S.I. No. 256/1994 - Air Pollution Act, 1987 (Sulphur Content of Gas Oil) Regulations, 1994.

In exercise of the powers conferred on the Minister for the Environment by sections 10 , 13 , 14 and 53 of the Air Pollution Act, 1987 (No. 6 of 1987), which said powers are delegated to me by the Environment (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order, 1993 ( S.I. No. 127 of 1993 ), I, JOHN BROWNE, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, hereby make the following Regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Air Pollution Act, 1987 (Sulphur Content of Gas Oil) Regulations, 1994.

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of October, 1994.

3. In these Regulations:

"authorised person" means a person appointed in writing by the Minister for the Environment to be an authorised person for the purposes of these Regulations;

"gas oil" means any petroleum product falling under CN code 2710 00 69 or any petroleum product which, by reason of its distillation limits, falls into the category of middle distillates intended for use as fuel and of which at least 85 per cent by volume, including distillation losses, distils at 350°C, other than

( a ) any gas oil contained in the fuel tanks of vessels, aircraft or motor vehicles entering the State,

( b ) any gas oil intended for processing prior to final combustion, or

( c ) aviation kerosene;

"diesel fuel" means gas oil used in any vehicle propelled by a diesel engine, intended for use on the road, with or without bodywork, having at least four wheels and a maximum design speed greater than 25 kilometres per hour, with the exception of agricultural tractors and machines and public works vehicles;

a reference to an International Standard is a reference to a standard published by the International Organisation for Standardisation;

any reference to a sub-article which is not otherwise identified is a reference to the sub-article of the provision in which the reference occurs.

4. (1) Subject to sub-article(2) of this article, a person shall not market gas oil in the State if the sulphur content of the oil expressed as sulphur, established in the manner set out in sub-article (3), exceeds 0.2 per cent by weight.

(2) A person shall not from the 1st day of October, 1996, market diesel fuel in the State if the sulphur content of the fuel, established in the manner set out in sub-article (3) exceeds 0.05 per cent by weight.

(3) The sulphur content of gas oil shall be determined on the basis of the method defined by the International Standard Method 8754.

(4) The statistical interpretation of the results of the checks made to determine the sulphur content of gas oils pursuant to these Regulations shall be made in accordance with the method specified in International Standard reference ISO 4259 (1979 edition).

5. (1) Where a sample of gas oil is taken by an authorised person for the purpose of these Regulations, the authorised person concerned shall—

( a ) notify forthwith an appropriate person that a sample is so taken, and

( b ) if so required by the appropriate person at the time of the giving of the notification, divide the sample into two parts, seal and mark each part and leave one part with the appropriate person.

(2) In this article "appropriate person" means the owner of or any person who appears to be for the time being in charge of the premises at which the sample is taken.

6. The Air Pollution Act, 1987 (Sulphur Content of Gas Oil) Regulations, 1989 ( S.I. No. 168 of 1989 ) are hereby revoked.

DATED this 4th day of August, 1994.

JOHN BROWNE,

Minister of State at the Department

of the Environment.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations prohibit the marketing in the State from:—

1 October, 1994, of gas oil, the sulphur content of which, expressed as sulphur, exceeds 0.2 per cent by weight, and

1 October, 1996, of diesel oil, the sulphur content of which, expressed as sulphur, exceeds 0.05 per cent by weight.

The Regulations give effect to Council Directive of 23 March, 1993 (93/12/EEC)¹ relating to the sulphur content of certain liquid fuels.

¹O.J. No. L74. of 27.03.93.

The Regulations replace the Air Pollution Act, 1987 (Sulphur Content of Gas Oil) Regulations, 1989 ( S.I. No. 168 of 1989 ).