S.I. No. 272/2009 - European Communities Environmental Objectives (Surface Waters) Regulations 2009

• (4) Have regard to the need to give effect to the polluter pays principle, the use of economic measures in meeting the targets, the relative cost-effectiveness of the measures proposed and the likely economic impact of the proposed measures on key economic and social sectors.

• (5) Make recommendations, on the reduction of pollution by priority and priority hazardous substances, regarding—

• (a) Priorities, measures and reduction targets and deadlines which could be pursued.

• (b) The functions of any relevant public authorities in achieving the targets, priorities and measures proposed.

62.

63.

64.

Power of the Minister in relation to pollution reduction plans

65.

66.

• (1) Two or more co-ordinating local authorities jointly prepare a pollution reduction plan,

• (2) The preparation of a pollution reduction plan by two or more co-ordinating local authorities be co-ordinated in such a manner and in relation to such matters as the Minister may specify, and

• (3) Require a co-ordinating local authority or, as the case may be, two or more co-ordinating local authorities, to vary (whether by addition or deletion) a pollution reduction plan prepared by it or them in such manner as the Minister may specify or to replace the plan by a new pollution reduction plan, and the co-ordinating local authority or authorities shall comply with any such requirement by the Minister.

67.

68.

PART VI MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Miscellaneous and transitional provisions

69.

70.

SCHEDULE 1 RELEVANT PUBLIC AUTHORITIES

The public authorities to which these Regulations apply are—

The Environmental Protection Agency

The relevant local authorities

The regional authorities in the area

The regional fisheries boards in the area

The National Roads Authority

The Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland

The Marine Institute

The Central Fisheries Board

The Electricity Supply Board

The Commission for Energy Regulation

Port and Harbour Authorities including Port companies established under the 1996 Harbours Act

The Dublin Docklands Development Authority

Waterways Ireland

An Bord Pleanála

Bord Iascaigh Mhara

Bord Na Mna

Coillte

The Health and Safety Authority

The Commissioners of Public Works

The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment

The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government

The Minister for Transport

SCHEDULE 2 MEASURES FOR THE PURPOSE OF THESE REGULATIONS

SCHEDULE 3 THE PRESENTATION OF MONITORING RESULTS AND SURFACE WATER CLASSIFICATION

Table 1

Ecological Status

Ecological status classification	Colour code
High	Blue
Good	Green
Moderate	Yellow
Poor	Orange
Bad	Red

Table 2

Ecological Potential

Ecological potential classification	Colour code	Colour code
	Artificial water bodies	Heavily modified
Good and above	Equal green and light grey stripes	Equal green and dark grey stripes
Moderate	Equal yellow and light grey stripes	Equal yellow and dark grey stripes
Poor	Equal orange and light grey stripes	Equal orange and dark grey stripes
Bad	Equal red and light grey stripes	Equal red and dark grey stripes

Table 3

Chemical Status

Chemical status classification	Colour code
Good	Blue
Failing to achieve good	Red

SCHEDULE 4 THE CLASSIFICATION OF ECOLOGICAL STATUS FOR RIVERS, LAKES, TRANSITIONAL WATERS AND COASTAL WATERS

Table 4

The general definition of high, good and moderate ecological status ^(1) ^(2)

High status	There are no, or only very minor, anthropogenic alterations to the values of the physico-chemical and hydromorphological quality elements for the surface water body type from those normally associated with that type under undisturbed conditions. The values of the biological quality elements for the surface water body reflect those normally associated with that type under undisturbed conditions, and show no, or only very minor, evidence of distortion.
Good status	The values of the biological quality elements for the surface water body type show low levels of distortion resulting from human activity, but deviate only slightly from those normally associated with the surface water body type under undisturbed conditions.
Moderate status	The values of the biological quality elements for the surface water body type deviate moderately from those normally associated with the surface water body type under undisturbed conditions. The values show moderate signs of distortion resulting from human activity and are significantly more disturbed than under conditions of good status.

