Dumping at Sea Act , 1996

1. Interpretation.

1.—In this Act, save where the context otherwise requires—

F1["Agency" means the Environmental Protection Agency;]

“authorised officer” shall be construed in accordance with section 6 (1) of this Act;

“company” has the same meaning as in the Companies Acts, 1963 to 1990;

“dumping” means—

(a)any deliberate disposal in the maritime area (including side-cast dredging, plough dredging, water injection dredging and other such dredging techniques) of a substance or material from or in conjunction with a vessel or aircraft or offshore installation,

(b)any deliberate disposal in the maritime area of vessels, aircraft or offshore installations,

but does not include—

(i)the disposal in accordance with the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto, or other applicable international law to which Ireland is a party, of a substance or a material incidental to, or derived from, the normal operations of a vessel or aircraft or offshore installation (or its equipment) other than a substance or a material transported by or to a vessel or aircraft or offshore installation for the purpose of disposal of such substance or material or derived from the treatment of such substance or material on such a vessel or aircraft or installation;

(ii)the discharge, for the purpose of dispersing or otherwise altering the distribution or character of any mineral oil on the surface of the sea, of a substance or material designed or intended for use for the purpose aforesaid and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

(iii)placement of a substance or material or vessel or aircraft in the maritime area for a purpose other than the mere disposal thereof, provided that, if the placement is for a purpose other than that for which the substance or material or vessel or aircraft was originally designed or constructed, it is in accordance with the provisions of sections 2 and 5 of this Act;

(iv)the discarding of unprocessed fish or fish offal from fishing vessels;

F3[…]

F4["exclusive economic zone of the State" has the same meaning as it has in the Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2021;]

“functions” includes powers and duties and a reference to the performance of a function includes a reference to the exercise of a power and the carrying out of a duty;

F5["harbour authority" means—

(a)in the case of a harbour to which the Harbours Acts 1996 and 2000 apply, a company within the meaning of those Acts,

(b)in the case of a harbour to which the Harbours Acts 1946 to 1976 apply, a harbour authority within the meaning of those Acts,

F6[(c)in the case of a fishery harbour centre to which theFishery Harbour Centres Act 1968applies or any other harbour under the control of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, that Minister,]

(d)in the case of a harbour under the control of a local authority, the local authority concerned,

(e)in the case of a harbour under the management of IarnródÉireann - Irish Rail, that company;]

F4["inland waters of the State" shall be construed in accordance with section 8 of the Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2021;]

“Irish aircraft” means an aircraft registered in the State;

“Irish vessel” means a ship which is an Irish ship within the meaning of the Mercantile Marine Act, 1955, or a vessel which is owned by, leased or chartered to, an individual resident in the State or an Irish company, and is not registered under the law of another country;

F4["territorial sea of the State" has the same meaning as it has in the Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2021;]

“the London Convention” means the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter done at London on the 29th day of December, 1972, as amended by the Consultative Meeting of Contracting Parties to the Convention on the 12th day of October, 1978;

F7["the maritime area" comprises—

(I) the inland waters andF8[territorial sea]of the State, and the seabed and subsoil beneath them,

F8[(II) a designated area within the meaning of the Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2021, and]

(III) the exclusive economic zone of the State;]

“master”, in relation to a vessel, means the person having the command or charge of the vessel for the time being;

F9[…]

“offshore activities” means activities carried out in the sea for the purpose of the exploration, appraisal or exploitation of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons;

“offshore installation” means any man-made structure, plant or vessel or parts thereof, whether floating or fixed to the seabed, placed in the sea for the purpose of offshore activities;

“substance or material” includes thing;

F10[…]

“vessel” includes an aircraft which is capable of landing on or taking off from water.

2. Restrictions on dumping at sea of vessels, aircraft, substances and material.

2.—(1) If any vessel or aircraft, substance or material—

(a)is dumped in the maritime area,

(b)is dumped anywhere in the sea outside the maritime area and the dumping is from an Irish vessel, or an Irish aircraft, or

(c)is loaded on to a vessel or aircraft in the State or in the maritime area for dumping,

the master and the owner of the vessel, or the pilot in command and the owner of the aircraft, as the case may be, and any other person who causes or permits the dumping or loading shall be guilty of an offence.

(2)It shall be a defence for a person (“the defendant”) charged with an offence under this section to prove—

(a)that the commission of the offence was due to a mistake or to the act or default of another person or to an accident or some other cause beyond the defendant's control and that the defendant took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of such an offence by the defendant or any person under the defendant's control, or

(b)that the dumping or loading concerned took place under and in accordance with a permit under section 5 of this Act, or, in the case of dumping to which subsection (1) (b) of this section relates, under and in accordance with a permit granted by another state that is party to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic done at Paris on the 22nd day of September, 1992 or the London Convention.

