The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016

PART 2 E+W Exempt water discharge activities: descriptions and conditions

Vegetation management activities E+W

1.—(1) For the purpose of paragraphs 5(a)(i) and 6(a)(i) of Schedule 2, the description is cutting or uprooting a substantial amount of vegetation in any inland freshwaters or so near to any such waters that it falls into them, where it is not reasonable to take steps to remove the vegetation from those waters.

(2) For the purpose of paragraphs 5(a)(ii) and 6(a)(ii) of that Schedule, the conditions in relation to a water discharge activity described in sub-paragraph (1) are that—

(a) prior notice of the dates of the water discharge activity is given to persons likely to be affected by such an activity, including—

(i) the owner of any structure within or on the watercourse,

(ii) the owner of any designated site within or on the watercourse,

(iii) fisheries interests,

(iv) boating interests,

(v) the appropriate agency,

(vi) the local authority,

(vii) the internal drainage board (which has the same meaning as in the Land Drainage Act 1991 M1 ), and

(b) the activity is not carried on if there is insufficient flow to convey the vegetation.

(3) In sub-paragraph (2)(a)(ii), "designated site" means—

(a) a European site (which has the meaning given in regulation 8 of [F1 the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017]),

(b) a Ramsar site (which has the same meaning as in section 37A of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 M2 ),

(c) a site of special scientific interest (which has the meaning given in section 52(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 M3 ), or

(d) a nature reserve established by a local authority under section 21 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 M4 .

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in Sch. 3 Pt. 2 para. 1(3)(a) substituted (30.11.2017) by The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/1012), reg. 1(2), Sch. 6 para. 73(2)(a)

Marginal Citations

M1 1991 c. 59.

M2 1981 c. 69; section 37A was inserted by section 77 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (c. 37) and was amended by paragraph 86 of Part 1 of Schedule 11 to the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 (c. 16), by paragraphs 5 and 7 of Schedule 2 to the Planning (Wales) Act 2015 (anaw. 4) and by S.I. 2013/755 (W. 90).

M3 The definition was inserted by paragraph 5(2) of Schedule 9 to the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.

M4 1949 c. 97; section 21 was amended by Schedule 30 to the Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70), by paragraphs 15(e) and 19 of Part 1 of Schedule 11 to the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006, and by paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 (anaw. 3).

Small discharges of sewage effluent: Wales E+W

2.—(1) For the purpose of paragraph 5(a)(i) of Schedule 2, the description is the discharge from a sewage treatment plant of 5 cubic metres per day or less of sewage effluent into inland freshwaters, coastal waters or relevant territorial waters.

(2) For the purpose of paragraph 5(a)(ii) of that Schedule, the conditions in relation to a water discharge activity described in sub-paragraph (1) are—

(a) in the case of a discharge which takes place for the first time on or after the date on which these Regulations come into force, that all works and equipment used for the treatment of sewage effluent and its discharge comply with the requirements specified in the document entitled “Guidance for the registration of small sewage effluent discharges”, issued by the NRBW and dated July 2011 and updated in September 2016 M5 , in relation to—

(i) design and manufacturing standards,

(ii) construction, installation and operation specifications,

(iii) siting and installation, and

(iv) the capacity of the works and equipment;

(b) that the discharge cannot reasonably, at the time it is first made, be made to the foul sewer;

(c) that the discharge does not contain trade effluent;

(d) that all works and equipment used for the treatment of sewage effluent and its discharge are maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's specification;

(e) that records of maintenance work are kept by the person who is the occupier of the land on which the discharge is made (“the occupier”) for at least 5 years after the work is carried out;

(f) that the occupier must notify the exemption registration authority if an exempt water discharge activity ceases to be in operation;

(g) that the occupier must ensure that all works and equipment used for the treatment of sewage effluent and its discharge are appropriately decommissioned when the exempt facility ceases to be in operation so that there is no risk of pollutants entering inland freshwaters or coastal waters;

(h) that, before an occupier ceases to be in occupation of land on which an exempt water discharge activity is carried on, the occupier must give to the person who will next be in occupation of the land a written notice—

(i) stating that an exempt water discharge activity is being carried on on the land,

(ii) containing a description of the exempt facility,

(iii) stating the conditions that must be satisfied in relation to the exempt facility, and

(iv) accompanied by any records of maintenance mentioned in paragraph (e).

Marginal Citations

M5 See https://naturalresources.wales/media/679226/guidance-for-the-registration-of-small-sewage-effluent-discharges.pdf and

https://naturalresources.wales/media/679225/canllawiau-ar-gyfer-cofrestru-gollyngiadau-elifion-carthion-bach.pdf. A copy may be obtained from Natural Resources Wales, c/o Customer Care Centre, Ty Cambria, 29 Newport Road, Cardiff, CF24 0TP.

Small discharges of sewage effluent: England E+W

3.—(1) For the purpose of paragraph 6(a)(i) of Schedule 2, the description is the discharge from a sewage treatment plant of 5 cubic metres per day or less of sewage effluent into inland freshwaters, coastal waters or relevant territorial waters.

(2) For the purpose of paragraph 6(a)(ii) of that Schedule, the conditions in relation to a water discharge activity described in sub-paragraph (1) are that an operator of the sewage treatment plant ensures that—

(a) all works and equipment used for the treatment of sewage effluent and its discharge comply with the requirements specified in the [F2 document entitled “General binding rules for small sewage discharges (SSDs) with effect from 2nd October 2023” published by the Agency on 23rd March 2023] M6 in relation to—

(i) design and manufacturing standards,

(ii) construction, installation and operation specifications,

(iii) siting and installation, and

(iv) the capacity of the works and equipment;

(b) in the case of a discharge which takes place for the first time on or after 1st January 2015, the discharge could not reasonably be made to the foul sewer;

(c) the discharge does not contain trade effluent;

(d) all works and equipment used for the treatment of sewage effluent and its discharge are maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's specification;

(e) all works and equipment used for the treatment of sewage effluent and its discharge are appropriately decommissioned when the exempt facility ceases to be in operation so that there is no risk of polluting matter entering inland freshwaters or coastal waters;

(f) before the land or part of the land on which the sewage treatment plant is situated or being used is sold, an owner of the land or part of the land gives to the purchaser a written notice—

(i) stating that an exempt water discharge activity is being carried on on the land, and

(ii) containing a description of the exempt facility.

(3) For the purposes of this paragraph, an operator is a person who has control over the operation of the sewage treatment plant by reason of—

(a) being an owner of the land on which the sewage treatment plant is situated or being used, or

(b) having entered into a written agreement with the owner of the land on which the sewage treatment plant is situated or being used to be responsible for the maintenance of the sewage treatment plant.

Textual Amendments

F2 Words in Sch. 3 Pt. 2 para. 3(2)(a) substituted (2.10.2023) by The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/651), regs. 1(2), 5(a)

Marginal Citations

M6 See https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/397173/ssd-general-binding-rules.pdf. A copy may be obtained from the Environment Agency, National Customer Contact Centre, PO Box 544, Rotherham, S60 1BY.