Statutory Instruments 1998 No. 2746
Statutory Instruments 1998 No. 2746
The Groundwater Regulations 1998
- continued

Back to previous page

 

Amendment of the Waste Management Licensing Regulations
     17. For the last two entries in Table 5 in paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 4 to the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994[18], there shall be substituted-

The Environment Agency or the Secretary of State. " Their respective functions in relation to-

    (a) consents under Chapter II of Part III of the Water Resources Act 1991 (offences in relation to pollution of water resources) for any discharge of waste in liquid form other than waste waters;

    (b) authorisations under regulation 18 of the Groundwater Regulations 1998 (disposal or tipping of substances in list I or II); and

    (c) notices under regulation 19 of the Groundwater Regulations 1998 (prohibition or authorisation of activities which may result in indirect discharges of substances in list I or II).

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency or the Secretary of State. Their respective functions in relation to-

    (a) consents under Part II of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 (control of water pollution in Scotland) for any discharge of waste in liquid form other than waste waters;

    (b) authorisations under regulation 18 of the Groundwater Regulations 1998 (disposal or tipping of substances in list I or II); and

    (c) notices under regulation 19 of the Groundwater Regulations 1998 (prohibition or authorisation of activities which may result in indirect discharges of substances in list I or II).

    "


Authorisation of disposal or tipping of substances in list I or II
     18.  - (1) An application for an authorisation for the purposes of regulation 14(1)(a)(i) shall be made in writing to the Agency.

    (2) If in any case the Agency considers that there are special reasons why the application should be advertised, it may by notice in writing served on the applicant require him to advertise the application in such manner as may be specified in the notice.

    (3) The Agency may either-

    (4) The Agency may, by notice in writing served on the person holding an authorisation under this regulation, at any time vary or revoke the authorisation and a notice of variation or revocation shall state the Agency's reasons.

Notice to prevent or control indirect discharges of substances in list I or II
    
19.  - (1) Subject to paragraph (2), where-

the Agency may serve notice in writing on that person prohibiting him from carrying on that activity or authorising him to carry on that activity subject to such conditions as are specified in the notice and which are necessary to prevent an indirect discharge of any substance in list I or pollution of groundwater as a result of an indirect discharge of any substance in list II.

    (2) This regulation shall not apply to the disposal, or tipping for the purpose of disposal, of any substance in list I or II except in a case falling within regulation 23(3) during the period whilst the application in question is pending.

    (3) The Agency may at any time, by notice in writing served on the person on whom a notice under paragraph (1) was served, vary or revoke that notice and a notice of variation or revocation shall state the Agency's reasons.

Appeals
    
20.  - (1) A person may appeal by notice in writing to the Secretary of State against any decision of the Agency under regulation 18 or 19-

beginning in either case with the date on which he was notified of the Agency's decision, or within such longer period as the Secretary of State may allow.

    (2) Where-

    (3) An appeal under this regulation shall be made by the appellant serving notice in writing on the Secretary of State and the notice shall state the appellant's grounds of appeal.

    (4) Before determining an appeal under this regulation the Secretary of State shall-

    (5) On determining an appeal under this regulation the Secretary of State shall have power to dismiss the appeal or to direct the Agency to take such steps in exercise of its powers under regulation 18 or 19 as the Secretary of State considers appropriate to give effect to his decision on the appeal.

Codes of practice
    
21.  - (1) The Ministers may from time to time approve for the purposes of these Regulations (or withdraw their approval of) codes of practice issued for the purpose of giving practical guidance to persons engaged in any activity falling within regulation 4(2)(b) or 5(1)(c) about the steps they should take to prevent substances in list I from entering groundwater or to avoid pollution of such water by substances in list II.

    (2) In deciding whether or not it is necessary to exercise the Agency's powers under regulation 19, the Agency shall consider whether or not any guidance, which is contained in a relevant code of practice for the time being approved under paragraph (1) above, has been, or is likely to be, followed.

    (3) When the Ministers exercise their powers under paragraph (1) above they shall-

    (4) The Agency shall make appropriate arrangements for bringing each code of practice for the time being approved under paragraph (1) above to the attention of persons engaged in the relevant activity.

    (5) In this regulation "the Ministers" means any Minister of the Crown within the meaning of the Ministers of the Crown Act 1975[
19] acting either alone or jointly with one or more such Ministers.

Particulars to be included in registers
     22.  - (1) Subject to regulation 14(3) and paragraph (2) below, the Agency shall, as soon as reasonably practicable, enter on registers maintained by it under section 190 of the Water Resources Act 1991 or section 41 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 (pollution control registers) full particulars of-

    (2) Nothing in paragraph (1) above shall require the Agency to keep on a register-

Transitional provisions
    
23.  - (1) This regulation applies where any application is made before 1st April 1999 to the Agency for an authorisation for the purposes of regulation 14(1)(a)(i).

