of powers under section 55 of Act of 1996. 47. Extension to Agency of powers under section 56 of Act of 1996 and clarification of that section. 48. Amendment of section 57 of Act of 1996. 49. Amendment of section 58 of Act of 1996. 50. Amendment of section 72 of Act of 1996. 51. Amendment of section 74 of Act of 1996. 52. Charges for waste services. 53. Transitional provisions relating to waste licences. 54. Substitution of new Third Schedule to Act of 1996. 55. Substitution of new Fourth Schedule to Act of 1996.
PART 4
Amendment of Act of 1997
56. Amendment of section 19 of Act of 1997. 57. Amendment of section 21 of Act of 1997. 58. Amendment of section 24 of Act of 1997.
PART 5
Miscellaneous
59. Saving for regulations, orders and bye-laws. 60. Amendment of section 5 of Air Pollution Act 1987. 61. Amendment of section 34 of Planning and Development Act 2000.
SCHEDULE 1
New First Schedule to Act of 1992
SCHEDULE 2
Repeals and Revocations
SCHEDULE 3
New Third Schedule to Act of 1996
SCHEDULE 4
New Fourth Schedule to Act of 1996
Acts Referred to Air Pollution Act 1987 1987, No. 6 Companies Acts 1963 to 2001 Electoral Act 1992 1992, No. 23 Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 1992, No. 7 European Communities Act 1972 1972, No. 27 European Parliament Elections Act 1997 1997, No. 2 Finance Act 1992 1992, No. 9 Finance Act 1993 1993, No. 13 Finance (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Act 1952 1952, No. 24 Finance (No. 2) Act 1992 1992, No. 28 Fisheries (Consolidation) Act 1959 1959, No. 14 Harbours Act 1946 1946, No. 9 Health (Eastern Regional Health Authority) Act 1999 1999, No. 13 Litter Pollution Act 1997 1997, No. 12 Litter Pollution Acts 1997 and 2001 Local Government Act 2001 2001, No. 37 Local Government (Financial Provisions) (No. 2) Act 1983 1983, No. 21 Local Government (Sanitary Services) Acts 1878 to 2001 Local Government (Water Pollution) Act 1977 1977, No. 1 Local Government (Water Pollution) Acts 1977 and 1990 Local Government (Water Pollution) (Amendment) Act 1990 1990, No. 21 Minerals Development Acts 1940 to 1999 Planning and Development Act 2000 2000, No. 30 Planning and Development Acts 2000 to 2002 Presidential Elections Act 1993 1993, No. 28 Referendum Act 1994 1994, No. 12 Údarás na Gaeltachta Act 1979 1979, No. 5 Waste Management Act 1996 1996, No. 10 Waste Management Acts 1996 and 2001 Waste Management (Amendment) Act 2001 2001, No. 36 European Communities Regulations Referred To European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations 1994 S.I. No. 84 of 1994
Number 27 of 2003
PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT ACT 2003
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF DIRECTIVE 96/61/EC OF 24 SEPTEMBER 1996 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES CONCERNING INTEGRATED POLLUTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL AND CERTAIN OTHER ACTS ADOPTED BY THE INSTITUTIONS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, FOR THAT AND OTHER PURPOSES TO AMEND THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ACT 1992 AND THE WASTE MANAGEMENT ACT 1996, TO AMEND THE LITTER POLLUTION ACT 1997 AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS.
[14th July, 2003]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:
PART 1 Preliminary and General
	Short title and collective citations.	1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Protection of the Environment Act 2003.
	(2) The Act of 1992 and Part 2 of this Act may be cited together as the Environmental Protection Agency Acts 1992 and 2003.
	(3) The Waste Management Acts 1996 and 2001 and Part 3 of this Act may be cited together as the Waste Management Acts 1996 to 2003.
	(4) The Litter Pollution Acts 1997 and 2001 and Part 4 of this Act may be cited together as the Litter Pollution Acts 1997 to 2003.
	Commencement.	2.—This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.
	Repeals and revocations.	3.—(1) Each enactment mentioned in column (2) of Part 1 of Schedule 2 to this Act is repealed to the extent specified in column (3) of that Part.
	(2) Each statutory instrument mentioned in column (2) of Part 2 of Schedule 2 to this Act is revoked to the extent specified in column (3) of that Part.
	Definitions.	4.—In this Act—
	“Act of 1992” means the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 ;
	“Act of 1996” means the Waste Management Act 1996 ;
	“Act of 1997” means the Litter Pollution Act 1997 ;
	“Minister” means the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
PART 2 Amendment of Act of 1992
CHAPTER 1 Amendment of Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 13, 14, 63 and Part III of Act of 1992
	Amendment of section 3 of Act of 1992.	5.—The following sections are substituted for section 3 of the Act of 1992:
“Interpretation. 3.—(1) In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires— ‘activity’ means any process, development or operation specified in the First Schedule and carried out in an installation; ‘the Act of 1996’ means the Waste Management Act 1996 ; ‘the Act of 2000’ means the Planning and Development Act 2000 ; ‘the Agency’ shall be construed in accordance with section 19(1); ‘atmosphere’ means the gaseous envelope surrounding the earth, and includes air; ‘authorised person’ means a person who is appointed in writing by the Minister, a local authority, the Agency or such other person as may be prescribed to be an authorised person for the purposes of this Act or any Part or section thereof; ‘development’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 3 of the Act of 2000; ‘the Directive’ shall be construed in accordance with section 3A(1); ‘disposal’, in relation to waste, has the meaning assigned to it by the Act of 1996; ‘emission’ means, in relation to an activity referred to in Part IV or IVA, any direct or indirect release of substances, heat or noise from individual or diffuse sources in the activity into the atmosphere, water or land, and includes— (a) an emission into the atmosphere of a pollutant within the meaning of the Air Pollution Act 1987 , (b) the release of a greenhouse gas or a precursor of a greenhouse gas into the atmosphere, (c) a discharge of polluting matter, sewage effluent or trade effluent within the meaning of the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act 1977 , to waters or sewers within the meaning of that Act, or (d) waste, but does not include a radioactive substance within the...