Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 2 February 2012
19 Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the legislation he was referring to when he indicated during the debate in Dáil Éireann that households would be exempt from planning permission when upgrading septic tanks in line with the Water Services Act 2011. [5905/12]
Amharc ar fhreagra40 Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the legislation to which he was referring when he indicated during the debate in Dail Éireann that households with septic tanks on sites of a quarter of an acre or less would be exempt from having to access more land in order to comply with the Water Service Act. [5906/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 19 and 40 together.
Section 4 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 provides for the exemption of certain developments from planning requirements. Under the provisions of Part 1 of the Second Schedule of the 2001 Planning Regulations, works consisting of, or incidental to, the carrying out of development in compliance with a notice under Section 12 of the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act 1977 is an exempted development. Such notices are issued by local authorities in order to prevent or control pollution of waters, including pollution arising from on-site waste water treatment and disposal systems. I anticipate that works arising from the implementation of the Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 will be treated similarly to those arising from notices issued under Section 12 of the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act 1977.
I have committed, during the consideration of the Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 by the Oireachtas, to examine what further amendments to the exempted development provisions of planning legislation will be necessary where remediation or upgrading of domestic waste water treatment systems arises from implementation of the inspection requirements of the new legislation. There is nothing in the Bill which would require a householder to purchase additional lands. Where a septic tank or other on-site waste water treatment system is found to be causing risk to human health or the environment, a decision regarding the remediation work to be carried out will be based not only on the exact nature of the failure in the tank or system and the extent of the risk to health and the environment but also on issues such as existing site size and hydrological and geological conditions. The most appropriate and cost-effective engineering solution available will inform the work to be specified in an advisory notice.
A key objective of the new legislation is to enhance and protect public health and the environment, including drinking water quality, on an on-going basis. The national inspection plan, which will be prepared by the Environmental Protection Agency, will target inspections to areas where the risks to human health and the environment arising from failing septic tanks and other on-site waste water treatment systems are greatest. The local authorities will be responsible for implementing the plan within their functional areas. The national inspection plan will be updated by the Agency at least once every five years, having regard to the outcomes of inspections and technical advancements in the area of waste water treatment. While the objective of the legislation is to identify treatment systems which may be causing risks to public health and the environment, and to ensure the removal of such risks, it is simply not possible to speculate whether or not there will continue to be treatment systems causing pollution once the new arrangements are in place.
