Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland

(i) the working of the quarry;

(ii) the consumption, use, storage or preparation for sale of the minerals or products thereof extracted from the quarry; or

(iii) the removal from the quarry of any substance extracted from the quarry; and

(b) any tip—

(i) for the time being used in conjunction or connection with the operation of the quarry; or

(ii) subject to paragraph (4)(a), (whether or not it is for the time being in use) situated on premises occupied by the operator of the quarry;

(i) the operator of one of the other quarries in conjunction or connection with which the tip is for the time being used has agreed that the tip should be treated as forming part of the quarry of which he is the operator; and

(ii) notice to that effect has been given to the Executive by that operator;

(b) a tip is for the time being used in conjunction or connection with the operation of two or more quarries and is situated on premises occupied jointly by the operators of two or more of those quarries, the last-named operators shall, for the purposes of these Regulations, be treated as being in joint and several control of that tip and as being jointly and severally responsible therefor unless—

(i) the said operators have agreed that one of their number should be treated as being in control of that tip and responsible therefor; and

(ii) notice to that effect has been given to the Executive by the operator who is to be so treated;

(i) the extraction of minerals; or

(ii) the preparation for sale of minerals,

(a) with a view to abandoning that quarry; or

(b) for the purpose of preventing the flow from that quarry into an adjacent quarry of water or material that flows when wet.

    (4) These Regulations shall apply to a self-employed person as they apply to an employer and as if that self-employed person were both an employer and a person at work.

(a) is designed, constructed, erected, operated, supervised and maintained so as to withstand any reasonably foreseeable environmental forces; and

(b) has a construction and solidity which is appropriate to the nature of its use.

(a) prepare and keep up to date a suitable written scheme for the systematic inspection, maintenance and, where appropriate, testing of—


(i) all parts of the quarry;

(ii) all buildings (whether temporary or permanent) at the quarry; and

(iii) any plant at the quarry, with a view to securing the health and safety of those persons identified in regulation 7(1)(b)(i) and (ii);



(b) ensure that, where appropriate, suitable written reports are made of inspections, maintenance and tests carried out in pursuance of sub-paragraph (a) and that each report records significant defects and the steps taken to remedy them and—



(i) is signed by the person making it; and

(ii) countersigned by an appropriate person in the management structure; and



(c) ensure that a sufficient number of competent persons are appointed to undertake the activities referred to in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b).

    (2) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraphs (1)(a) and (b), the said written scheme shall specify that faces above—

(a) every place of work at the quarry; and

(b) every road used by persons at work at the quarry for the purpose of their work or of getting to or from their place of work,

(a) the carrying out of hazardous operations; or

(b) usually straightforward operations which may interact with other activities to cause serious hazards,

(c) is not carried out unless a permit to carry out that work has been issued.

    (2) Such permits to work shall specify—

(a) the conditions to be fulfilled; and

(b) the precautions to be taken before, during and after the operation concerned, in order to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of any person affected by that operation.

    (3) Such permits to work shall be—

(a) issued, signed and dated by a suitable person in the management structure; and then

(b) accepted, signed and dated by a further suitable person.

(a) instability; or

(b) movement,

(a) in the case of excavations and tips falling within paragraph (1)(a), before the commencement of operations; and

(b) in the case of excavations and tips falling within paragraphs (1)(b) and (1)(c), as soon as possible after the date on which the operator is notified of the geotechnical specialist's conclusions, reached in accordance with regulation 27(1)(b).

    (4) The following information shall be included in any notice given by the operator in accordance with paragraph (1)—

(a) a brief description of the excavation or tip, including its location, size, and the material to be excavated or tipped; and

(b) in relation to excavations and tips falling within paragraphs (1)(b) and (1)(c), the conclusions reached by the geotechnical specialist carrying out the geotechnical assessment in accordance with paragraphs (1)(b), (c) and (d) of regulation 27.

(a) in a case where there is a trade union representative of a majority of the total number of persons working at the quarry, by that trade union; or

(b) jointly by trade unions which are together representative of such a majority.

(a) every report or record which is required to be made under these Regulations is in a suitable form and is kept at the quarry or at some other suitable place for at least three years from the date on which the report or record was made unless the provision concerned expressly imposes some other requirement; and

(b) a copy of the written statement of duties of all persons appointed at the quarry under these Regulations is kept at the quarry or at some other suitable place for at least twelve months after the date on which the appointment ceased to have effect.

M. Bohill
A senior officer of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment.

(a) the boundaries of the quarry or premises upon which the excavation or tip or proposed excavation or tip is or is to be situated;

(b) the site of the excavation or tip or proposed excavation or tip;

(c) any contiguous land or structures which might be affected by the excavation or tip or proposed excavation or tip; and

(d) all mine workings (whether abandoned or not), buried quarry workings, known cave systems, active or former landslips, springs, artesian wells, watercourses and other natural or man-made features including tunnel pipes or culverts which might affect the safety of the excavation or tip or proposed excavation or tip or which might be relevant for the purpose of determining whether excavation or tipping operations can be carried out safely, which plan shall be contoured to Ordnance Datum at a vertical interval not greater than five metres and orientated to and correlated with the Irish Grid and marked with squares corresponding to the 100 metre squares shown on Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland sheets on the scale of 1:2,500.

Site investigation
     2. A record of all relevant site investigation information including surveys, tests, boreholes and groundwater measurements made for the purpose of the geotechnical assessment together with the results of any testing including the strength of materials within and beneath the tip or within the excavated slope. The record shall include any known historical information relevant to the site investigation.

Cross-sections based on site investigation
     3. Sufficient accurate cross-sections on a scale not less detailed than 1:1,250 of the site of the excavation or tip or proposed excavation or tip showing the existing ground surface and all relevant superficial materials and bedrock underlying the said site and—

(a) any variation in the thickness, level or character of the superficial deposits and bedrock materials based on the site investigation; and

(b) the position of any surface whether natural or manmade which may affect the safety of the excavation or tip or proposed excavation or tip.

Plans based on site investigation
     4. Plans showing the position of all boreholes, wells and trial pits used in the site investigation and the location and levels of all materials and surfaces which may affect the safety of the excavation or tip or proposed excavation or tip.

Assumptions made before analysis
     5. A record of any assumptions relevant to the assessment of ground conditions relating to the safety of the excavation or tip made by the geotechnical specialist including a record of any relevant information which was not available when undertaking the assessment.

Findings of analysis
     6. A record of the calculations carried out in order to determine the safety of the excavation or tip, including any variables or parameters used in those calculations and the reasons for using them and the findings of those calculations expressed as the factor of safety or the probability of failure or other recognised basis of assessing stability.

Design coming out of analysis
     7. An accurate plan on a scale not less detailed than 1:2,500 recording—

(a) in relation to tips or proposed tips, the design of the tip, including the area of land covered or to be covered, the gradients of that land, the designed contours at vertical intervals of not more than two metres, the side slopes and boundaries of the tip and the designed position and nature of construction of any wall or other structure retaining or confining the tip; and

(b) in relation to excavations or proposed excavations, the design of the excavation, including the height or proposed height of the slope, the position and width of any benches and representative contours of the excavation at vertical intervals of not more than five metres.

Requirements during and after construction
     8. A record of the nature and extent of inspection, supervision and safety measures necessary to ensure the safety of the excavation or tip and a specification of necessary engineering works and safety measures. A record of the action to be taken regarding defects specified in the report.