Séamus Hughes
Question:110 Mr. Hughes asked the Minister for the Environment when the Government will comply with Article 7 of Directive 76/464/EEC; and the action which can be taken by the EU in the event of non-compliance. [2335/95]
Written Answers. - EEC Directive Compliance.
The Local Government (Water Pollution) Acts, 1977 and 1990, provide that the discharge of trade or sewage effluent to waters, and the discharge of trade effluent or other matter to sewers, may be carried out only under and in accordance with licences issued by the local or sanitary authority concerned. The Environmental Protection Agency also licences scheduled activities on the basis of integrated pollution control. Discharges from urban waste water treatment plants must comply with the requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992 (Urban Waste Water Treatment) Regulations, 1994.
A range of national regulations, reflecting relevant EU directives, have fixed quality objectives or standards for bathing waters, shellfish waters, drinking waters, surface waters, groundwaters and freshwaters to support fish life. The Environmental Protection Agency and local or sanitary authorities are required to ensure compliance with these objectives and standards in the context of their licensing functions. In addition, recommendations for quality objectives for a range of dangerous substances have been issued to local authorities to assist them,inter alia, in dealing with development proposals which may affect water quality.
In correspondence with the European Commission, my Department has accepted that there is a further need to fix quality objectives for waters in respect of a range of dangerous substances most prevalent in the Irish situation. A working group has been established, in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency, to prepare proposals in this regard.