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S.I. No. 526 of
2007
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EUROPEAN
COMMUNITIES (GOOD AGRICULTURAL PRACTICE FOR PROTECTION OF WATERS)
(AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2007
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Notice of the
making of this Statutory Instrument was published in
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“Iris Oifigiúil”
of 24th July, 2007.
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WHEREAS, I, JOHN GORMLEY, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and
Local Government, having regard to section 3(3) of the European Communities
Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) (as inserted by section 2 of the European
Communities Act 2007 ) (No. 18 of 2007) (hereinafter referred to as the Act
of 1972), consider it necessary for the purpose of giving full effect to Directive
75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 1 ,
Directive 76/464/EEC of 4 May 1976 2 , Directive 80/68/EEC of 17 December 1979 3 , Directive 91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991
4 , Directive 2000/60/EC of
23 October 2000 5 and
Directive 2003/35/EC of 26 May 2003 6 to make provision for offences under the European
Communities (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters)
Regulations 2006 ( S.I. No. 388 of 2006 ) to be prosecuted on indictment:
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AND WHEREAS, I consider that
it is necessary, having further regard to section 3(3) of the Act of 1972,
and for the purpose of ensuring that penalties in respect of an offence
prosecuted in that manner under the aforementioned Regulations are
effective, proportionate and have a deterrent effect, having regard to the
acts or omissions of which the offence consists, to make such provision in
the following Regulations:
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NOW THEREFORE, I, JOHN GORMLEY, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and
Local Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of
the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) as amended by section 2
of the European Communities Act 2007 (No. 18 of 2007) and for the purpose of
giving effect to Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 1 ,
Directive 76/464/EEC of 4 May 1976 2 , Directive 80/68/EEC of 17
December 1979 3 , Directive 91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991 4
, Directive 2000/60/EC of 23 October 2000 5 and Directive
2003/35/EC of 26 May 2003 hereby make
the following Regulations—
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1. These
Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Good Agricultural
Practice for Protection of Waters) (Amendment) Regulations 2007.
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2. In these
Regulations, “the Principal Regulations” means the European Communities
(Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2006 ( S.I.
No. 378 of 2006 ).
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3. These
Regulations and the Principal Regulations shall be construed together and
may be cited together as the European Communities (Good Agricultural
Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2006 and 2007.
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4. Article
26 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by the substitution of the
following for sub-article (1)—
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“(1) A person who contravenes
a provision of Parts 2 to 5 of these Regulations is guilty of an offence and
shall be liable—
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(a) on summary
conviction to a fine not exceeding €5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding 3 months, or
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(b) on conviction on
indictment to a fine not exceeding €500,000 or to imprisonment for a term
not exceeding one year
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or to both such fine and
such imprisonment.”.
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GIVEN under my Official Seal,
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19 July 2007
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JOHN GORMLEY.
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Minister for the Environment, Heritage 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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These Regulations amend the
European Communities (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters)
Regulations 2006 ( S.I. No. 378 of 2006 ) (generally known as “the Nitrates
Regulations”) by providing for increased penalties and for prosecution on
indictment of offences.
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The 2006 Regulations provide
statutory support for good agricultural practice to protect waters against
pollution from agricultural sources and give further effect to the Nitrates
Directive, which relates to the protection of waters against pollution from
agricultural sources, and several other EU
Directives relating to dangerous substances in water, waste management,
protection of groundwater, public participation in policy development, and
water policy (the Water Framework Directive).
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1 O.J. No. L
194/39, 25 July 1975
2 O.J. No. L
129/23, 18 May 1976
3 O.J. No. L
20/43, 26 January 1980
4 O.J. No. L
375/1, 31 December 1991
5 O.J. No. L
327/1, 22 December 2000
6 O.J. No. L
156/17, 25 June 2003
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