^(1) Surface waters achieving a status below moderate shall be classified as poor or bad

^(2) The text in Table 4 provides a general definition only of ecological quality. For the purpose of classifying surface water ecological satus, regard must be had, as appropriate, to the biological, hydromorphological and supporting physico-chemical quality elements listed in tables 5, 6 and 7 of this Schedule and to the boundary conditions established in Tables 8, 9 and 10 of Schedule 5.

Table 5

The biological quality elements that may be used when calculating ecological status

Surface water category	Biological quality element
River water body	Composition and abundance of aquatic flora Composition and abundance of benthic invertebrate fauna Composition, abundance and age structure of fish fauna
Lake water body	Composition, abundance and biomass of phytoplankton Composition and abundance of other aquatic flora Composition and abundance of benthic invertebrate fauna Composition, abundance and age structure of fish fauna
Transitional water body	Composition, abundance and biomass of phytoplankton Composition and abundance of other aquatic flora Composition and abundance of benthic invertebrate fauna Composition and abundance of fish fauna
Coastal water body	Composition, abundance and biomass of phytoplankton Composition and abundance of other aquatic flora Composition and abundance of benthic invertebrate fauna

Table 6

The hydromorphological quality elements supporting the biological quality elements

Surface water category	Hydromorphological quality element	Description
River water body	Hydrological regime	Quantity and dynamics of water flow Connection to groundwater bodies
	River continuity
	Morphological conditions	River depth and width variation Structure and substrate of the river bed Structure of the riparian zone
Lake water body	Hydrological regime	Quantity and dynamics of water flow Residence time Connection to the groundwater body
	Morphological conditions	Lake depth variation Quantity, structure and substrate of the lake bed Structure of the lake shore
Transitional water body	Morphological conditions	Depth variation Quantity, structure and substrate of the bed Structure of the intertidal zone
	Tidal regime	Freshwater flow Wave exposure
Coastal water body	Morphological conditions	Depth variation Structure and substrate of the coastal bed Structure of the intertidal zone
	Tidal regime	Direction of dominant currents Wave exposure

Table 7

The physico-chemical quality elements supporting the biological elements to be taken into account when calculating ecological status

Surface water category	Physico-chemical quality element	Physico-chemical quality element
River water body	General conditions	Thermal conditions, oxygenation conditions, salinity, acidification status and nutrient conditions
	Specific pollutants	Pollution by synthetic or non synthetic substances listed in Table 10 of Schedule 5 of these Regulations, not being for the time being identified as priority substances, which are discharged in significant quantities into the body of water
Lake water body	General conditions	Transparency, thermal conditions, oxygenation conditions, salinity, acidification subtatus and nutrient conditions
	Specific pollutants	Pollution by synthetic or non synthetic substances listed in Table 10 of Schedule 5 of these Regulations, not being for the time being identified as priority substances, which are discharged in significant quantities into the body of water
Transitional water body	General conditions	Transparency, thermal conditions, oxygenation conditions, salinity and nutrient conditions
	Specific pollutants	Pollution by synthetic or non synthetic substances listed in Table 10 of Schedule 5 of these Regulations, not being for the time being identified as priority substances, which are discharged in significant quantities into the body of water
Coastal water body	General conditions	Transparency, thermal conditions, oxygenation conditions, salinity and nutrient conditions
	Specific pollutants	Pollution by synthetic or non synthetic substances listed in Table 10 of Schedule 5 of these Regulations, not being for the time being identified as priority substances, which are discharged in significant quantities into the body of water

SCHEDULE 5 CRITERIA FOR CALCULATING SURFACE WATER ECOLOGICAL STATUS AND ECOLOGICAL POTENTIAL

Table 8 — Biological quality elements

RIVERS (All types)

		Ecological quality ratio	Ecological quality ratio
Biological quality element	Classification system	High - good boundary	Good - moderate boundary
Benthic invertebrate fauna	Quality rating system (Q - value)	0.85	0.75
Phytobenthos	Trophic diatom index (TDI)	0.93	0.78