(3)(a)Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply in relation to dumping, if it is reasonably necessary for the purpose of securing the safety of a vessel or aircraft or of saving life.

F12[(b)Dumping for a purpose specified inparagraph (a)of this subsection shall be reported to the Agency by the master of the vessel or pilot in command of the aircraft, as the case may be, as soon as may be, but not later than 7 days after it takes place.]

(c)A person who contravenes paragraph (b) of this subsection shall be guilty of an offence.

F13[(4) In subsection (1) of this section a reference to the owner of a vessel or aircraft includes, where the vessel or aircraft is on hire, the person to whom it is on hire.]

3. Prohibition of incineration of substances or material in maritime area.

3.—(1)A person who causes or procures the incineration, that is to say, the deliberate combustion, of any substance or material in the maritime area for the purpose of thermal destruction shall be guilty of an offence.

(2)Subsection (1) does not apply to the thermal destruction of substances or material derived from the normal operation of a vessel, aircraft or offshore installation other than the thermal destruction of substances or material on a vessel, aircraft or offshore installation operating for the purpose of such destruction.

4. Prohibition of disposal of offshore installations and certain substances or material.

4.—(1) Subject to section 5 of this Act, a person who deliberately disposes of, or permits the disposal of, in the maritime area, an offshore installation or any substance or material from any such installation, and the person in charge of, and the owner of, the offshore installation concerned, shall be guilty of an offence.

(2)A person who deliberately disposes of, or permits the disposal of, in the maritime area—

(a)low, intermediate and high level radioactive substances or material, or

(b)toxic, harmful or noxious substances,

and the master and the owner of the vessel, or the pilot in command and the owner of the aircraft or the person in charge of and the owner of the offshore installation concerned, as the case may be, shall be guilty of an offence.

(3)F14[…]

(4)F15[…]

5. Permits in relation to dumping.

5.—(1) F16[(a) The Agency may, after consultation with the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and such other Minister of the Government as the Agency considers appropriate, grant, or refuse to grant, a permit to a person who applies to the Agency for a permit authorising the dumping of a specified vessel, aircraft or offshore installation, or a specified quantity of a specified substance or material in a specified place within a specified period of time or the loading onto the vessel or aircraft, of a specified quantity of a specified substance or material at a specified place within a specified period of time, which is intended to be dumped from the vessel or aircraft concerned.]

(b)In deciding whether to grant or refuse a permit under this subsection, F17[the Agency shall] consider—

(i)the provisions establishing criteria governing the grant of a permit for dumping which are set out in the First Schedule to this Act, and

(ii)(I)the exceptions to the prohibition on dumping as contained in the extracts from Annex II to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic done at Paris on the 22nd day of September, 1992, which are set out in Part 1 of the Second Schedule to this Act, or

(II)the exceptions to the prohibition on dumping set out in Part 2 of the said Schedule and permitted under Annex III to the said Convention,

F18[as may be appropriate, and]

F19[(iii) in relation to the proposed dredging and dumping of any substance or material, any submission or observations made by a person, and comments made by an applicant, undersection 5A.]

F20[(2) A person who applies to the Agency for a permit under this section shall furnish to the Agency such information as the Agency may consider necessary for the purpose of the exercise of functions under this section, including, where so requested by the Agency, information that will satisfy the Agency that there is no suitable alternative means of disposal of the vessel, aircraft, offshore installation, substance or material concerned.

(3) A permit under this section shall contain such conditions as the Agency thinks appropriate. Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, a permit under this section shall include a condition that the person to whom it is granted shall indemnify the Agency against all reasonable costs incurred by him arising out of a breach of a condition of the said permit.

(4) The Agency may, after consultation with the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and such other Minister of the Government as the Agency considers appropriate, revoke or amend a permit under this section, whenever the Agency deems it appropriate.]

F21[(5)(a) An application for a permit under this section or for amendment of any such permit shall be subject to such fee payable in such manner,F17[as the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government may], with the consent of the Minister for Finance, prescribe by regulations.

(b) Regulations under this subsection may provide for fees of different amounts in respect of applications of different categories and in different circumstances.

F22[(c) Where under regulations made under this subsection a fee is payable in respect of any application, the application shall not be considered or decided unless the Agency is in receipt of the fee or the appropriate part thereof, as the case may be.]

(d) Every regulation made under this subsection shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall beannulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.]

