Public Gas Transporter Pipe-line Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 1999
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1999/1672 |
1999 No. 1672
GAS
PIPE-LINES
The Public Gas Transporter Pipe-line Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 1999
Made 12th June 1999
Laid before Parliament 15th June 1999
Coming into force 15th July 1999
The Secretary of State, being a Minister designated1for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19722in relation to measures relating to the requirement for an assessment of the impact on the environment of projects likely to have significant effects on the environment, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by that section hereby makes the following Regulations:–
Citation, commencement, extent and application
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Public Gas Transporter Pipe-line Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 1999 and shall come into force on 15th July 1999.
(2) These Regulations do not extend to Northern Ireland.
(3) These Regulations apply to pipe-line works which fall within the class of development described as permitted development in Class F(a) of Part 17 of Schedule 2 to the 1995 Order or specified in Class 39(1)(a) of Part 13 of Schedule 1 to the 1992 Order, as appropriate, but do not apply to any such pipe-line works–
(a)
(a) which were commenced by a public gas transporter or for the execution of which a public gas transporter invited tenders, before the date on which these Regulations come into force;
(b)
(b) to the extent specified by regulations 4 (pipe-line works subject to planning permission in England and Wales) and 5 (pipe-line works subject to planning permission in Scotland) below.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations–
“the 1986 Act” means the Gas Act 19863;
“the 1988 Scottish EIA Regulations” means the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Regulations 19884;
“the 1992 Order” means the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 19925;
“the 1995 Order” means the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 19956;
“the 1999 EIA Regulations” means the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 19997;
“appropriate local planning authority” has the same meaning as in article 4(6) of the 1995 Order8;
“appropriate particulars” means, in relation to a request for an environmental determination or a request under regulation 7(1) below (pre-application opinion on content of environmental statement),–
(a) a plan sufficient to identify the proposed pipe-line works and the land in which the proposed pipe-line works would be carried out; and
(b) a brief description of the nature and purpose of the proposed pipe-line works and what the public gas transporter considers to be likely to be their main effects on the environment;
“authorised area”, in relation to a public gas transporter, means so much of any area specified in the licence granted to the transporter concerned under section 7 of the 1986 Act or an extension of such licence as is not specified in a subsequent licence or extension granted under that section to another person;
“construction”, in relation to a pipe-line, includes placing and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;
“the consultation bodies”, in relation to proposed pipe-line works, means–
(a) the relevant planning authority;
(b) in the case of proposed pipe-line works in England, the Countryside Commission9, the Nature Conservancy Council for England10and the Environment Agency11;
(c) in the case of proposed pipe-line works in Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage12and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency13;
(d) in the case of proposed pipe-line works in Wales, the Countryside Council for Wales14and the Environment Agency;
“distribution main”, in relation to a public gas transporter, means any main of the transporter through which the transporter is for the time being distributing gas and which is not being used only for the purpose of conveying gas in bulk;
“EEA State” means a State which is a contracting party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2nd May 199215as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17th March 199316;
“effect” includes, except where the context otherwise requires, any direct, indirect, secondary, cumulative, short, medium or long-term, permanent or temporary, or positive or negative effect;
“EIA development” means pipe-line works which are likely to have significant effects on the environment by virtue of factors such as their nature, size or location;
“emergency works” means any works whose execution at the time when they are executed is required in order to put an end to, or to prevent the occurrence of, circumstances then existing or imminent which are likely to cause danger to persons or property;
“environmental determination”, in relation to any proposed pipe-line works, means a determination by the Secretary of State as to whether the proposed works are EIA development;
“environmental statement” means a statement prepared in respect of proposed pipe-line works which includes–
(a) such information of the descriptions referred to in Schedule 1 to these Regulations as is relevant, taking into account the specific characteristics of the pipe-line works or type of pipe-line works proposed and the environmental features likely to be affected, and which the public gas transporter can, having regard in particular to current knowledge and methods of assessment, reasonably be required to compile, and
(b) in every case, the following–
(i) a description of the pipe-line works proposed, comprising information about the route, the design and size of the pipe-line works;
(ii) a description of the measures envisaged in order to prevent, reduce and, if possible, offset significant adverse effects;
(iii) the data required to identify and assess the main effects which the pipe-line works are likely to have on the environment;
(iv) an outline of the main alternatives studied by the public gas transporter and an indication of the main reasons for choosing the pipe-line works proposed, taking into account the environmental effects;
(v) a non-technical summary of the information provided under sub-sub-paragraphs (i) to (iv) above;
“gas” means–
(a) any substance in a gaseous state which consists wholly or mainly of–
(i) methane, ethane, propane, butane, hydrogen or carbon monoxide;
(ii) a mixture of two or more of those gases; or
(iii) a combustible mixture of one or more of those gases and air; and
(b) any other substance in a gaseous state which is gaseous at a temperature of 15°C and a pressure of 1013.25 millibars and is specified in an order made by the Secretary of State under the 1986 Act17;
“in”, in a context referring to a pipe-line or works or operations in land, includes a reference to a pipe-line, works or operations under, over, across, along or upon it;
“local planning authority” means an authority which is a local planning authority for the purposes of the Town and Country Planning Act 199018;
“notice” means notice in writing and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;
“notice of preparation of environmental statement”, in relation to proposed pipe-line works, means a notice to the Secretary of State–
(a) stating that the public gas transporter proposing to carry out the works in question will prepare and submit to the Secretary of State an environmental statement relating to those works;
(b) including the information necessary to identify, or being accompanied by documents identifying, the proposed pipe-line works, the land in which the proposed pipe-line works would be carried out and the nature and purpose of the works; and
(c) indicating the main environmental consequences to which the public gas transporter proposes to refer in his environmental statement.
“pipe-line” means a pipe-line, other than a small service pipe, within the meaning of section 65 of the Pipe-lines Act 196219which is intended to convey gas;
“pipe-line works” means the carrying out of building, engineering or other operations in land for the construction of a pipe-line, not being emergency works;
“planning authority” means a council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 199420;
“public gas transporter” means the holder of a licence under section 7(1) of the 1986 Act21except where the holder is acting otherwise than for purposes connected with–
(a) the carrying on of activities authorised by the licence;
(b) the conveyance of gas through pipes which–
(i) are situated in an authorised area of his; or
(ii) are situated in an area which was an authorised area of his, or an authorised area of a previous holder of the licence, and were so situated at a time when it was such an area; or
(c) the conveyance through pipes of gas which is in the course of being conveyed to or from a country or territory outside Great Britain;
“register” means–
(a) in relation to proposed pipe-line works in England and Wales, a register kept pursuant to section 69 (registers of applications etc.) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990; and
(b) in relation to proposed pipe-line works in Scotland, a register kept pursuant to section 36 (registers of applications etc.) of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 199722,
and in each case, “appropriate register” means the register on which particulars of a planning application for the relevant pipe-line works would fall to be placed in the event of such an application being made;
“relevant planning authority” means in the case of proposed pipe-line works the subject of–
(a) a request for an environmental determination;
(b) a notice of preparation of environmental statement; or
(c) a direction by the Secretary of State pursuant to regulation 3(3) below (direction that an environmental statement is required),
as the case may be, each local planning authority or planning authority within whose...
To continue reading
Request your trial