The Urban Waste Water Treatment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995

Discharges of treated urban waste water

6.—(1) Discharges from urban waste water treatment plants described in paragraphs (1) or (2) of regulation 5 or from any such plant which provides treatment in accordance with paragraph (5) of that regulation, (including any such plants which are provided other than by the Department) shall satisfy the relevant requirements of Part 1 of Schedule 3.

(2) In relation to urban waste water treatment plants which are provided other than by the Department it shall be the duty of the Department(1), in exercise of its functions under Part II of the 1972 Act (prevention of pollution of water) to secure—

(a) with respect to any such discharge as is described in paragraph (1), that the requirements of that paragraph are satisfied;

(b) with respect to any discharge described in paragraph (5) or (6) of regulation 5, that the requirements of the said paragraph (5) or, as the case may be, the said paragraph (6) are satisfied;

(c) with respect to any discharge from a collecting system described in regulation 4 or an urban waste water treatment plant described in regulation 5, the limitation of pollution of receiving waters due to storm water overflows; and

(d) with respect to the discharge of sludge—

(i) that the discharge of sludge to surface waters is phased out by 31stDecember 1998; and

(ii) that the total amount of toxic, persistent or bioaccumulable materials in the sludge which may be discharged to surface waters pursuant to consents under the said Part II is controlled by such consents and progressively reduced during the period ending on that date.

(3) In relation to urban waste water treatment plants provided by the Department it shall be the duty of the Department to secure that each of the requirements set out in paragraph (2) at sub-paragraphs (a) to (d) are satisfied or complied with.

(4) The Department shall at regular intervals review and if necessary for the purposes of complying with this regulation, modify or revoke consents granted under Part II of the 1972 Act.

(5) Nothing in section 10(1) of the 1972 Act shall restrict the power of the Department to modify or revoke a consent in pursuance of the duty imposed by this regulation.

(1)

See S.R. & O. (N.I.) 1973 No. 504 Art. 4 for transfer of the functions from the Ministry of Development to the Department of the Environment