IRISH ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION

The purpose of these Regulations is to implement Council Directive 96/82/EC on the control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances.

The Regulations apply to establishments where dangerous substances are present in amounts equal to or exceeding the application thresholds.

Operators of establishments are required to take all necessary measures to prevent the occurrence of major accidents and to limit the consequences of accidents for people and the environment.

The Regulations impose duties in respect of safety management systems, preparation of safety reports and emergency preparedness.

The Regulations also deal with provision of advice on major hazards in the context of land-use planning decisions.

The Regulations set out the arrangements for the appointment of competent authorities, enforcement and the provision of information.

The Regulations provide for the levying of charges by competent authorities for duties performed pursuant to these Regulations.

These Regulations revoke the Water Supplies (Application for Provisional Order) Regulations, 1945 ( S.I. No. 265 of 1945 ) and provide replacement Regulations to implement section 8 of the Water Supplies Act, 1942 as amended by the Planning and Development Act, 2000 . The new Regulation enables applications for a provisional order for the taking of a supply to be made to An Bord Pleanála.

The purpose of these Regulations is to transfer the function of certifying environmental impact assessment of local authority own development from the Minister for the Environmental and Local Government to An Board Pleanála on 1 January 2001. The transfer of the certification function coincides with the transfer of the Minister’s function in relation to the approval of compulsory purchases of land by local authorities in accordance with sections 214 and 215 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 .

These Regulations prescribe quality standards to be applied in relation to certain supplies of drinking water, including requirements as to sampling frequency, methods of analysis, the provision of information to consumers and related matters. The Regulations come into operation on 1 January 2004 and revoke SI No. 81 of 1988 . The Regulations give effect to provisions of EU Council Directive 98/83/EC on the quality of water intended for human consumption.

These Regulations implement Commission Directives 98/98/EEC (the 25th Adaptation to Technical Progress (ATP) of Directive 67/548/EEC on the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances), 2000/32/EC (the 26th Adaptation to Technical Progress) and 2000/33/EC (the 27th Adaptation to Technical Progress). The Regulations additionally replace 4 sets of Regulations, (a) the European Communities (Dangerous Substances) (Classification, Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 1994 ( S.I. No. 77 of 1994 ). (b) the European Communities (Dangerous Substances) (Classification, Packaging, Labelling and Notification) (Amendment) Regulations, 1998 ( S.I. No. 317 of 1998 ), (c) The European Communities (Dangerous Substances) (Classification, Packaging, Labelling and Notification) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations, 1998 ( S.I. No. 513 of 1998 ) and (d) the European Communities (Dangerous Substances) (Classification, Packaging, Labelling and Notification) (Amendment) Regulations, 1999 ( S.I. No. 363 of 1999 ) with a single consolidated set of Regulations.

The consolidated Regulations thus also implement Council Directive 92/32/EEC, amending for the 7th time Directive 67/548/EEC, together with Council Directive 96/56/EC and Commission Directives 92/69/EEC (17th ATP), 93/21/EEC (18th ATP), 93/72/EEC (19th ATP), 93/101/EC (20th ATP), 94/69/EC (21st ATP), 96/54/EC (22nd ATP), 97/69/EC (23rd ATP) and 98/73/EC (24th ATP). Related Commission Directives on Risk Assessment (93/67/EEC), on substances for which equivalent European Community notification or approval systems exist (93/90/EEC), data requirements for polymers (93/105/EC) and requirements for Safety Data Sheets (91/155/EEC and 93/112/EC) are also implemented.

The aim of the Regulations is to protect man and the environment from the harmful effects of both new substances and existing dangerous substances. The Regulations apply to all substances which are intended to be placed on the market either on their own or in a preparation with exceptions for certain categories of substances such as medicinal, cosmetic, pesticide, waste, etc., products which are covered by other Directives.

They require each manufacturer, importer or other person proposing to place any new chemical on the market for the first time to submit to the competent authority a notification dossier containing details of tests to which the substance has been subjected and the proposed classification and labelling of the substance.

The Regulations also require suppliers to put warning labels on containers for dangerous substances and to ensure that the containers are properly designed, constructed and secured to prevent spillage or seepage during normal use. Safety data sheets must be supplied for dangerous substances covered by these Regulations.

Commission Directive 98/98/EEC of 15 December, 1998, adapts to technical progress Annexes I, III, IV and VI of Directive 67/548/EEC. The Directive adds a number of additional dangerous substances to Annex I the list of substances classified and labelled as dangerous in the European Community, amends the classification and labelling of a number of other dangerous substances already included in Annex I, and deletes a number of existing entries in the Annex. Additional risk phrases are included in Annex III of the Directive (provided as Schedule 3 of the Regulations), additional safety phrases in Annex IV (provided as Schedule 4 of the Regulations) and Annex VI, the classification and guide (provided as Schedule 6 of the Regulations) is amended.

Commission Directive 2000/32/EEC of 19 May, 2000, adapts to technical progress Annexes I, IV, V and IX of Directive 67/548/EEC. The Directive adds a number of additional dangerous substances to Annex I and amends the classification and labelling of a number of other dangerous substances already included in the Annex. Additional safety phrases are included in Annex IV, a number of additional testing methods are included in Annex V, the harmonised European Union methods for the testing of chemicals for hazardous properties, and Annex IX, the provisions relating to child-proof fastening is amended.

Commission Directive 2000/33/EEC of 25 April, 2000, adapts to technical progress Annex V of Directive 67/548/EEC. Additional test methods are incorporated into Annex V.

These Regulations amend the Air Pollution Act, 1987 (Marketing, Sale and Distribution of Fuels) Regulations, 1998 ( S.I. No. 118 of 1998 ).

The Regulations provide for the introduction of the ban on the sale of bituminous coal to five additional restricted areas in Celbridge, Galway, Leixlip, Naas and Waterford and an additional location in the restricted area of South Dublin.

The Regulations come into force on 1 October 2000

These Regulations provide for the continued operation of the system of licensing by the Environmental Protection Agency of waste recovery and disposal activities under Part V of the Waste Management Act, 1996 . The Regulations set out procedures for the making of waste licence applications, reviews of licences and consideration by the Agency of objections, including the holding of oral hearings.

These Regulations also provide for the licensing of mobile plant used for the recovery and disposal of waste at more than one site.

The Waste Management (Licensing) Regulations, 1997 and the Waste Management (Licensing) (Amendment) Regulations, 1998 are revoked.

These Regulations amend the European Communities (Quality of Water Intended for Human Consumption) Regulations, 1988. They provide for remedial measures to be taken in relation to drinking water supplies which are deficient in quality. These Regulations give further effect to Council Directive 80/778/EEC relating to the quality of water intended for human consumption.