(6)The F17[Agency] may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, in a case where the F17[Agency] proposes to grant a permit to a person under this section, charge the person (in addition to any fee paid by the person under subsection (5) of this section) a fee of such amount as, in the opinion of the F17[Agency], is appropriate having regard to the cost of any monitoring, surveys and examinations carried out or to be carried out for the purposes of enabling the F17[Agency]—

(a)to determine where dumping may take place,

(b)to assess the effects of the dumping to which the permit relates on the marine environment and the living resources which it supports, and

(c)to ensure that the dumping to which the permit relates is carried out in accordance with that permit.

(7)A person who, in relation to an application for a permit under this section, makes a statement F17[to the Agency] that is false or misleading in a material respect shall be guilty of an offence unless it is shown that the person concerned did not, and could not reasonably have been expected to, know that the statement was false or misleading in a material respect.

F23[(7A) In this section references to an application for a permit include references to an application for an amendment of a permit.]

(8)(a)Permits may, subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection, be granted, revoked or amended by a person authorised for that purpose by the F17[Agency] and references to the F17[Agency] in subsections (1) to (7) of this section shall be construed as including references to such person.

(b)Where a person is authorised in accordance with paragraph (a) of this subsection to grant, revoke or amend a permit the person shall, in the discharge of such functions, have regard to such considerations of the policy as the F17[Agency] may direct.

(9)(a)F17[The Agency shall keep a register] and shall cause to be entered in the register particulars of all permits granted under this section.

(b)The register kept under this section shall be open to inspection by the public free of charge at all reasonable times. F24[TheF17[Agency]shall cause the register to be published by electronic means.]

(c)The F17[Agency] shall, as soon as may be after the end of each year, cause to be published in Iris Oifigiúil, particulars of all permits granted under this section, in that year.

(10)A permit granted under the Dumping at Sea Act, 1981, and in force immediately before the commencement of this section shall continue in force as if granted under this Act.

(11) F25[…]

(12)This section shall not come into operation as respects offshore installations until such day as the Government may by order appoint.

(13)Whenever an order is proposed to be made under this section a draft of the order shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the order shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.

5A. F26[Notice of application for permit under section 5.

5A.—(1) A person who applies for a permit undersection 5shall, within 21 days after so applying, publish a notice of the application in a newspaper circulating in the area adjacent to the site of the proposed dumping (and where dredging is proposed in the maritime area of any substance or material for dumping in the maritime area, publish the notice also in a newspaper circulating in the area adjacent to the site of the proposed dredging) or, if no newspaper is circulating in those areas, then in a newspaper circulating nationally or such other newspaper as,F27[in the opinion of the Agency], is likely to bring the proposal to the attention of persons who may be affected in the areas.

(2) A notice undersubsection (1)shall contain a brief sketch map showing the location of the proposed site or sites and the approximate distance therefrom to a specified place on the mainland and brief details of the commencement and duration of the proposed activity, the characteristics, composition and the approximate amounts of any substance or material involved and the method of the proposed dredging or dumping as the case may be, and indicate where any relevant documentation in relation to the proposal may be inspected or a copy thereof may be obtained at a reasonable cost.

(3) Except in a case of dredging which,F28[in the opinion of the Agency], is urgently required for the purposes of navigational safety and is specified in a notice undersubsection (1), which is published in a newspaper circulating nationally, to be of an urgent nature for the reason or reasons stated in the notice, a person may, in writing, within—

(a) in the case of proposed dredging, over a period of not more than 12 months, for the maintenance of navigable depths, 21 days, or

(b) in any other case, 1 month,

after the date on which a notice undersubsection (1)is published,F29[make a submission or observations to the Agency]about the proposal.

(4) A submission or observations undersubsection (3)shall—

(a) state the name and address of the person making the submission or observations,

(b) state the grounds for the submission or observations and any considerations and arguments on which it or they are based, and

(c) be accompanied by such documents, particulars or other information the person considers are necessary or appropriateF30[for the consideration by the Agency]of the application.

(5)F31[The Agency shall], within 10 working days after the period within which a submission or observations may be made undersubsection (3), give to the applicant for the permit, for comment, a copy of the submission or observations and any accompanying documents, particulars or other information provided.

(6) Except in a case of dredging which,F32[in the opinion of the Agency], is urgently required for the purposes of navigational safety and is specified in a notice undersubsection (1), which is published in a newspaper circulating nationally, to be of an urgent nature for the reason or reasons stated in the notice,F33[the Agency shall]shall not consider an application referred to in that subsection until after—

(a) the period specified insubsection (3)in respect of the proposed dredging, after publication of the notice, and