The Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (Northumbria River Basin District) Regulations 2003
| Year | 2003 |
2003 No. 3245
WATER RESOURCES, ENGLAND
WATER RESOURCES, SCOTLAND
The Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (Northumbria River Basin District) Regulations 2003
Made 10th December 2003
Laid before Parliament 11th December 2003
Coming into force 2nd January 2004
The Secretary of State, being a Minister designated1for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19722in relation to matters relating to water resources, in exercise of the powers conferred upon her by that section3, hereby makes the following Regulations:
Title, commencement and extent
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (Northumbria River Basin District) Regulations 2003 and shall come into force on 2nd January 2004.
(2) Regulation 6 has the same extent as Part 1 of the Scottish Act (protection of the water environment) and the other provisions of these Regulations extend to Great Britain and the adjacent territorial sea.
Interpretation
2. In these Regulations—
“the Directive” means Directive 2000/60/ECof the European Parliament and of the Council of 23rd October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, as amended4;
“the principal Regulations” means the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (England and Wales) Regulations 20035;
“the Northumbria River Basin District” means the area identified by regulation 3(1);
“relevant functions” means—
(a) in relation to the Secretary of State and the Agency, functions under regulations 5 to 20 of the principal Regulations and, so far as material, the enactments listed in Parts 1 and 2 of Schedule 2 to those Regulations (which relate to statutes and subordinate instruments respectively); and
(b) in relation to the Scottish Ministers and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, functions under Part 1 of the Scottish Act, as applied by regulation 6;
“the Scottish Act” means the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 20036; and
“the Scottish Ministers” has the meaning given by section 127 of the Scotland Act 19987.
River basin districts
3.—(1) The area shown on the deposited map is identified as a river basin district for the purposes of these Regulations and shall be known as the Northumbria River Basin District.
(2) The Secretary of State, the Scottish Ministers, the Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency must ensure that the deposited map is made available to the public through their respective websites and at the relevant places.
(3) The relevant places are—
(a)
(a) in the case of the Secretary of State, the principal library of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs;
(b)
(b) in the case of the Scottish Ministers, the Information Centre of the Scottish Parliament; and
(c)
(c) in the case of the Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, their respective principal offices and principal offices for the regions in which any part of the Northumbria River Basin District lies.
(4) In this regulation—
(a)
(a) “the deposited map” means the map and related information recorded on the CD-ROM which is—
(i) entitled “The Northumbria River Basin District 2003”; and
(ii) deposited in the principal library of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; and
(b)
(b) “river basin district” means a district which is the main unit for the management of river basins for the purposes of the Directive, being made up of neighbouring river basins together with associated groundwater, transitional waters and coastal water.
The general duties
4.—(1) The Secretary of State, the Scottish Ministers, the Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency must exercise their relevant functions so as to secure—
(a)
(a) that the requirements of the Directive for the achievement of its environmental objectives, and in particular the programme of measures, are co-ordinated for the whole of the Northumbria River Basin District; and
(b)
(b) compliance in relation to that district with the other requirements of the Directive.
(2) In this regulation—
(a)
(a) “environmental objectives” means the objectives required to comply with Article 4 of the Directive (environmental objectives) including any objectives required to comply with Article 7(2) and (3) of the Directive (waters used for the abstraction of drinking water); and
(b)
(b) “programme of measures” means the programme of measures required to comply with Article 11(2) to (6) of the Directive (programme of measures).
Application of provisions of the principal Regulations to the Northumbria River Basin District
5.—(1) Regulations 2 and 5 to 20 of the principal Regulations (river basin management planning) shall apply to the whole of the Northumbria River Basin District as they apply to river basin districts identified by regulation 4(1) of those Regulations (river basin districts), subject to the following modifications.
(2) Regulation 2 (interpretation) shall have effect as if the definition of “the appropriate authority” were deleted, and regulations 6, 10 to 15, 18 and 20 shall have effect as if for each reference to the appropriate authority there were substituted a reference to the Secretary of State.
(3) Regulation 12 (river basin management plans: public participation) shall have effect as if—
(a)
(a) after paragraph (2)(a) there were inserted—
“(aa)
“(aa) send copies of the statement, summary or draft plan to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency which shall make them accessible to the public free of charge through its website, at its principal office and at the principal office for its East Region;”;
(b)
(b) after paragraph (3)(a) “and” were omitted and there were inserted—
“(aa)
“(aa) in the Edinburgh Gazette; and”;
(c)
(c) in paragraph (4)—
(i) for sub-paragraph (a) there were substituted—
“(a)
“(a) the Secretary of State and the Scottish Ministers;
(aa)
(aa) the Scottish Environment Protection Agency;
(aaa)
(aaa) every responsible authority which has functions exercisable in or in relation to any part of the river basin district;”;
(ii) for sub-paragraph (e) there were substituted—
“(e)
“(e) every local planning authority in England any part of whose area is within the river basin district;”;
(iii) after sub-paragraph (f) there were inserted—
“(ff)
“(ff) the River Tweed Commissioners;”; and
(iv) after sub-paragraph (i) there were inserted—
“(ii)
“(ii) Scottish Water;”; and
(d)
(d) for paragraph (5) there were substituted—
“5 In this regulation—
(a) “appropriate nature conservation bodies” means the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, English Nature and Scottish Natural Heritage;
(b) “harbour” and “harbour authority” have the meanings given by section 57 of the Harbours Act 19648;
(c) “the River Tweed...
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