    (2) The application shall be dealt with in the same manner as an application made on or after 1st April 1999 but-

    (3) Where-

    (4) An application shall be treated as finally disposed of for the purposes of paragraph (1)(3) above on-



Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for the Environment


Michael Meacher
Minister of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions

30th October 1998



Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Wales


Jon Owen Jones
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Welsh Office

6th November 1998



Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Scotland


Sewel
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Scottish Office

5th November 1998



SCHEDULE
Regulation 1(2)

LIST 1

     1.  - (1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2) below, a substance is in list I if it belongs to one of the following families or groups of substances-

    (a) organohalogen compounds and substances which may form such compounds in the aquatic environment;

    (b) organophosphorus compounds;

    (c) organotin compounds;

    (d) substances which possess carcinogenic, mutagenic or teratogenic properties in or via the aquatic environment (including substances which have those properties which would otherwise be in list II);

    (e) mercury and its compounds;

    (f) cadmium and its compounds;

    (g) mineral oils and hydrocarbons;

    (h) cyanides.

    (2) A substance is not in list I if it has been determined by the Agency to be inappropriate to list I on the basis of a low risk of toxicity, persistence and bioaccumulation.

LIST II

     2.  - (1) A substance is in list II if it could have a harmful effect on groundwater and it belongs to one of the following families or groups of substances-

    (a) the following metalloids and metals and their compounds:

    Zinc Tin
    Copper Barium
    Nickel Beryllium
    Chromium Boron
    Lead Uranium
    Selenium Vanadium
    Arsenic Cobalt
    Antimony Thallium
    Molybdenum Tellurium
    Titanium Silver.

    (b) biocides and their derivatives not appearing in list I;

    (c) substances which have a deleterious effect on the taste or odour of groundwater, and compounds liable to cause the formation of such substances in such water and to render it unfit for human consumption;

    (d) toxic or persistent organic compounds of silicon, and substances which may cause the formation of such compounds in water, excluding those which are biologically harmless or are rapidly converted in water into harmless substances;

    (e) inorganic compounds of phosphorus and elemental phosphorus;

    (f) fluorides;

    (g) ammonia and nitrites.

    (2) A substance is also in list II if-

    (a) it belongs to one of the families or groups of substances set out in paragraph 1(1) above;

    (b) it has been determined by the Agency to be inappropriate to list I under paragraph 1(2); and

    (c) it has been determined by the Agency to be appropriate to list II having regard to toxicity, persistence and bioaccumulation.

     3.  - (1) The Secretary of State may review any decision of the Agency in relation to the exercise of its powers under paragraph 1(2) or 2(2).

    (2) The Secretary of State shall notify the Agency of his decision following a review under sub-paragraph (1) above and it shall be the duty of the Agency to give effect to that decision.

     4. The Agency shall from time to time publish a summary of the effect of its determinations under this Schedule in such manner as it considers appropriate and shall make copies of any such summary available to the public free of charge.



EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)


These Regulations complete the implementation of the Groundwater Directive (Council Directive 80/68/EEC) for England, Wales and Scotland. They supplement regulation 15 of the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 and existing water pollution legislation.

The Regulations require the Environment Agency, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Secretary of State to use their new powers under the Regulations and their existing powers under Part II of the Control of Pollution Act 1974, Part III of the Water Resources Act 1991 and Part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to prevent the direct or indirect discharge of list I substances to groundwater and to control pollution resulting from the direct or indirect discharge of list II substances (regulations 3 to 13).

The new powers are conferred by regulations 14 and 18 to 21 which introduce-

    (a) a new requirement for an authorisation for the disposal, or tipping for the purposes of disposal, of list I or II substances in cases where a waste management licence under Part II of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 is not already required; and

    (b) a new procedure for prohibiting or regulating by notice other activities in or on land which pose an indirect threat to groundwater from list I or II substances.

There are exclusions from the Regulations in relation to radioactive substances, domestic effluent from isolated dwellings, small quantities and concentrations of list I or II substances, and activities for which a waste management licence is required (regulation 2). There are also exceptions from the main controls (subject to certain safeguards) in relation to-

    (a) discharges to groundwater unsuitable for other uses;

    (b) water used for geothermal purposes or pumped out of mines, quarries or civil engineering works; and

    (c) artificial recharges of groundwater for management purposes (regulation 4(5) and 12).

The Regulations apply with modifications certain provisions of the Control of Pollution Act 1974, the Water Resources Act 1991, the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Environment Act 1995 and amend the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 in connection with the new controls (regulations 14 to 17).

Regulation 22 deals with information to be included on water pollution registers. Regulation 23 makes transitional provisions in relation to the new authorisation procedure.

A regulatory impact appraisal in respect of these regulations may be obtained from Water Quality Division (Branch 2), Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, Floor 3/G17, Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6DE. A copy has been placed in the library of each of the Houses of Parliament.


Notes:

[18] S.I. 1994/1056, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.back

[19] 1975 c. 26.back



ISBN 0 11 079799 X


 
Other UK SIs |  Home |  National Assembly for Wales Statutory Instruments |  Scottish Statutory Instruments |  Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland |  Her Majesty's Stationery Office

We welcome your comments on this site
© Crown copyright 1998
Prepared 1 December 1998