S.I. No. 684/2007 - Waste Water Discharge (Authorisation) Regulations 2007

• (4) The Agency shall take all such steps as are open to it to ensure compliance with all conditions attaching to a certificate or revised certificate granted by it, including initiating prosecution proceedings for the offence of contravening paragraph (3).

Surrender or revocation of a certificate

• (a) shall stand revoked where, in accordance with Regulation 30(1), the Agency grants a revised certificate, and

• (b) may be surrendered by the holder at any time, subject to the agreement of, and by written notice to, the Agency.

• (2) The Agency shall not agree to the surrender of a certificate unless it is satisfied that the discharge from the discharge point or points concerned has been terminated.

• (3) Where there is an increase in the population equivalent of an agglomeration to which a certificate relates such that the agglomeration falls to be specified in column (1) of Schedule 2, the holder shall make an application for a licence under Regulation 15 and the certificate shall, on the granting by the Agency of the relevant licence, stand revoked.

Clerical or technical amendments to licences and certificates

• (a) correcting any clerical error therein,

• (b) facilitating the doing of any thing pursuant to a condition attached to the licence or certificate where the doing of that thing may reasonably be regarded as having been contemplated by the terms of the condition or the terms of the licence or certificate taken as a whole but which was not expressly provided for in the condition, or

• (c) otherwise facilitating the operation of the licence or certificate where the making of the amendment does not result in the relevant environmental requirements ceasing to be satisfied.

• (2) The Agency shall, where appropriate, consult with the licensee or certificate holder before amending a licence or certificate or revised licence or revised certificate under paragraph (1).

Questioning of decision of Agency

• (a) attach a specified condition to an authorisation issued by it,

• (b) not consider an application in accordance with Regulation 18(3)(a), 18(4)(a), 20(2)(a) or 20(2)(c)(i), or

• (c) refuse to grant a certificate,

unless the proceedings are instituted within the period of 28 days beginning on the date on which the Agency issues to the authority—

• (i) the authorisation referred to in subparagraph (a), or

• (ii) notification of the decision referred to in subparagraph (b) or (c), as the case may be.

False or misleading information or failure to provide information

• (2) A person who fails to comply with a notice issued by the Agency or to provide information that the Agency requires under these Regulations commits an offence.

Register

• (2) The Agency shall assign a reference number to each licence and certificate and revised licence and revised certificate granted by it and that number shall be recorded on the register together with such other details as may from time to time be specified by the Agency.

• (3) The Agency shall make any of the information contained in the register available on request and may charge a reasonable fee for this purpose.

Injunctive relief

• (a) direct the authority to comply with the condition, and

• (b) make such other provision, including provision in relation to the payment of costs, as the Court considers appropriate.

• (2) An application for an order under this Regulation shall be by motion, and the High Court, when considering the matter, may make such interim or interlocutory order as it considers appropriate.

• (3) An application for an order under this Regulation may be made whether or not there has been a prosecution for an offence under these Regulations in relation to the discharge concerned, and shall not prejudice the initiation of a prosecution for an offence under these Regulations in relation to the discharge concerned.

PART VIII FEES AND MISCELLANEOUS

Fee for application for a licence or certificate

• (2) Subject to paragraph (3), the fee payable under paragraph (1) shall be the amount indicated in column (2) of Schedule 3 opposite the relevant class of waste water discharges in column (1) of the said Schedule.

• (3) The Agency may, at its discretion, reduce, by whatever amount it considers appropriate, a fee payable under paragraph (1) in the case of multiple applications from a water services authority within a 3-month period.

• (4) The fee required under paragraph (1) may be recovered by the Agency as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Fee for application for review of a licence or of a certificate

• (a) an application for a review of a licence or of a certificate, or

• (b) a review of a licence under Regulation 14(1)(a) or 14(2).

• (2) Subject to paragraph (3), the fee payable under paragraph (1) shall be the amount indicated in column (3) of Schedule 3 opposite the relevant class of waste water discharges in column (1) of the said Schedule.

• (3) The Agency may, at its discretion, reduce, by whatever amount it considers appropriate, a fee payable under paragraph (1) in the case of multiple reviews of licences or applications from a water services authority within a 3-month period.

• (4) The fee required under paragraph (1) may be recovered by the Agency as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Powers of authorised persons

• (2) The activities referred to in paragraph (1) are—

• (a) the carrying out of inspections,

• (b) the seizure and retention of anything believed to be evidence,

• (c) requiring the production of, inspection and taking copies of, records and documents or extracts therefrom, including records held in electronic form, or taking away, if considered necessary for the purposes of inspection or examination, any records or documents,

• (d) the taking of photographs and making of tape, electrical, video or other recordings,

• (e) the conducting of tests and taking of samples, and

• (f) requiring information from any person employed on the premises.

• (3) When exercising the powers conferred under paragraph (1), a person shall, if so required, provide evidence of appointment by the Agency as an authorised person.

