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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> United Kingdom Statutory Instruments >> The Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (England and Wales) Regulations 2003 URL: https://www.bailii.org/uk/legis/num_reg/2003/20033242.html |
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Made | 10th December 2003 | ||
Laid before Parliament | 11th December 2003 | ||
Coming into force | 2nd January 2004 |
Interpretation
2.
- (1) In these Regulations -
(b) a statutory undertaker (being a person who by virtue of section 262 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990[7] is, or is deemed to be, a statutory undertaker for any purpose);
(2) Any expression used in both these Regulations and the Directive and not otherwise defined in these Regulations has the same meaning for the purposes of these Regulations as it has for the purposes of the Directive, and the definitions contained in the Directive of expressions used in these Regulations are set out in Schedule 1 (references in those definitions to an Annex or an Article being to an Annex to, or an Article of, the Directive).
The general duties
3.
- (1) The Secretary of State, the Assembly and the Agency must exercise their relevant functions so as to secure compliance with the requirements of the Directive.
(2) The Secretary of State and the Assembly must exercise their relevant functions in relation to each river basin district so as best to secure that the requirements of the Directive for the achievement of its environmental objectives, and in particular programmes of measures, are coordinated for the whole of that district.
(3) In this regulation, "relevant functions" means functions under these Regulations and, so far as material, the enactments listed in Parts 1 and 2 of Schedule 2 (which relate to statutes and subordinate instruments respectively).
River basin districts
4.
- (1) The areas shown on the deposited map are identified as river basin districts for the purposes of these Regulations.
(2) The Secretary of State, the Assembly and the Agency must ensure that the deposited map is made available to the public through their respective websites and at the relevant places.
(3) The relevant places are -
Characterisation of river basin districts
5.
- (1) The Agency must in accordance with Annex II to the Directive (characterisation, etc of waters) by 22nd December 2004 -
(2) The results of the work required by paragraph (1) must be periodically reviewed and updated by the Agency, initially by 22nd December 2013 and thereafter by each sixth anniversary of that date.
Economic analysis of water use in river basin districts
6.
- (1) The appropriate authority must ensure that an economic analysis of water use in each river basin district is carried out by 22nd December 2004 in accordance with Annex III to the Directive (economic analysis).
(2) The appropriate authority must ensure that the analysis required by paragraph (1) is periodically reviewed and updated, initially by 22nd December 2013 and thereafter by each sixth anniversary of that date.
Bodies of water used for the abstraction of drinking water
7.
- (1) The Agency must identify any bodies of water within each river basin district which -
(b) are intended to be used for the abstraction of water intended for human consumption to the extent referred to in sub-paragraph (a)(i) or (ii).
(2) In this regulation, "water intended for human consumption" has the same meaning as in Council Directive 80/778/EC of 15th July 1980 relating to the quality of water intended for human consumption, as amended[9].
Register of protected areas
8.
- (1) The Agency must for each river basin district -
Monitoring
9.
- (1) The Agency must -
(2) The monitoring programmes must cover -
(b) in relation to groundwater, chemical and quantitative status.
Environmental objectives and programmes of measures
10.
- (1) For the purposes of the river basin management plan for a river basin district which is required by regulation 11, the Agency must by such date as the appropriate authority may direct prepare and submit to the authority proposals for -
(2) In preparing proposals under paragraph (1), the Agency must -
(5) The appropriate authority must ensure that -
(b) in relation to a programme of measures that is updated under sub-paragraph (a)(iii), any new or revised measures are made operational within three years of that updating.
River basin management plans
11.
- (1) The Agency must by such date as the appropriate authority may direct prepare and submit to the appropriate authority a river basin management plan for each river basin district.
(2) A river basin management plan must -
(3) The relevant provisions of the Directive for the purposes of this regulation are -
(d) Annex VII, Part A (elements to be covered in river basin management plans).
(4) The appropriate authority must ensure that each river basin management plan is -
River basin management plans: public participation
12.
- (1) The Agency must in respect of the production of a river basin management plan -
(b) not less than two years before the beginning of the plan period, publish a summary of the significant water management matters which it considers arise for consideration in relation to the river basin district; and
(c) not less than one year before the beginning of the plan period, publish a draft plan.