LAKES

Biological quality element	Classification system	Lake type ^(1)	Ecological quality ratio	Ecological quality ratio	Chlorophyll a (μg/l)	Chlorophyll a (μg/l)
			High - good boundary	Good - moderate boundary	High - good	Good - moderate
Phytoplankton ^(2)	Phytoplankton biomass ^(3) (Chlorophyll a)	Lake type 4	0.50	0.33	6	9
		Lake types 7, 8, 11 and 12	0.55	0.32	5.8	10
Macrophytes	Lake macrophytes	All types	0.90	0.68

^(1) Type 4: Low alkalinity (<20 mg/1 CaCO3), deep (>4m) and large (<50 ha )

Type 7: Moderate alkalinity (20-100 mg/1 CaCO3), deep (>4m) and small (< 50 ha )

Type 8: Moderate alkalinity (20-100 mg/1 CaCO3), deep (>4m) and large (>50 ha)

Type 11: High alkalinity (>100 mg/1 CaCO3), deep (>4m) and small (<50 ha )

Type 12: High alkalinity (>100 mg/1 CaCO3), deep (>4m) and large (>50 ha)

^(2) The phytoplankton boundary conditions for lake types 7,8,11 and 12 shall apply on an interim basis for classifying lake types not currently listed. EQR boundary conditions are yet to be developed for shallow calcareous lakes.

^(3) Growing season (March to October) mean value. A minimum of 4 samples distributed throughout the growing season is required in any one year. Phytoplankton biomass is not an appropriate indicator for assessing lake trophic status when zebra mussels are present.

COASTAL WATERS (All types with the exception of coastal water lagoons)

Biological quality element	Classification system	Ecological quality ratio	Ecological quality ratio	High-good boundary	Good-moderate boundary
Phytoplankton		High - good	Good - moderate	Chlorophyll (μg/l) ^(1)	Chlorophyll (μg/l) ^(1)
	Phytoplankton biomass (Chlorophyll)	0.66	0.33	2.5 (median value) and 5.0 (90 percentile value) ^(2) 5.0 (median value) and 10.0 (90 percentile value) ^(3)	5.0 (median value) and 10.0 (90 percentile value) ^(2) 10.0 (median value) and 20 (90 percentile value) ^(3)
	Phytoplankton composition	0.84	0.43	Percentage of single taxa counts above thresholds	Percentage of single taxa counts above thresholds
				20	39

COASTAL AND TRANSITIONAL WATERS (All types with the exception of transitional and coastal water lagoons)

Biological quality element	Classification system	Ecological quality ratio	Ecological quality ratio
		High - good boundary	Good - moderate boundary
	Rocky shore reduced species list multimetric system	0.80	0.60
Macroalgae	Opportunistic macroalgae multimetric system	0.80	0.60

^(1) Growing season March to September

^(2) Cold acetone extraction method

^(3) Hot methanol extraction method

Table 9

Physico-chemical conditions supporting the biological elements

PART A: General conditions

THERMAL CONDITIONS

Thermal conditions	River water body	Lake water body	Transitional water body	Coastal water body
Temperature	Not greater than a 1.5°C rise in ambient temperature outside the mixing zone	Not greater than a 1.5°C rise in ambient temperature outside the mixing zone	Not greater than a 1.5°C rise in ambient temperature outside the mixing zone	Not greater than a 1.5°C rise in ambient temperature outside the mixing zone

OXYGENATION CONDITIONS (BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND)

Oxygenation conditions	River water body	Lake water body	Transitional water body	Coastal water body
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)(mg O2 /l)	High status ≤1.3 (mean ^(1)) or ≤2.2 (95%ile) Good status ≤1.5 (mean ^(1)) or ≤2.6 (95%ile)		≤4.0 mg/l (95%ile)

• (1) The calculation of the arithmetic mean and the analytical method used must be in accordance with the technical specifications for chemical monitoring and quality of analytical results to be adopted in accordance with Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, including how to apply an EQS where there is no appropriate analytical method meeting the minimum performance criteria.

