WASTE MANAGEMENT (CERTIFICATION OF HISTORIC UNLICENCED WASTE DISPOSAL AND RECOVERY ACTIVITY) REGULATIONS 2008
Source: Iris Oifigiúl 2008-12-12

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paragraphs: These Regulations may be cited as the Waste Management (Certification of Historic Unlicenced Waste Disposal and Recovery Activity) Regulations 2008.
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paragraphs: The purposes for which these Regulations are made include the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of—
(1) Directive 2006/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 20061 on waste, and
(2) Council Directive 80/68/EEC of 17 December 1979 2 on the protection of groundwater against pollution caused by certain dangerous substances.
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paragraphs: These Regulations apply to each closed landfill identified pursuant to Regulation 5 at which waste disposal or recovery activities were carried on without a waste licence.
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paragraphs: (1) In these Regulations—
(a) a reference to a Regulation is a reference to a Regulation in these Regulations unless it is indicated that reference to some other Regulation is intended;
(b) a reference to a paragraph that is not otherwise identified is a reference to the paragraph of the provision in which the reference occurs.
(2) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Waste Management Acts 1996 to 2008 shall have in these Regulations the same meaning as it has in the Act unless the contrary intention appears.
(3) In these Regulations—
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paragraphs: (1) Each local authority shall identify by 30 June 2009 all closed landfills within its functional area and for such purposes shall have regard to the methodology set out in Appendix 1 of the Code of Practice.
(2) Each local authority shall have regard to the reporting requirements of Chapter 8 of the Code of Practice and maintain a register of all closed landfills identified by it pursuant to Regulation 5(1), which shall be revised and updated as necessary and at least once in each period of twelve months thereafter.
(3) The Agency shall prescribe the particulars to be entered in the register referred to in Regulation 5(2) and the form and manner in which such information shall be entered and maintained.
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paragraphs: (1) Subject to Regulation 6(2), each local authority shall carry out a Risk Assessment in respect of all closed landfills identified pursuant to Regulation 5(1) and for such purposes shall have regard to the Code of Practice.
(2) The Risk Assessment shall evaluate the priority to be assigned to the closed landfill site in accordance with the Risk Classification system set out in Chapter 4.3.3 of the Code of Practice.
(3) Where a closed landfill, identified by a local authority pursuant to Regulation 5(1), is situate on property in the ownership or control of a person other than the local authority concerned, then that authority shall request the owner or occupier of such property, as the case may be, to permit its authorised persons, officials, servants or agents, to enter onto such property for the purposes of preparing the Risk Assessment described in Regulation 6(1) or for any other purpose and any local authority concerned shall discharge any reasonable costs or expenses incurred by any such owner or occupier by reason of such actions as described herein.
(4) A person on whose land consent is required under Regulation 6(3) to access such land shall grant such consent in relation to the closed landfill to the local authority or its authorised officials, servants or agents.
(5) The local authority may give such directions, as it considers appropriate, to the person in Regulation 6(3), to require that person to permit the carrying out of the necessary measures pursuant to Regulation 6(3).
(6) A person commits an offence if that person fails to comply with a direction under Regulation 6(5).
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paragraphs: (1) On completion of the Risk Assessment referred to in Regulation 6(1), a local authority shall make application to the Agency for certification of compliance with the requirements of these Regulations, which certificate shall be known as and referred to in these Regulations as a certificate of authorisation.
(2) An application under Regulation 7(1) shall be made in a format to be determined by the Agency and may require, at the discretion of the Agency, the submission of the following information or material or both—
(a) the location or postal address of the closed landfill, including, where appropriate, the name of the townland or townlands,
(b) details of the current owner or occupier or both of the closed landfill,
(c) details of the current use of the land on which the closed landfill is situate,
(d) the National Grid reference,
(e) a map indicating the precise location,
(f) scaled plans and sections,
(g) the types and estimated quantities of waste deposited,
(h) the Risk Assessment as provided for in Regulation 6(1) (to include any necessary measures recommended therein in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 7 of the Code of Practice).