(c) consult the persons referred to in paragraph (4);
(d) take such steps as it thinks fit, or the appropriate authority may direct, to provide opportunities for the general public and the persons referred to in paragraph (4) to participate in discussion and the exchange of information or views in relation to the preparation of the draft plan; and
(e) invite the public and the persons referred to in paragraph (4) to make representations in relation to the draft plan.
(3) A notice required by paragraph (2)(b) must be published -
(4) The persons to be consulted are -
(l) such other persons as -
(b) "harbour" and "harbour authority" have the meanings given by section 57 of the Harbours Act 1964[10];
(c) "local authority" means the council of any county, county borough, district or London borough, the Common Council of the City of London or the Greater London Authority;
(d) "local fisheries committee" and "sea fisheries district" mean a local fisheries committee constituted, and a sea fisheries committee created, by an order under section 1 of the Sea Fisheries Regulation Act 1966[11];
(e) "local planning authority" has the meaning given by section 1 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990[12];
(f) "navigation authority" has the meaning given by section 221(1) of the Water Resources Act 1991[13]; and
(g) "the plan period", in relation to a plan, means the period to which a direction under regulation 11(2)(a) requires it to relate.
(6) The Agency must take into account any representations relating to a statement, summary or draft plan published in accordance with paragraph (1) which are received by the Agency within the period of six months beginning with the date of publication or such longer period as the appropriate authority may direct.
River basin management plans: submission for approval
13.
- (1) As soon as a river basin management plan is submitted to the appropriate authority, the Agency must -
(2) The Agency must ensure that a plan submitted to the appropriate authority is accompanied by -
(4) Where the appropriate authority gives a direction to the Agency under paragraph (3), it must state its reasons for doing so.
(5) This regulation applies in relation to a river basin management plan resubmitted to the appropriate authority in accordance with a direction under paragraph (3) as it applies to the plan as originally submitted, with the modification that, for the reference in paragraph (3) to regulation 12(2) to (4), there is substituted a reference to this regulation.
River basin management plans: approval
14.
- (1) The appropriate authority may, having considered a river basin management plan submitted to it and any representations received by the authority in relation to that plan -
River basin management plans: review
15.
- (1) The Agency must review and update each river basin management plan (including a revised river basin management plan) -
(2) Following such a review, the Agency must prepare and submit to the appropriate authority a revised river basin management plan by such date as the appropriate authority may direct.
(3) Regulations 11(2) and (3) and 12 to 14 apply in relation to the preparation, submission and approval of a revised river basin management plan.
(4) The revised plan must include the information specified in Part B of Annex VII to the Directive (additional information for inclusion in updated river basin management plans) in addition to the matters required to be included by regulation 11(2)(b) and (3).
Supplementary plans
16.
- (1) The Agency may prepare supplementary plans for the purposes of supplementing the river basin management plan for a river basin district.
(2) A plan prepared under paragraph (1) may, for example, relate to -
(3) The Agency must, in relation to the preparation of a supplementary plan, consult such of the persons referred to in regulation 12(4) and such other persons likely to be interested in or affected by that plan as it thinks fit, and must take into account any views expressed by those consulted.
Duty to have regard to river basin management plans and supplementary plans
17.
The Secretary of State, the Assembly, the Agency and each public body must, in exercising their functions so far as affecting a river basin district, have regard to -
Publication of information
18.
- (1) The Agency must make accessible to the public at its principal office -
(3) The appropriate authority must make accessible to the public through its website and at its principal office the results of the analysis conducted under regulation 6 (economic analysis of water use in river basin districts).
Provision of information and assistance
19.
- (1) A public body must, on being requested to do so by the Agency, provide the Agency with such information in its possession or under its control and such assistance as the Agency may reasonably seek in connection with the exercise of any of the Agency's functions under these Regulations.
(2) Section 202 of the Water Resources Act 1991 (information and assistance in connection with the control of pollution) shall have effect as if functions under these Regulations were functions under the water pollution provisions of that Act.
Directions and guidance to public bodies
20.
