|
|
|
S.I. No. 659 of 2006
|
|
|
|
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT ASSESSMENT) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2006
|
|
|
|
The Minister for the Environment, Heritage
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 certain provisions of Directive 2003/35/EC of the
European Parliament and the Council of 26 May 2003 providing for public
participation in respect of the drawing up of certain plans and programmes
relating to the environment and amending with regard to public participation
and access to justice Council Directives 85/337/EEC and 96/61/EC (No.
2003/35/EC, O.J. No. L156/17 - L156/24, 25 June
2003), hereby makes the following Regulations:
|
|
|
|
PART I
PRELIMINARY
AND GENERAL
|
|
|
Citation.
|
1. These
Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Environmental Impact
Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations 2006.
|
|
|
Commencement.
|
2. (1) Where
a valid application for consent for development to which these Regulations
refer is received by the planning authority before the date of coming into
operation of these Regulations, the provisions of the appropriate enactment,
shall continue to apply to said application (including any appeal that
relates to that application) as if that enactment had not been amended.
|
|
|
|
(2) Subject
to sub-article (1) where these Regulations provide for the amendment of an
enactment, such amendment shall have effect on and from the coming into
operation of these Regulations.
|
|
|
|
(3) In
this article, “application for consent for development” means -
|
|
|
|
(a) an
application for planning permission under the Act, or
|
|
|
|
(b) an
application for approval for a development to be carried out by or on behalf
of a local authority or State authority to An Bord
Pleanála under the Act.
|
|
|
Interpretation.
|
3. In
these Regulations “the Act” means the Planning and Development Act 2000 (No.
30 of 2000) as amended.
|
|
|
|
PART II
AMENDMENT OF
THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT ACT 2000
|
|
|
Amendment of
Section 172 of the Act.
|
4. The
following paragraph is substituted for Section 172(3)(b) of the Act:
|
|
|
|
“(b) The Board shall, in granting an exemption
under paragraph (a), -
|
|
|
|
(i) consider
whether the effects, if any, of the proposed development on the environment
should be assessed in some other form, and
|
|
|
|
(ii) make available to
members of the public the information relating to the exemption decision
referred to under paragraph (a), the reasons for granting such exemption and
the information obtained under any other form of assessment referred to in
subparagraph (i),
|
|
|
|
and the Board may apply such requirements regarding these matters in
relation to the application for permission as it considers necessary or
appropriate.”.
|
|
|
Amendment of
Section 174 of the Act.
|
5. The
following subsection is substituted for Section 174 (4) of the Act:
|
|
|
|
“(4) In any case where -
|
|
|
|
(a) notification
has been received from another Member State of the European Communities or
other party to the Transboundary Convention, in respect of any development,
or
|
|
|
|
(b) a
planning authority or a State authority requests, or in any other case where
the Minister otherwise decides,
|
|
|
|
the Minister may request another Member State of the European
Communities or other party to the Transboundary Convention to forward
information in respect of any development which is subject to the Council
Directive or Transboundary Convention and which is likely to have
significant environmental effects in Ireland.”.
|
|
|
Amendment of
Section 175 of the Act.
|
6.(1) The
following clauses are inserted after clause (II) of Section 175(4)(a)(i):
|
|
|
|
“(III) it is notifying a
Member State of the European Communities or any other party to the
Transboundary Convention of its opinion that the proposed development to
which the application for approval to An Bord Pleanála relates would be likely to have significant
effects on the environment in that State,
|
|
|
|
(IV) the
Board may give approval to the application for development with or without
conditions or may refuse the application for development.”.
|
|
|
|
6.(2) Section
175(8)(b) of the Act is substituted by the following paragraph:
|
|
|
|
“(b) The Board shall, in granting an
exemption under paragraph (a), -
|
|
|
|
(i) consider whether
the effects, if any, of the proposed development on the environment should
be assessed in some other form, and
|
|
|
|
(ii) make available to members of the public
the information relating to the exemption decision referred to under paragraph
(a), the reasons for granting such exemption and the information obtained
under any other form of assessment referred to in subparagraph (i),
|
|
|
|
and the Board may apply such requirements regarding these matters in
relation to the application for approval as it considers necessary or
appropriate.”.
|
|
|
|
|
|
GIVEN under the Official Seal of the
Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government this 19th day
of December, 2006.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dick Roche T.D.
Minister for the Environment, Heritage and
Local Government
|
|
|
|
|
EXPLANATORY NOTE
|
|
|
|
(This note is not part of the instrument and does not purport to be
a legal interpretation)
|
|
|
|
These Regulations provide for the
transposition into Irish planning law of provisions in EU
Directive 2003/35/EC amending the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive (85/337/EEC) regarding public
participation in the assessment of the effects of certain public and private
projects on the environment.
|
|
|
|
These Regulations amend the provisions of the
Planning and Development Act 2000 and the Planning and Development
Regulations 2001 by providing for revised procedures to enhance public
participation in the environmental impact assessment of projects having transboundary environmental impacts.
|