(3) A fee of €5,000 shall be payable by a local authority to the Agency in respect of each application for a certificate of authorisation. The Agency may, however, refund or waive all or part of the fee payable in respect of a particular application where it is satisfied that the payment in full of the fee would not be justified or reasonable having regard to the limited scale or nature of the landfill activity concerned.
(4) The Agency may request from a local authority such further information or material or both as may be required by it for the purpose of determining the application within such period as may be stipulated by it and a local authority shall submit to the Agency such information as requested to the reasonable satisfaction of the Agency.
(5) The Agency shall, within 4 months or such later date as it may determine and advise to the local authority, prepare a draft certificate of authorisation, which shall be made available to the local authority concerned which may make representations on the proposed draft certificate and any representations received by the Agency within the subsequent period of 30 days shall be considered by it.
(6) As soon as practicable after the expiry of the 30 day period provided for in Regulation 7(5), the Agency shall determine the certificate of authorisation, which may vary from the draft certificate and shall issue an appropriately validated certificate of authorisation to the local authority and place a copy on any relevant website maintained by the Agency.
(7) A certificate of authorisation issued under Regulation 7(6):—
(a) shall determine the adequacy of the Risk Assessment (including any necessary measures recommended therein) submitted by a local authority as part of the application for a certificate of authorisation; and
(b) may specify further necessary measures in addition to those identified by the Risk Assessment having regard to ensuring appropriate protection for human health and the environment to ensure conformity with the provisions of Council Directive 2006/12/EC1 and Council Directive 80/68/EEC 2 .
(c) shall require that a validation report is compiled by the authorisation holder in accordance with the requirements of Chapters 7.3 and 8.2.4 of the Code of Practice.
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paragraphs: (1) A local authority shall make all reasonable efforts to comply with any validated certificate of authorisation issued to it by the Agency pursuant to Regulation 7(6).
(2) Any local authority that contravenes Regulation 7(4) or Regulation 8(1) shall be guilty of an offence.
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paragraphs: (1) The powers and functions conferred on the Agency pursuant to these Regulations may be performed on its behalf by any person appointed by it in writing to be an authorised person for the purposes of these Regulations.
(2) Without prejudice to the powers conferred on the Agency or its authorised persons pursuant to these Regulations, it is declared that the provisions of section 13 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act (No. 7 of 1992), subject to any modifications or adaptations as may be required, shall apply for any purpose connected with these Regulations.
(3) Where the Agency is of opinion that a local authority has failed to perform any function of that authority provided for by these Regulations or has performed that function in an unsatisfactory manner, the provisions of section 63 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992 (No. 7 of 1992), as amended by section 13 of the Protection of the Environment Act 2003 (No. 27 of 2003) shall apply mutatis mutandis as if the reference therein to a statutory function of a local authority included a reference to functions conferred on local authorities pursuant to these Regulations.
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paragraphs: (1) An offence under these Regulations may be prosecuted by the Agency.
(2) Any person guilty of an offence under these Regulations is liable—
(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €3,000, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months, or both, or
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €500,000, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both.
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paragraphs: The Act shall have effect with the following specified modifications:
(1) in section 5 by substituting the following for the definition of “landfill”—
“ ‘landfill’ means a waste disposal site for the deposit of waste onto or into land (i.e. underground), including:
(a) internal waste disposal sites (i.e. landfill where a producer of waste is carrying out its own waste disposal at the place of production), and
(b) a permanent site (i.e. more than one year) which is used for temporary storage of waste, but excluding
(c) facilities where waste is unloaded in order to permit its preparation for further transport for recovery, treatment or disposal elsewhere, and
(d) storage of waste prior to recovery or treatment for a period less than three years as a general rule, or
(e) storage of waste prior to disposal for a period less than one year.”
(2) by the addition in section 67 of subsection (3)—
“(3) Subsections (1) and (2) shall not be construed as enabling a local authority or the Agency to avoid the consequences under EU law of any failure to comply with the Community acts given effect to by this Act.”
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paragraphs: The Waste Management (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations, 1998 ( S.I. No. 164 of 1998 ) are amended by the deletion of Regulation 5.
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paragraphs: The Waste Management (Licensing) Regulations 2004 ( S.I. No. 395 of 2004 ) are amended as follows:
(1) In article 52(5) by the substitution of “shall review” for “may review”.