Water Resources Act 1991 (as amended)
Discharge Consent and Associated Appeals - Appeal Procedure Guide
Appendix 1
Water Resources Act 1991
Discharge Consents
Part 1 – Legislative Background
1.1 Using powers under the Water Resources Act 1991 (as amended) (WRA), the Secretary of State made new Regulations on 26 November 1996 covering discharge consents, appeals and public registers. These Regulations, The Control of Pollution (Applications, Appeals and Registers) Regulations 1996, came into force on 31 December 1996. In coming into effect, the Regulations revoked the following Regulations :-
The Control of Pollution (Consents for Discharges etc) (Secretary of State Functions) Regulations 1989;
The Control of Pollution (Discharges by the National Rivers Authority) Regulations 1989;
The Control of Pollution (Registers) Regulations 1989.
1.2 The main reasons covered in the Regulations are:-
- the procedures to be followed in relation to applications for, or the variation of discharge consents, including applications made by the Environment Agency. They also prescribe the procedure to be followed where a discharge consent is granted under paragraph 6 of Schedule 10 to the WRA 1991, without an application;
- the procedures to be followed in relation to appeals to the Secretary of State under Section 91 and 191B of the WRA 1991 – appeals against discharge consents and appeals in relation to information to be entered into pollution control registers which the Environment Agency has determined is not commercially confidential;
- the particulars which are to be entered on water pollution control registers which are maintained by the Environment Agency. They prescribe when entries are to be made on, and deal with the indexing of, the registers.
Part 2 – Issues which an appeal may cover
2.1 When an appeal is being prepared or being considered by an Inspector, advice may be required on:
- the effect on river classification:
- the effect on Statutory Water Quality objectives;
- whether a condition is appropriately worded.
2.2 Where applicable, parties to an appeal may also be asked to provide
some
of the following details:
- a brief history of the circumstances surrounding the appeal;
- the origin of the source water and its chemical composition and physical characteristics if the discharge is from a water treatment plant;
- the volume, any variation, the chemical composition and physical characteristics of the discharge water;
- a schematic drawing of the flow routing
- a plan showing location and details of other discharges and/or abstractions that might impinge on the appeal discharge;
- the effluent treatment and treatment plant;
- the physical measurement of the receiving water flow, including Dry Weather Flow, or reasons why this is not possible or considered necessary;
- whether sweetening water is available if the receiving water flows fall below a certain level;
- the means that are to be employed for monitoring the conditions that are in dispute;
- the consequences of deleting the condition in dispute ie, what would be the fall back in terms of EC and national criteria;
- measures necessary to comply with the disputed condition(s);
- whether the improvements sought by the Agency are being funded by the AMP;
- it may be necessary to ask the Agency to consider the costs and benefits of their actions in any particular case (see Section 39 of the Environment Act 1995).