OXYGENATION CONDITIONS CONTINUED (DISSOLVED OXYGEN)

Oxygenation conditions	River water body	Lake water body	Transitional water body (Summer)	Coastal water body (Summer)
Dissolved oxygen lower limit	95%ile >80% saturation	95%ile >80% saturation	(0 psu ^(1))95%ile >70% saturation (35 psu)95%ile >80% saturation	(35 psu) 95%ile > 80% saturation
Dissolved oxygen upper limit	95%ile <120% saturation	95%ile <120% saturation	(0 psu) 95%ile <130% saturation (35 psu) 95%ile <120% saturation	(35 psu) 95%ile <120% saturation

ACIDIFICATION STATUS

Acidification status	River water body	Lake water body	Transitional water body	Coastal water body
pH(Individual values)	Soft ^(2) Water 4.5< pH < 9.0 Hard ^(3) Water 6.0< pH < 9.0	Soft ^(2) Water 4.5< pH < 9.0 Hard ^(3) Water 6.0< pH < 9.0

• (1) psu: The Practical Salinity Unit defines salinity in terms of a conductivity ratio of a sample to that of a solution of 32.4356 g of KCL at 15°C in I kg of solution. A sample of seawater at 15°C with a conductivity equal to this KCL solution has a salinity of exactly 35 practical salinity units.

• (2) Water hardness ≤ 100 mg/1 CaCO3

• (3) Water hardness > 100 mg/1 CaCO3

NUTRIENT CONDITIONS

Nutrient conditions	River water body	Lake ^(1)	Transitional water body	Coastal water body
Total Ammonia (mg N/l)	High status ≤0.040 (mean) or ≤0.090 (95%ile) Good status ≤0.065 (mean) or ≤0.140 (95%ile)	High status ≤0.040 (mean) or ≤0.090 (95%ile) Good status ≤0.065 (mean) or ≤0.140 (95%ile)
Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen (mg N/l)				Good status(0 psu ^(2)) ≤2.6 mg N/l (34.5 psu ^(2)) ≤0.25 mg N/l High status(34.5 psu ^(2)) ≤0.17 mg/N/l
Molybdate Reactive Phosphorus (MRP)(mg P/l)	High status ≤0.025 (mean) or ≤0.045 (95%ile) Good status ≤0.035 (mean) or ≤0.075 (95%ile)		(0-17 psu) ≤0.060 (median) (35psu) ≤0.040 (median)

• (1) Total phosphorus (TP) is an important measure of lake trophic status and TP measurements are included as part of the lakes monitoring programme; TP boundary conditions are yet to be established for lakes.

• (2) Linear interpolation to be used to establish the limit value for water bodies between these salinity levels based on the median salinity of the water body being assessed.

Table 10

Physico-chemical conditions supporting the biological elements

PART B: Specific pollutants

AA: annual average ^(1)

MAC: maximum allowable concentration

Unit: [μg/l]

Name of substance	Environmental quality standard (EQS) ^(2) ^(3) ^(6)	Environmental quality standard (EQS) ^(2) ^(3) ^(6)	Environmental quality standard (EQS) ^(2) ^(3) ^(6)	Environmental quality standard (EQS) ^(2) ^(3) ^(6)
	AA-EQS ^(7) Inland surface waters	AA-EQS Other surface waters	MAC-EQS ^(8) Inland surface waters	MAC-EQS Other surface waters
Arsenic	25	20	-	-
Chromium III	4.7	-	32	-
Chromium VI	3.4	0.6	-	32
Copper ^(4)	5 or 30	5	-	-
Cyanide	10	10	-	-
Diazinon	0.01	0.01	0.02	0.26
Dimethoate	0.8	0.8	4	4
Fluoride	500	1,500	-	-
Glyphosate	60	-	-	-
Linuron	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7
Mancozeb	2	2	7.3	7.3
Monochlorobenzene	1.5	25	-	-
Phenol	8	8	46	46
Toluene	10	10	-	-
Xylenes	10	10	-	-
Zinc ^(5)	8 or 50 or 100	40	-	-

• (1) The calculation of the arithmetic mean and the analytical method used must be in accordance with technical specifications to be adopted for chemical monitoring and quality of analytical results in accordance with Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, including how to apply an EQS where there is no appropriate analytical method meeting the minimum performance criteria.

