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STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS.
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S.I. No.
450 of 2000.
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EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT ASSESSMENT) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 2000.
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S.I. No. 450 of 2000.
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EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT ASSESSMENT) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 2000.
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The Minister for the
Environment and Local Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on him
by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 ( No. 27 of 1972 ), and
for the purpose of giving effect to the Council Directive of 27 June 1985
(No. 85/337/EEC, OJ No. L175/40, 5 July 1985) as
amended by the Council Directive of 3 March, 1997 (No. 97/11/EC, O.J. No. L73/5, 14 March, 1997), hereby makes the
following Regulations:—
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Citation.
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1.
(1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities
(Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations, 2000.
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(2) These Regulations and
the European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations, 1989
to 1999 shall be construed as one and may be collectively cited as the
European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations, 1989 to
2000.
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Commencement.
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2.
(1) These Regulations shall come into operation on 1 January, 2001.
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(2) Where these
Regulations provide for the amendment of an enactment, such enactment shall,
notwithstanding any provision of the enactment as to commencement, have
effect on and from the coming into operation of these Regulations.
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Interpretation.
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3.
(1) In these Regulations:—
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“the Act of 1963” means the Local Government
(Planning and Development) Act, 1963 (No. 28 of 1963) ;
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“the Act of 1963” means the Local Government
(Planning and Development) Act, 1993 (No. 12 of 1993) ;
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“the Act of 2000” means the Planning and
Development Act, 2000 (No. 30 of 2000) ;
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“the 1989 Regulations” means the European
Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations, 1989 ( S.I. No.
349 of 1989 );
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“the 1994 Regulations” means the European
Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations, 1994
( S.I. No. 84 of 1994 );
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“the 1998 Regulations” means the European
Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations, 1998
( S.I. No. 351 of 1998 );
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“the 1999 Regulations” means the European
Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations, 1999 ( S.I. No.
93 of 1999 ).
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(2) In these Regulations,
save where the context otherwise requires, a reference to any enactment
shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended or adapted by
any subsequent enactment, including these Regulations.
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Amendment of
section 78 of Act of 1963.
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4.
Section 78 of the Act of 1963 is hereby amended by the substitution for
subsection (2) (inserted by article 10 of the 1989 Regulations, as amended
by article 8 of the 1994 Regulations and article 5 of the 1999 Regulations),
subsection (3) (inserted by article 10 of the 1989 Regulations, as amended
by article 5 of the 1998 Regulations and article 5 of the 1999 Regulations)
and subsection (4) (as inserted by article 5 of the 1999 Regulations) of the
following subsections:—
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“(2) For the purposes of the Council Directive, regulations made in
relation to any specified cases or classes of cases of development proposed
to be carried out by or on behalf of local authorities who are planning
authorities may—
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(a) require the authority to prepare an
environmental impact statement in respect of specified proposed development,
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(b) empower the Board to require the
authority to prepare an environmental impact statement in respect of other
proposed development,
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(c) require the authority to have, in
respect of proposed development for which an environmental impact statement
is required to be prepared, the certification of the Board that the proposed
development (or the proposed development as varied or modified by it) will
not, in its opinion, have significant adverse effects on the environment, or
will embody the best practicable means to prevent or limit such effects,
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(d) require the Board, before certifying
proposed development, to have regard to—
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(i) an environmental
impact statement prepared in respect of that development,
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(ii) any submissions or observations made to it
in accordance with regulations under this subsection,
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(iii) the report and any recommendations of the
person conducting an oral hearing, if any, in accordance with regulations
under this subsection or in accordance with subsection (5), and
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(iv) the views of other Member States of the
European Communities arising from consultation, if any, in accordance with
regulations under this subsection,
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(e) enable the Board, in relation to the
certification referred to in paragraph (c) of this subsection, to
vary or modify a proposed development in respect of which certification is
sought,
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(f) require the authority to give public
notice in any specified form and manner, or to give notice to any specified
persons, of applications for the certification referred to in paragraph (c)
of this subsection,
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(g) require the availability for public
inspection of environmental impact statements, the availability for purchase
of copies of such statements or extracts therefrom
and the furnishing of copies of such statements to the Board and to any
other specified persons,
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(h) require the authority to furnish to
the Board further information in relation to proposed development in respect
of which an environmental impact statement has been prepared,
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(i) provide for
the making of submissions or observations to the Board in relation to the
effects on the environment of proposed development in respect of which an
environmental impact statement has been prepared,
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(j) provide for the holding of an oral
hearing by the Board in relation to proposed development,
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(k) provide for consultation with other
Member States of the European Communities in relation to proposed
development,
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(l) require the Board to give notice of
its decision in relation to proposed development for which certification is
sought in accordance with regulations under this subsection,
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(m) require a planning authority, in
dealing with an application by a local authority for permission under Part
IV of this Act for development outside the functional area of that local
authority, to have regard to any certification of the development by the
Board under regulations in accordance with this subsection,
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(n) provide for matters of procedure in
relation to the making of a request for and the giving of a written opinion
pursuant to subsection (4) of this section.