• (4) A person who—

• (a) refuses to allow an authorised person on to a premises, or refuses to allow an authorised person to bring any other person or equipment with him or her on to a premises or to carry out any activity in the exercise of his or her powers under this Regulation,

• (b) obstructs or impedes an authorised person in the exercise of his or her powers or functions,

• (c) gives to an authorised person information which, to the knowledge of the person giving it, is false or misleading in a material respect, or

• (d) fails or refuses to comply with a direction or requirement of an authorised person,

commits an offence.

Limitation of Act of 2000

• (a) a planning authority, or An Bord Pleanála, where it decides to grant a permission under section 34, 37 or 37E on appeal or otherwise, as the case may be, of the said Act, or

• (b) An Bord Pleanála, where it decides to grant an approval under section 175 or 226 of the said Act,

in respect of a proposed development that involves a waste water discharge from a waste water works, shall not subject the permission or approval, as the case may be, to conditions which are for the purposes of controlling the waste water discharge.

• (2) Where a permission or approval under the Act of 2000 has been subjected to conditions, other than conditions as referred to in paragraph (3)(b), that are for the purposes of controlling discharges from a development as described in paragraph (1), those conditions shall cease to have effect upon the granting of an authorisation under these Regulations in respect of the waste water discharges concerned.

• (3) In determining an application or appeal as referred to in paragraph (1), a planning authority or An Bord Pleanála, where it considers that, notwithstanding the authorisation of the waste water discharge under these Regulations, the discharge in question would cause or exacerbate breaches of the combined approach or otherwise cause serious water pollution, may—

• (a) decide to refuse permission or approval for the development, or

• (b) limit the scale of development permitted or approved, by way of condition or otherwise, in order to prevent breaches of the combined approach or to prevent serious water pollution.

Transitional provision

• (a) a planning authority is considering an application for permission under section 34 of the Act of 2000, or

• (b) An Bord Pleanála is considering—

• (i) an appeal under section 37 of the Act of 2000 against a decision arising from such application, or

• (ii) an application for permission under section 37E, or approval under section 175 or 226 of the said Act,

for a proposed development that involves a waste water discharge from a waste water works, the planning authority or the Board, as the case may be, shall consider whether the discharge of waste water from the proposed development, in conjunction with existing discharges to the receiving waters, would cause or exacerbate breaches of the combined approach.

• (2) Where, following consideration under paragraph (1), the planning authority or the Board, as the case may be, forms the opinion that breaches of the combined approach would be caused or exacerbated, a permission or approval referred to in paragraph (1), which the authority or Board decides to grant, shall include conditions to prevent—

• (a) breaches of water quality standards established under national Regulations in relation to designated bathing waters, designated shellfish waters, areas designated for the protection of freshwater fish and areas designated for the abstraction of water intended for human consumption,

• (b) a deterioration in the chemical or ecological status (or ecological potential as the case may be) in the receiving water body,

• (c) a deterioration in the chemical status of the receiving body of groundwater,

• (d) the input into groundwater of hazardous substances, or

• (e) the exclusion or compromising of the achievement of the objectives established for protected species and natural habitats in the case of European sites where the maintenance or improvement of the status of water is an important factor in their protection.

Consideration of proposals by planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála

• (2) Where, following consideration under paragraph (1), the planning authority or the Board forms the opinion that the proposed discharge would result in non-compliance with, or a significant breach of, the combined approach, the planning authority or the Board shall—

• (a) refuse permission or approval for the development,

• (b) impose conditions in any grant of permission or approval to ensure that the discharge does not result in non-compliance with, or in a significant breach of, the combined approach, as the case may be, or

• (c) decide not to proceed with the development.

Consultation by planning authority and An Bord Pleanála

• (2) When making its decision, the planning authority or the Board, as the case may be, shall have regard to the observations received from the Agency.

• (3) The making of observations by the Agency under this Regulation shall not prejudice any other function of the Agency under these Regulations.

Discharges requiring licensing under Foreshore Acts

• (2) The grant of a licence under the Foreshore Act 1933 in relation to any activity shall not prejudice, affect or restrict in any way the application of any provision of these Regulations to such an activity.

Funding of capital works

Revocation

SCHEDULE 1 Indicative List of Main Pollutants

SCHEDULE 2 Prescribed dates for the purpose of Regulation 5(1)

SCHEDULE 3 Fees payable to the Agency in respect of an application for a licence or a certificate or for the review of a licence or of a certificate

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

27 September 2007

JOHN GORMLEY

Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation).

These Regulations provide for the commencement and operation of authorisation by the Environmental Protection Agency of local authority waste water discharges. The Regulations require discharges from agglomerations with population equivalents greater than 500 to be licensed and set out procedures for the making of licence applications, reviews of licences and the making of submissions. Discharges from agglomerations with a population equivalent below 500 are required to be certified by the EPA.

The Regulations also prescribe the dates by which specified classes of waste water discharges must have been the subject of a licence application or certification.

Footnotes