The Water Resources (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2003

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations complete the implementation, in relation to water management projects for agriculture in England and Wales, of Council Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (O.J. No. L175, 5.7.1975, p.40), as amended by Council Directive 97/11/EC (O.J. No. L73, 14.3.1997, p.5).

The Regulations impose procedural requirements in relation to the consideration of applications or proposals for an abstraction or impounding licence under Chapter II of Part II of the Water Resources Act 1991 and require consent in other cases. The Environment Agency is the competent authority in England and Wales for these Regulations.

Part I of the Regulations contains general provisions. Regulation 3 requires an environmental impact assessment (“EIA”) to be carried out for water management projects for agriculture (including irrigation projects) which would be likely to have significant effects on the environment by virtue inter alia of their nature, size or location. Projects involving the abstraction of water are only included if the amounts abstracted exceed 20 cubic metres in any 24 hours. There is an exclusion for development within the meaning of section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and land drainage improvement works (where there are other arrangements for an EIA to be carried out).

Part II of the Regulations provides the procedure for an EIA.

Regulations 4 and 5 provide the procedure for determining whether a water management project requires an EIA, and require an environmental statement to be provided where an EIA is required. The Agency determines, at the request of the person applying or proposing to apply, whether the proposed project is a relevant project, using the selection criteria in Schedule 1. If the person who makes the request is dissatisfied with the Agency’s determination, he may apply to the appropriate Minister to make his own determination. The determination must be made public, and must accompany any subsequent application for authorisation of the project.

Regulation 6 and Schedule 2 set out the information which an environmental statement must contain. The applicant may enter into consultation with any body to determine whether that body possesses information relevant to the environmental statement. The Agency is required to give an opinion on the content of an environmental statement if so requested.

Regulation 7 provides for environmental information to be publicised in the same way as the application. In addition the applicant must send a copy of the application and the environmental information to the consultation bodies defined in regulation 2.

Regulation 8 requires the Agency or the appropriate Minister to have regard to the environmental information provided and any representations received in determining the application. A notice of the outcome must be published stating where the relevant documentation is available for public inspection.

Part III of the Regulations provides for relevant projects which require consent under these Regulations. Regulation 9 makes it an offence to begin or carry out a relevant project without the Agency’s consent in cases where no abstraction or impounding licence is required. The Agency may grant or refuse such consent taking into account any significant effects the project is likely to have on the environment: regulation 10.

Regulations 11 and 12 provide for appeals to be made to the appropriate Minister where the applicant is dissatisfied with the Agency’s decision on an application for consent under regulation 10, and for decisions of the appropriate Minister on such appeals to be challenged in the High Court within 6 weeks.

Part IV of the Regulations applies the Regulations with modifications to licence applications called in by the appropriate Minister and proposals for modification of abstraction or impounding licences.

Part V of the Regulations requires determinations of whether a project requires EIA, and environmental statements or further information provided under these Regulations, to be kept in the Agency’s register of abstraction and impounding licences.

A Regulatory Impact Appraisal has been prepared in connection with these Regulations. It has been placed in the Library of each House of Parliament, and copies may be obtained from WSR5 Division, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6DE (telephone [phone]).