• (2) The values for all metals are for dissolved metals i.e. after filtration through a 0.45 micron filter, In designing monitoring programmes, it was recommended that total chromium be determined. Where the result for total chromium is less than the EQS for Cr VI, no further investigation is deemed necessary. Where the total Chromium level is above the EQS, an assessment should be made of the potential discharges of Cr VI into the waterbody. Where there is a risk of Cr VI contamination, speciation studies should be included in the monitoring programme.

• (3) The values for all metals, except Chromium VI, are as added values to background concentrations.

• (4) In the case of Copper the value 5 applies where the water hardness measured in mg/l CaCO3 is less than or equal to 100; the value 30 applies where the water hardness exceeds 100 mg/l CaCO3.

• (5) In the case of Zinc, the standard shall be 8 μg/l for water hardness with annual average values less than or equal to 10 mg/l CaCO3, 50 μg/l for water hardness greater than 10 mg/l CaCO3 and less than or equal to 100 mg/l CaCO3 and 100 μg/l elsewhere.

• (6) Standards for compounds other than metals refer to total concentrations in the whole water sample.

• (7) AA-EQS means that for each representative monitoring point within the waterbody, the arithmetic mean of the concentrations measured over a twelve month monitoring period does not exceed the standard.

• (8) MAC-EQS means that for each representative monitoring point within the waterbody no measured concentration exceeds the standard.

SCHEDULE 6

Table 11

The environmental quality standards for priority substances and certain other pollutants to apply for the purpose of assigning chemical status

With the exception of cadmium, lead, mercury and nickel (hereinafter “metals”) the EQS values in tables 11 and 12 are expressed as total concentrations in the whole water sample. In the case of metals the EQS refers to the dissolved concentration, i.e. the dissolved fraction of a water sample obtained by filtration through a 0.45 μm filter or any equivalent pre-treatment

Priority Substances

AA: annual average (1)

MAC: maximum allowable concentration

Unit: [μg/l]

(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)
N°	Name of substance	Chemical Abstracts Service number	AA-EQS ^(2) Inland surface waters ^(3)	AA-EQS ^(2) Other surface waters	MAC-EQS ^(4) Inland surface waters ^(3)	MAC-EQS ^(4) Other surface waters
(1)	Alachlor	15972-60-8	0.3	0.3	0.7	0.7
(2)	Atrazine	1912-24-9	0.6	0.6	2.0	2.0
(3)	Benzene	71-43-2	10	8	50	50
(4)	Carbon-tetrachloride ^(5)	56-23-5	12	12	not applicable	not applicable
(5)	Chlorfenvinphos	470-90-6	0.1	0.1	0.3	0.3
(6)	Chlorpyrifos (Chlorpyrifos-ethyl)	2921-88-2	0.03	0.03	0.1	0.1
(7a)	Cyclodiene pesticides: Aldrin ^(5) Dieldrin ^(5) Endrin ^(5) Isodrin ^(5)	309-00-2 60-57-1 72-20-8 465-73-6	Σ=0.01	Σ=0.005	not applicable	not applicable
(7b) 6	DDT total ^(5) (6)	not applicable	0.025	0.025	not applicable	not applicable
	para-para-DDT ^(5)	50-29-3	0.01	0.01	not applicable	not applicable
(8)	1,2-Dichloroethane	107-06-2	10	10	not applicable	not applicable
(9)	Dichloromethane	75-09-2	20	20	not applicable	not applicable
(10)	Di(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate (DEHP)	117-81-7	1.3	1.3	not applicable	not applicable
(11)	Diuron	330-54-1	0.2	0.2	1.8	1.8
(12)	Fluoranthene	206-44-0	0.1	0.1	1	1
(13)	Isoproturon	34123-59-6	0.3	0.3	1.0	1.0
(14)	Lead and its compounds	7439-92-1	7.2	7.2	not applicable	not applicable
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)
N°	Name of substance	Chemical Abstracts Service number	AA-EQS ^(2) Inland surface waters ^(3)	AA-EQS ^(2) Other surface waters	MAC-EQS ^(4) Inland surface waters ^(3)	MAC-EQS ^(4) Other surface waters
(15)	Naphthalene	91-20-3	2.4	1.2	not applicable	not applicable
(16)	Nickel and its compounds	7440-02-0	20	20	not applicable	not applicable
(17)	Octylphenol((4-(1,1’,3,3’-tetramethylbutyl)-phenol))	140-66-9	0.1	0.01	not applicable	not applicable
(18)	Pentachloro-phenol	87-86-5	0.4	0.4	1	1
(19)	Simazine	122-34-9	1	1	4	4
(20a)	Tetrachloro-ethylene ^(5)	127-18-4	10	10	not applicable	not applicable
(20b)	Trichloro-ethylene ^(5)	79-01-6	10	10	not applicable	not applicable
(21)	Trichloro-benzenes	12002-48-1	0.4	0.4	not applicable	not applicable
(22)	Trichloro-methane	67-66-3	2.5	2.5	not applicable	not applicable

