Duties on ministers and regulators
3.—(1) The Secretary of State, the Welsh Ministers, the Agency and NRW must exercise their relevant functions so as to secure compliance with the requirements of the WFD, the EQSD and the GWD.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1), the Secretary of State, the Welsh Ministers, the Agency and NRW must determine an authorisation so as, in particular—
(a)to prevent deterioration of the surface water status or groundwater status of a body of water (subject to the application of regulations 18 and 19), and
(b)otherwise to support the achievement of the environmental objectives set for a body of water (subject to the application of regulations 16 to 19).
(3) In paragraph (2), “determine an authorisation” means decide whether to grant, vary or revoke, or impose conditions (and if so which conditions) on—
(a)an environmental permit under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016(1);
(b)a licence for an abstraction or impoundment under Chapter 2 of Part 2 of the Water Resources Act 1991(2).
(4) The Secretary of State, the Welsh Ministers, the Agency and NRW must exercise their relevant functions in relation to each river basin district so as best to secure that the requirements of the WFD, the EQSD and the GWD for the achievement of the environmental objectives, and in particular programmes of measures, are coordinated for the whole of that district.