- (1) Section 40 of the Environment Act 1995[14] (directions to the new Agencies) shall have effect as if the power in subsection (2) to give directions included a power for the appropriate authority to give directions to any public body for the purposes of giving effect to the Directive.
(2) Section 122 of the Environment Act 1995 (directions) shall apply in relation to any direction given by virtue of paragraph (1).
(3) The appropriate authority may give guidance to the Agency or to any other public body with respect to the practical implementation of the Directive, and the body to whom guidance is issued shall have regard to it.
Signed on behalf of the National Assembly for Wales
Dafydd Elis-Thomas
The Presiding Officer of the National Assembly
10th December 2003
Elliot Morley
Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
8th December 2003
[4] The river basin districts identified by regulation 4(1) do not include any that are partly in England and partly in Scotland.back
[5] O.J. No. L327, 22.12.2000, p. 1; amended by Decision 2455/2001/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20th November 2001 establishing the list of priority substances in the field of water policy and amending Directive 2000/60/EC (O.J. No. L331, 15.12.2001, p. 1).back
[7] 1990 c. 8; section 262 was amended by the Gas Act 1995 (c. 45), section 16(1) and Schedule 4, paragraph 18(2), S.I. 1996/593 and the Transport Act 2000 (c. 38), section 37 and Schedule 5, paragraph 6.back
[8] 1998 c. 38. By virtue of article 6 of the National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/672), the boundary between those parts of the sea within the Severn and Dee estuaries which are to be treated as adjacent to Wales and those which are not is the line connecting the coordinates set out in Schedule 3 to that Order.back
[9] O.J. No. L229, 30.8.80, p. 11; amended by Council Directive 98/83/EC of 3rd November 1998 on the quality of water intended for human consumption (O.J. No. L330, 5.12.98, p. 32).back
[12] 1990 c. 8; section 1 was amended by the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (c. 28), section 187(1) and Schedule 24, the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c. 19), section 18 and Schedule 18, and the Environment Act 1995 (c. 25), sections 78 and 120 and Schedules 10 and 24.back
[15] The relevant baseline, for the purposes of this definition and the definition of "inland water", is that from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured and is established by section 1 of the Territorial Sea Act 1987 (c. 49) and the Territorial Waters Order in Council (1965 III, p. 6452A).back
[22] S.I. 1989/1263, amended by S.I. 1990/1880, 1996/593 and 2000/656.back
[24] S.I. 1991/324, amended by S.I. 1997/547.back
[25] S.I. 1991/1597, amended by the Environment Act 1995 (c. 25), section 120, Schedule 22, paragraph 233 and, in relation to England, S.I. 2003/1238.back
[26] Copies are available from the Water Quality Division, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6DE.back
[28] S.I. 1994/1056, amended by the Environment Act 1995 (c. 25), section 120, Schedule 22, paragraph 233; relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1994/1137, 1995/288, 1950, 1996/593, 634, 972, 1279, 1998/606, 2746, 2000/1973, 2002/674, 1087 (W.114), 1559, 2980, 2003/595 and 780 (W.91).back
[29] S.I. 1994/2841, amended by the Environment Act 1995 (c. 25), section 120, Schedule 22, paragraph 233 and S.I. 2003/1788.back
[30] S.I. 1996/888, amended by S.I. 1998/1202, 2002/2297 (W.226) and 2614.back
[31] S.I. 1996/3001, amended, in relation to England, by S.I. 2000/3184 and, in relation to Wales, by S.I. 2001/3911.back
[32] Copies are available from the Water Quality Division, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6DE.back
[33] S.I. 1997/1331, amended by S.I. 2003/1053.back
[34] Amended by the Surface Waters (Fishlife) (Amendment) Directions 2003. Copies of both Directions are available from the Water Quality Division, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6DE and the Environment Division, National Assembly for Wales, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NQ.back
[36] Copies are available from the Water Quality Division, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6DE.back
[39] S.I. 1998/1202, amended by S.I. 2002/2614 and 2003/1852 (W.202).back
[40] S.I. 1998/2746, amended by S.I. 2000/1973.back
[41] S.I. 2000/1973; relevant amending instruments are S.I. 2001/503, 2002/275, 1559, 1702, 2688, 2980 and 2003/1699.back
Prepared
22 December 2003