• (1) The calculation of the arithmetic mean and the analytical method used must be in accordance with the technical specifications to be adopted for chemical monitoring and quality of analytical results in accordance with Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, including how to apply an EQS where there is no appropriate analytical method meeting the minimum performance criteria.

• (2) This parameter is the Environmental Quality Standard expressed as an annual average value (EQS-AA). Unless otherwise specified, it applies to the total concentration of all isomers.

• (3) Inland surface waters encompass rivers and lakes and related artificial or heavily modified water bodies.

• (4) This parameter is the Environmental Quality Standard expressed as a maximum allowable concentration (MAC-EQS). Where the MAC-EQS are marked as “not applicable”, the AA-EQS values are considered protective against short-term pollution peaks in continuous discharges since they are significantly lower than the values derived on the basis of acute toxicity.

• (5) This substance is not a priority substance but one of the other pollutants for which the EQS are identical to those laid down in community legislation that applied prior to Directive 2008/105/EC of the European Parliament and Council on environmental quality standards in the field of water policy.

• (6) DDT total comprises the sum of the isomers 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2 bis (p-chlorophenyl) ethane (CAS number 50-29-3; EU number 200-024-3); 1,1,1-trichloro-2 (o-chlorophenyl)-2-(p-chlorophenyl) ethane (CAS number 789-02-6; EU Number 212-332-5); 1,1-dichloro-2,2 bis (p-chlorophenyl) ethylene (CAS number 72-55-9; EU Number 200-784-6); and 1,1-dichloro-2,2 bis (p-chlorophenyl) ethane (CAS number 7254-8; EU Number 200-783-0).

Table 12

The environmental quality standards for priority hazardous substances to apply for the purpose of assigning chemical status

Priority Hazardous Substances

AA: annual average ^(1)

MAC: maximum allowable concentration

Unit: [μg/l]

(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)
N°	Name of substance	Chemical Abstracts Service number	AA-EQS ^(2) Inland surface waters ^(3)	AA-EQS ^(2) Other surface waters	MAC-EQS ^(4) Inland surface waters ^(3)	MAC-EQS ^(4) Other surface waters
(1)	Anthracene	120-12-7	0.1	0.1	0.4	0.4
(2)	Brominated diphenylether ^(5)	32534-81-9	0.0005	0.0002	not applicable	not applicable
(3)	Cadmium and its compounds(depending on water hardness classes) ^(6)	7440-43-9	≤0.08(Class1) 0.08 (Class2) 0.09 (Class3) 0.15 (Class4) 0.25 (Class5)	0.2	≤0.45 (Class1) 0.45 (Class2) 0.6 (Class 3) 0.9 (Class 4) 1.5 (Class 5)	≤0.45(Class1) 0.45 (Class2) 0.6 (Class 3) 0.9 (Class 4) 1.5 (Class 5)
(4)	C10-13 Chloroalkanes	85535-84-8	0.4	0.4	1.4	1.4
(5)	Endosulfan	115-29-7	0.005	0.0005	0.01	0.004
(6)	Hexachloro-benzene	118-74-1	0.01	0.01	0.05	0.05
(7)	Hexachloro-butadiene	87-68-3	0.1	0.1	0.6	0.6
(8)	Hexachloro-cyclohexane	608-73-1	0.02	0.002	0.04	0.02
(9)	Mercury and its compounds	7439-97-6	0.05	0.05	0.07	0.07
(10)	Nonylphenol (4-Nonylphenol)	104-40-5	0.3	0.3	2.0	2.0
(11)	Pentachloro-benzene	608-93-5	0.007	0.0007	not applicable	not applicable
(12)	Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) ^(7)	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable
	Benzo(a)pyrene	50-32-8	0.05	0.05	0.1	0.1
	Benzo(b)fluor-anthene	205-99-2	Σ=0.03	Σ=0.03	not applicable	not applicable
	Benzo(k)fluor-anthene	207-08-9
	Benzo(g,h,i)-perylene	191-24-2	Σ=0.002	Σ=0.002	not applicable	not applicable
	Indeno(1,2,3-cd)-pyrene	193-39-5
(13)	Tributyltin compounds (Tributhyltin-cation)	36643-28-4	0.0002	0.0002	0.0015	0.0015