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(3)(a) The Board may, subject to paragraph (d) of this
subsection, by order, where it is satisfied that exceptional circumstances
so warrant, grant an exemption in respect of proposed development from a
requirement of regulations under subsection (2) of this section to prepare
an environmental impact statement.
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(b) The Board shall, in granting an
exemption under paragraph (a) of this subsection, consider whether—
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(i) the effects, if
any, of the proposed development on the environment should be assessed in
some other manner, and
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(ii) the information collected in the course of
such assessment should be made available to members of the public,
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and it may apply such requirements regarding these matters as it
considers necessary or appropriate.
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(c) Notice of any exemption granted under
paragraph (a) of this subsection, of the reasons for granting such
exemption, and of any requirements applied under paragraph (b) of
this subsection shall, as soon as may be,—
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(i) be published in
Iris Oifigiúil and in at least one daily newspaper
published in the State, and
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(ii) be given, together with a copy of the
information, if any, made available to members of the public in accordance
with the said paragraph (b), to the Commission of the European
Communities.
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(d) An exemption shall not be granted
under paragraph (a) of this subsection in respect of proposed
development if another Member State of the European Communities, having been
informed about the proposed development and its likely effects on the
environment in that State, has indicated that it intends to furnish views on
the said effects.
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(4)(a) If a local authority, before preparing an
environmental impact statement in accordance with regulations made under
subsection (2) of this section, so requests, the Board shall give a written
opinion on the information to be contained in such statement.
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(b) The giving of a written opinion in
accordance with paragraph (a) of this subsection shall not prejudice
the exercise by the Board of its powers pursuant to the Local Government
(Planning and Development) Acts, 1963 to 1999, or any regulations made thereunder, to require the local authority which made
the request to furnish further information in relation to the application
for certification of the proposed development concerned.
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(5) A person conducting an oral hearing, in accordance with section
218 of the Act of 2000, in relation to the compulsory purchase of land which
relates wholly or partly to a proposed development for which an
environmental impact statement has been prepared, pursuant to regulations
under this section, shall be entitled to hear evidence in relation to the
effects on the environment of the proposed development.
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(6) Any application for certification in respect of proposed
development made in accordance with the 1994 Regulations and not determined
by 1 January, 2001, shall be transferred to the Board and the Board shall,
in lieu of the Minister, determine the application in accordance with the
regulations under this section.”.
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Revocation.
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5.
Article 10 of the 1989 Regulations, as amended by Article 8 of the 1994
Regulations, Article 5 of the 1998 Regulations and Article 5 of the 1999
Regulations, and article 5 (d) of the 1999 Regulations are hereby
revoked.
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Oral hearing in
respect of a proposed road development.
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6.
Notwithstanding section 51(8)(b) of the Roads Act, 1993 (No. 14 of
1993) , the Board may, where it considers it necessary or expedient for the
purposes of making a decision in respect of a proposed road development
submitted to it under section 51 of the Roads Act, 1993 (as amended by
section 215 of the Act of 2000), hold an oral hearing and shall, in addition
to the requirements of subsection (5) of that section, consider the report
and any recommendations of the person holding the oral hearing before making
its decision in relation to the proposed road development.
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GIVEN under the Official Seal of
the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, this 20th day of
December, 2000.
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NOEL DEMPSEY,
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Minister for the Environment and Local Government.
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EXPLANATORY NOTE.
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(This note is not part
of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)
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The purpose of these
Regulations is to transfer the function of certifying environmental impact
assessment of local authority own development from the Minister for the
Environmental and Local Government to An Board Pleanála
on 1 January 2001. The transfer of the certification function coincides with
the transfer of the Minister's function in relation to the approval of
compulsory purchases of land by local authorities in accordance with
sections 214 and 215 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 .
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