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Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland |
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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland >> The Groundwater (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 No. 119 URL: http://www.bailii.org/nie/legis/num_reg/2016/nisr_2016119_en_1.html |
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Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland
Environmental Protection
Made
7th March 2016
Coming into operation
20th June 2016
1.-(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Groundwater (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 and shall come into operation on 20th June 2016.
(2) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(3) applies to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Assembly.
2. The Groundwater Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009(4) are amended in accordance with regulations 3 to 5.
3. In paragraph (1) of regulation 2 (Interpretation) in the definition of "the Directive" after the word "deterioration" insert "as amended by Commission Directive 2014/80/EU(5)".
4. For regulation 18 (Review of authorisations) substitute-
18.-(1) The Department shall periodically review an authorisation.
(2) The Department shall on review assess compliance with the conditions of an authorisation and the effects on groundwater.
(3) An authorisation may be reviewed at anytime by the Department and where necessary the Department may update the authorisation.
(4) If the conditions of an authorisation are not complied with, enforcement action shall be taken to ensure compliance and, if necessary, revocation of the authorisation."
5. In the Schedule (Groundwater Threshold Values) for Table 1 substitute-
| Parameter | Unit | To examine if groundwater abstraction is causing saline or other intrusions | >To examine if groundwater is providing a significant contribution to the failure of the environmental objectives of associated surface water bodies | To examine if the quality of groundwater that is abstracted for potable use is deteriorating, possibly resulting in a need for increased purification | To examine the spatial extent of a groundwater body or group of bodies that are exceeding an EU Standard or threshold value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) The surface water environmental standards are set out in Schedule 1 to The Water Framework Directive (Classification, Priority Substances and Shellfish Waters) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015(S.R. 2015 No. 351). | |||||
(2) The "dilution factor" is taken to be the fraction of the average annual river flow derived from groundwater inflows. It can be estimated from established hydrological indices such as the baseflow index, or from the ratio of catchment groundwater recharge to effective precipitation." | |||||
| Ammonium | mg/l | 0.29 | |||
| Arsenic | μg/l | 7.5 | |||
| Atrazine | μg/l | 0.075 | |||
| Cadmium | μg/l | 3.75 | |||
| Chloride | mg/l | 25 | |||
| Electrical Conductivity | μS/cm | 800 | 1875 | ||
| Lead | μg/l | 7.5 | |||
| MCPA | μg/l | 0.075 | |||
| Mecoprop | μg/l | 0.075 | |||
| Mercury | μg/l | 0.75 | |||
| Nitrate (as NO3) | mg/l | 37.5 | 37.5 | ||
| Nitrite | μg/l | 375 | 375 | ||
| Simazine | μg/l | 0.075 | |||
| Sulphate | mg/l | 187.5 | |||
| Tetrachloroethylene | μg/l | 7.5 | 7.5 | ||
| Trichloroethylene | μg/l | 7.5 | 7.5 | ||
| Any pollutant in relation to which a surface water environmental standard has been set(1) | 0.5 x (surface water standard divided by dilution factor)(2) | ||||
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of the Environment on 7th March 2016
Tim Irwin
A senior officer of the Department of the Environment
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations amend the Groundwater Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 ("the Principal Regulations") in the following ways.
Regulation 2 is amended to take account of amendments made by Commission Directive 2014/80/EU of 20 June 2014 amending Annex II to Directive 2006/118/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of groundwater against pollution and deterioration.
Regulation 18 is substituted to include the provision for the Department to review authorisations at anytime and where necessary update the authorisation irrespective of the date of when the authorisation was granted.
The Schedule is amended to take account of amendments made to Directive 2006/118/EC by Directive 2014/80/EU and to amend the ‘lead' parameter threshold to bring it in line with the drinking standard set in Directive 98/83/EC of 3 November 1998 on the quality of water intended for human consumption.
S.R. 2009 No. 254 as amended by S.R. 2009 No. 359, S.R. 2011 No. 211 and S.R. 2014 No. 208
OJ No. L 182, 21.6.2014, p.52
