S.I. No. 390/1979 - The European Communities (Waste) Regulations, 1979.

S.I. No. 390 of 1979.

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (WASTE) REGULATIONS, 1979.

The Minister for the Environment in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive of 15th July, 1975 No. 75/442/EEC^*, hereby makes the following Regulations:

^*O.J. No. L 194/39, 25 July, 1975.

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Waste) Regulations, 1979.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of April, 1980.

2. (1) In these Regulations—

"authorised person" means a person appointed by a local authority or by the Minister for the Environment to be an authorised person for the purposes of these Regulations;

"the Council Directive" means Council Directive of 15th July, 1975 No, 75/442/EEC;

"local authority" means—

( a ) in the case of the administrative county of Dublin, excluding the borough of Dún Laoghaire, the council of the county of Dublin,

( b ) in the case of the borough of Dún Laoghaire, the corporation of the borough,

( c ) in the case of a county borough, the corporation of the county borough, and

( d ) in the case of any other administrative county, the council of the county;

"Minister" means the Minister for the Environment;

"public waste collector" means a local authority or other sanitary authority for the purposes of the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Acts, 1878 to 1964;

"waste operation" means any operation comprised in the disposal of waste.

(2) a word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Council Directive has, unless the contrary appears, the meaning in these Regulations that it has in that Directive.

3. (1) A holder of waste—

( a ) if he does not himself dispose of the waste, shall not permit disposal of the waste by any person other than a public waste collector or a person holding an appropriate permit under article 5 of these Regulations, or

( b ) if he himself disposes of the waste, shall not do so in a manner which would endanger human health or harm the environment or, in particular, which would—

(i) create risk to water, air, soil, plants or animals,

(ii) cause a nuisance through noise or odours, or

(iii) adversely affect the countryside or places of special interest.

(2) A person who contravenes sub-article (1) of this article shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £600 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

4. (1) Each local authority shall be responsible for the planning, organisation, authorisation and supervision of waste operations in their area.

(2) Each local authority shall as soon as may be prepare a plan indicating—

( a ) the type and quantity of waste for disposal,

( b ) general technical requirements,

( c ) suitable disposal sites, and

( d ) any special arrangements for particular wastes.

(3) A plan under this article may include measures to encourage rationalisation of the collection, sorting and treatment of waste, estimated costs of disposal operations, or such other matters as the local authority may consider appropriate having regard to the purposes of the Council Directive.

5. (1) A local authority may issue a permit to any person for treating, tipping or storing waste in their area on behalf of another person.

(2) A permit under this article shall specify the type and quantity of waste to which it applies and shall be conditional on compliance with any general technical requirements and precautions to be taken specified in the permit and shall be conditional also on the making available to the local authority of such information as they may request in relation to the origin, destination, treatment, type and quantity of the waste.

(3) A person other than a public waste collector shall not carry out the treating, storing or tipping of waste on behalf of another person without an appropriate permit or in a manner contravening the terms of such permit.

(4) A person who contravenes sub-article (3) of this article shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £600 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

6. (1) The holder of a permit under article 5 and, if the local authority so directs by notice in writing, any other person transporting, collecting, storing, tipping or treating their own waste or collecting or transporting waste on behalf of another person shall maintain a register of such operations showing the types and quantities of all waste handled and its origin, treatment and destination and shall make the register available for examination or provide any relevant information when so requested by any authorised person.

(2) An authorised person may inspect and examine any waste collected or being stored, treated, transported or tipped and any installation, plant or vehicle used in such operations and, for this purpose, an authorised person may at any reasonable time enter and inspect any structure, premises or other land which he has reasonable cause to believe is being used for waste operations.

(3) Any person—

( a ) who is required under sub-article (1) to maintain a register and who fails or refuses to—

(i) maintain a proper register

(ii) produce the register on request by an authorised person, or

(iii) give relevant information on request by an authorised person, or

( b ) who obstructs or interferes with an authorised person in the course of exercising a power conferred on him under this article, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £250.

(4) When exercising any powers conferred by these Regulations, an authorised person shall, if so required, produce evidence of his authority.

7. A prosecution for an offence under these Regulations may be taken—

( a ) in the case of obstruction or interference with an authorised person appointed by the Minister, by the Minister and

( b ) in any other case, by the local authority.

8. These Regulations shall not apply to—

( a ) radioactive waste,

( b ) waste resulting from prospecting, extraction, treatment and storage of mineral resources and the working of quarries,

( c ) animal carcases and agricultural waste comprising faecal matter or substances used in farming,

( d ) waste waters (but not including waste in liquid form),

( e ) gaseous effluents emitted into the atmosphere.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for the Environment this

7th day of December, 1979.

SYLVESTER BARRETT,

Minister for the Environment.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations give effect to Council Directive of the European Communities of 15 July, 1975 (75/442/EEC)^* on waste. The Regulations make local authorities responsible for the planning, organisation, authorisation and supervision of waste operations in their areas and require them to prepare plans. A person other than a public waste collector must have a permit from a local authority for treating, storing or tipping waste in their area on behalf of another person. A holder of waste must not permit its disposal by another person except a public waste collector or a permit holder. If he disposes of the waste himself he is prohibited from doing so in a manner which would endanger human health or harm the environment. Summary conviction of an offence renders a person liable to a fine of not more than £600 or 6 months imprisonment or both. Penalties are also provided for failure to keep or produce a proper register of waste operations or to give relevant information to an authorised person and for obstructing or interfering with such person.

^*O.J. No. L 194/39, 25 July, 1975.