• (1) The calculation of the arithmetic mean and the analytical method used must be in accordance with the technical specifications for chemical monitoring and quality of analytical results to be adopted in accordance with Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, including how to apply an EQS where there is no appropriate analytical method meeting the minimum performance criteria.

• (2) This parameter is the Environmental Quality Standard expressed as an annual average value (EQS-AA). Unless otherwise specified, it applies to the total concentration of all isomers.

• (3) Inland surface waters encompass rivers and lakes and related artificial or heavily modified water bodies.

• (4) This parameter is the Environmental Quality Standard expressed as a maximum allowable concentration (EQS-MAC). Where the MAC-EQS are marked as “not applicable”, the AA-EQS values are considered protective against short-term pollution peaks in continuous discharges since they are significantly lower than the values derived on the basis of acute toxicity.

• (5) For the group of priority substances covered by brominated diphenylethers listed in Decision 2455/2001/EC, an EQS is established only for congener numbers 28, 47, 99, 100, 153 and 154.

• (6) For Cadmium and its compounds the EQS values vary dependent upon the hardness of the water as specified in five class categories (Class 1: < 40 mg CaCO3/1, Class 2: 40 to < 50 mg CaCO3/1, Class 3: 50 to <100 mg CaCO3/1, Class 4: 100 to <200 mg CaCO3/1 and Class 5: ≥200 mg CaCO3/1).

• (7) For the group of substances polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) each individual EQS is applicable, i.e. the EQS for Benzo(a)pyrene, the EQS for the sum of Benzo(b)fluoranthene and Benzo(k)fluoranthene and the EQS for the sum of Benzo(g,h,i)perylene and Indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene must be met.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for the Environment,

16 July 2009

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 give statutory effect to Directive 2008/105/EC on environmental quality standards in the field of water policy. The Regulations also give further effect to Directive 2000/60/EC establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy and Directive 2006/11/EC on pollution caused by certain dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment of the Community.

The Regulations apply to all surface waters and provide, inter alia, for—

• •The establishment of legally binding quality objectives for all surface waters and environmental quality standards for pollutants.

• •The examination and where appropriate, review of existing discharge authorisations by Public Authorities to ensure that the emission limits laid down in authorisations support compliance with the new water quality objectives/standards.

• •The classification of surface water bodies by the EPA for the purposes of the Water Framework Directive.

• •The establishment of inventories of priority substances by the EPA.

• •The drawing up of pollution reduction plans by coordinating local authorities (in consultation with the EPA) to reduce pollution by priority substances and to cease and/or phase out discharges, emissions or losses of priority hazardous substances.

These Regulations revoke the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act 1977 (Water Quality Standards for Phosphorus) Regulations 1998 ( S.I. No. 258 of 1998 ) and the Water Quality (Dangerous Substances) Regulations 2001 ( S.I. No. 12 of 2001 ).

Footnotes