The Urban Waste Water Treatment (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2003

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Urban Waste Water Treatment (England and Wales) Regulations 1994, (“the principal Regulations”), which implement Council Directive 91/271/EEC concerning urban waste water treatment (the “Directive”). Amongst other matters, the principal Regulations require the Secretary of State to keep under review the identification of “sensitive areas” and “high natural dispersion areas”, which are areas of water defined in accordance with specified criteria.

These Regulations concern the publicity to be given to decisions taken on the reviews under the principal Regulations. This includes the dates on which previous decisions took effect, and future decisions will take effect.

In the preamble to these Regulations, following the terminology of the Directive, high natural dispersion areas are referred to as “less sensitive areas”.

Regulation 1 defines the appropriate authority for the purposes of these Regulations. In relation to England this is the Secretary of State and in relation to Wales, the National Assembly for Wales.

Regulation 2 requires the appropriate authority to publicise the decision taken on a review by doing the following:

• giving a notice of the decision to the Environment Agency, including the date on which it takes effect,

• publishing the notice through its web-site and, if it relates to England, in the London Gazette or, if it relates to Wales, in a daily newspaper circulating in the appropriate area,

• ensuring that revised maps reflecting the decision are deposited with the Environment Agency, and

• taking such other steps as it considers appropriate to publicise the decision.

Regulation 2(3) specifies that the decision on a review takes effect on the date stated in the notice given to the Environment Agency, and that a decision continues in force until superseded by a relevant decision on a subsequent review.

Regulation 3(1) requires the appropriate authority and the Environment Agency to ensure that their respective web-sites provide certain information. The web-sites must make available maps of all current sensitive areas and high natural dispersion areas and must give the dates that any such areas of water were identified, or ceased to be so identified. Regulation 3(2) requires the Environment Agency to have the maps and information available for public inspection at its principal office and principal regional offices.

Regulation 4 makes consequential amendments to the principal Regulations. The amendments make the relevant parts of the principal Regulations subject to the requirements of these Regulations, and revoke existing provisions about publishing maps.