The Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration, Production, Unloading and Storage (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2020

Provision of further information and related public consultation requirements U.K.

12.—(1) Following receipt of an environmental statement from a developer, the Secretary of State may by notice require a developer to provide further information.

(2) Where the developer proposes changes to the project before the OGA notifies the developer of its decision regarding whether to grant consent for the project under regulation 15, the Secretary of State must direct the developer to provide further information under paragraph (1).

(3) The Secretary of State must notify the developer if—

(a) the Secretary of State obtains or receives further information during the period between the service of the notice under regulation 11(3)(c) and the OGA's notification to the developer under regulation 15 (OGA consent decision); and

(b) the Secretary of State considers the further information ought to be made public because the information is directly relevant to reaching a conclusion on whether the project is likely to have a significant effect on the environment.

(4) Where paragraph (3) applies and the Secretary of State has agreed to the grant of consent under regulation 14, but the OGA has not notified the developer of its decision regarding whether to grant consent for the project under regulation 15, the Secretary of State must—

(a) revoke the agreement to the grant of consent;

(b) notify the developer that the agreement to the grant of consent has been revoked;

(c) following the consultation period specified in paragraph (5)(c)(viii), decide whether to agree to the grant of consent in accordance with regulation 14.

(5) Following receipt of the notice under paragraph (3), the developer must promptly—

(a) serve the further information that the Secretary of State considers is directly relevant in accordance with paragraph (3) on the authorities on which the environmental statement was required to be served pursuant to regulation 11(1) and 11(3)(a), together with a notice referring to the material previously served on that authority and stating that further representations may be made to the Secretary of State by a date specified in that notice, which must be at least 30 days after the date on which the further information was served on that authority;

(b) notify the Secretary of State of the name of every authority served with the information and notice referred to in sub-paragraph (a) and the date of such service;

(c) publish a notice which—

(i) refers to the previous notice published under regulation 11(3)(c) in respect of the application for consent and environmental statement and states that further information is available in respect of the project;

(ii) states that an application for consent has been made and sets out the summary of the project, as referred to in regulation 11(2);

(iii) states that the project is subject to an environmental impact assessment procedure and, where relevant, the fact that regulation 13 (consultation requirements regarding other countries) applies;

(iv) states that the OGA is responsible for deciding whether or not to grant consent, that the agreement of the Secretary of State to the grant of consent must be obtained before consent may be granted, and that the Secretary of State's decision on whether to agree to the grant of consent is based on the environmental impact assessment for the project;

(v) states the range of possible decisions in response to the application for consent, where the notice of the decisions will be published in accordance with regulation 16(1) and how information on the Secretary of State's decision can be obtained or requested in accordance with regulation 16(3);

(vi) states the websites at which the notice referred to in regulation 11(3)(c), the notice published pursuant to this paragraph, environmental statement, further information and summary of the project may be viewed and downloaded;

(vii) states that a copy of the environmental statement, further information and summary of the project may be obtained by post or email during the consultation period specified in paragraph (viii), and provides an address, email address and telephone number for the purpose of requesting a copy;

(viii) states a date not less than 30 days after the date on which this notice is last published by which any person may make representations in relation to the project to the Secretary of State and specifies the address or email address to which any representations must be sent;

(ix) sets out any other arrangements made for consulting the public;

(x) provides an explanation of the right of a person aggrieved by the grant of consent for a project to apply for judicial review.

(6) The developer must provide one copy of the environmental statement, further information and summary of the project by post or email, during the period specified in paragraph (viii), in accordance with a request for such copies.

(7) The developer must publish the notice required pursuant to paragraph (5)(c) and the further information on the same website as it published the documents referred to under regulation 11(5) at least until the date three months after the date on which the Secretary of State publishes the notice under regulation 16(1) (notice of consent decisions).

(8) The developer must also publish the notice required pursuant to paragraph (5)(c)—

(a) at any place and times reasonably required by the Secretary of State;

(b) in such newspapers as the Secretary of State may direct.

(9) The developer must provide the notice to the Secretary of State promptly and must also provide, within a reasonable time, the names of the newspapers in which the notice was published and the dates of publication.

(10) Following receipt of the notice pursuant to paragraph (9), the Secretary of State must promptly publish the notice and the further information on the same website as the Secretary of State published the documents referred to under regulation 11(8).

Commencement Information

I1 Reg. 12 in force at 31.12.2020 immediately before 11 p.m., see reg. 1(1)