The Forestry (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017
2017 No. 113
Forestry
The Forestry (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017
Made 11th April 2017
Laid before the Scottish Parliament 13th April 2017
Coming into force 16th May 2017
The Scottish Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19721, section 56(1) of the Finance Act 19732, and all other powers enabling them to do so.
They have taken into account the selection criteria in Annex III to Directive 2011/92/EUof the European Parliament and of the Council on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment3.
PART 1
INTRODUCTORY
Citation, commencement and extent
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Forestry (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 and come into force on 16th May 2017.
(2) These Regulations extend to Scotland only.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations—
“the 1999 Regulations” means the Environmental Impact Assessment (Forestry) (Scotland) Regulations 19994;
“additional information” means—
(a) supplementary information required in accordance with regulation 21(2); or
(b) any other information provided by the applicant which is substantive information about a matter to be included in the EIA report in accordance with regulation 6(3);
“afforestation” means initial afforestation for the purpose of conversion to another type of land use (within the meaning of paragraph 1(d) of Annex II to the Directive);
“applicant” means a person applying for EIA consent under regulation 6(1) and includes, for the purposes of —
(a) screening opinions, screening directions, scoping opinions, scoping directions and regulation 17, a prospective applicant; and
(b) an appeal under regulation 30, the applicant who is appealing;
“application website” means a website maintained by the Commissioners, for the purpose of making publicly available information relating to applications to which these Regulations apply;
“the Commissioners” means the Forestry Commissioners constituted under the Forestry Acts 1919 to 1945 and continued in existence by section 1 of the Forestry Act 19675;
“the consultation bodies” means—
(a) the local authority (or local authorities, as the case may be) for the area where the forestry project is, or is proposed to be, situated;
(b) the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, established under section 20 of the Environment Act 19956;
(c) Scottish Natural Heritage, established under section 1 of the Natural Heritage (Scotland) Act 19917;
(d) Historic Environment Scotland, established by section 1 of the Historic Environment Scotland Act 20148; and
(e) any other body designated by any enactment (including an Act of the Scottish Parliament or an instrument made under any such Act) as having specific environmental responsibilities;
“decision notice” has the meaning given in regulation 24;
“deforestation” means deforestation for the purposes of conversion to another type of land use (within the meaning of paragraph 1(d) of Annex II to the Directive);
“development” means development within the meaning of section 26 of the Town and Country Planning Act 19979;
“the Directive” means Directive 2011/92/EUof the European Parliament and of the Council on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment10;
“EIA application” means an application under regulation 6(1) for consent to carry out an EIA forestry project;
“EIA consent” means consent given under regulation 7(1)(a) or, as the case may be under regulation 30(5)(a) or (b) to carry out an EIA forestry project;
“EIA forestry project” means a forestry project which, subject to regulations 8 and 10 and schedule 1, is likely to have significant effects on the environment by virtue of factors such as its nature, size or location and which—
(a) does not involve development; or
(b) involves development—
(i) which is not EIA development within the meaning of regulation 2(1) of the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 201711; or
(ii) in respect of which planning permission is granted by Part 7 of schedule 1 to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 199212;
“EIA report” has the meaning given in regulation 6(3) and, where an applicant submits a revised, updated or supplementary EIA report (or a report which the applicant refers to as such) includes the revised, updated or supplementary EIA report;
“electronic communication” has the meaning given in section 15(1) of the Electronic Communications Act 200013;
“enforcement notice” means an enforcement notice served under paragraph 3(1) of schedule 4 and includes, as the case may be, an enforcement notice as varied by service of a notice under paragraph 3(6) of schedule 4;
“environmental impact assessment” has the meaning given in regulation 5(1);
“environmental information” means any EIA report and any additional information, any representations made by any consultation body required by these Regulations to be invited to make representations and any representations duly made by any other person about the environmental effects of the forestry project;
“forestry project” means a project which includes any of the following activities:—
(a) afforestation;
(b) deforestation;
(c) forest quarry works; or
(d) forest road works;
“forest quarry works” means operations on land used or to be used for the purposes of forestry, or on land held or occupied with that land, to obtain the materials required for forest road works;
“forest road works” means the formation, alteration or maintenance of private ways on land used or to be used for the purposes of forestry;
“local authority” means a council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 199414;
“mandatory conditions” means the conditions specified in regulation 4;
“prospective applicant” means a person who is minded to carry out a forestry project in Scotland but who has not made an EIA application in respect of that forestry project;
“register” means a register kept by the Commissioners at a Conservancy office for the purposes of public inspection of the following (so far as they relate to the area of that particular Conservancy):—
(a) directions given under regulation 9;
(b) screening opinions;
(c) screening directions;
(d) scoping opinions;
(e) scoping directions;
(f) decision notices;
(g) notices of appeal decisions under regulation 30;
(h) EIA reports, including any additional information relevant to them; and
(i) statements of reasons which accompanied any of the above;
“relevant assessment” means, in relation to a forestry project, an assessment, or verification, of effects on the environment carried out pursuant to national legislation which is relevant to the assessment of the environmental impacts of the forestry project;
“scoping direction” means a direction made by the Scottish Ministers under regulation 16 as to the scope and level of detail of information to be provided in the EIA report;
“scoping opinion” means an opinion adopted by the Commissioners under regulation 15 as to the scope and level of detail of information to be provided in the EIA report;
“screening direction” means a direction made by the Scottish Ministers under regulation 14 as to whether a project is, or is not, an EIA forestry project;
“screening opinion” means an opinion adopted by the Commissioners under regulation 13 as to whether a project is, or is not, an EIA forestry project;
“sensitive area” means any of the following:—
(a) a site of special scientific interest;
(b) land in respect of which an order has been made under section 23 of the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 200415;
(c) a European site within the meaning of regulation 10 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 199416;
(d) a property appearing in the World Heritage List kept under article 11(2) of the 1972 UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage17;
(e) a scheduled monument within the meaning of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 197918;
(f) a National Scenic Area as designated by a direction made by the Scottish Ministers under section 263A of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 199719; and
(g) an area designated as a National Park by a designation order made by the Scottish Ministers under section 6(1) of the National Parks (Scotland) Act 200020;
“site of special scientific interest” has the same meaning as in section 58(1) of the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 200421; and
“Union legislation” means any enactment in national legislation giving effect to rights, powers, liabilities, obligations and restrictions from time to time created or arising by or under the EU treaties.
(2) Other expressions used both in these Regulations and in the Directive have the same meaning for the purposes of these Regulations as they do for the purposes of the Directive.
Prohibitions relating to EIA forestry projects
3.—(1) Subject to a direction made under regulation 9, no person may carry out any work or operation relating to an EIA forestry project unless—
(a)
(a) EIA consent has been granted in respect of that EIA forestry project; and
(b)
(b) the EIA forestry project is carried out in accordance with the EIA consent.
(2) The Commissioners may not grant EIA consent in relation to an EIA forestry project unless—
(a)
(a) an environmental impact assessment has been carried out in respect of that EIA forestry project;
(b)
(b) they take into account the environmental information in carrying out such an environmental impact assessment;
(c)
(c) the mandatory conditions are attached to the EIA consent;
(d)
(d) they comply with the requirements of regulation 25; and
(e)
(e) they determine...
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