The Landfill Allowances Scheme (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2004

PART 3 MONITORING

Monitoring authority and keeping the provisions in regulation 12(2) under review

9.—(1) The person for the time being holding the position of Head of Waste Management and Contaminated Land of the Environment and Heritage Service of the Department shall be the monitoring authority for Northern Ireland.

(2) The monitoring authority must keep under review the provisions in regulation 12(2).

(3) If the monitoring authority considers that any of the provisions in regulation 12(2) ought to be changed he must as soon as reasonably practicable notify the Department of –

(a) his opinion; and

(b) the reasons for his opinion.

Obligation for district councils to keep records and make returns

10.—(1) A district council must keep records containing the following information for each scheme year –

(a) the weight in tonnes of collected municipal waste;

(b) the weight in tonnes of municipal waste sent to landfills by the district council; and

(c) the weight in tonnes of municipal waste sent to waste facilities whether by, or on behalf of, the district council.

(2) In relation to municipal waste mentioned in paragraph (1)(b) and (c) the records must contain details of –

(a) the total weight in tonnes of waste sent to each landfill or waste facility, and

(b) the standard description of, and the appropriate code in the European Waste Catalogue for, the waste referred to in sub-paragraph (a).

(3) All weights mentioned in paragraphs (1) and (2) must be rounded up to the nearest tonne.

(4) The records under paragraph (1) must be kept for a period of two years beginning on the day after the day on which the reconciliation period for the scheme year ends.

(5) A district council must submit to the monitoring authority, in the form specified by that authority, a return containing the information in paragraph (1) for each 3 month period in a scheme year ending on 31st March, 30th June, 30th September and 31st December within 2 months of the end of that period.

(6) The monitoring authority, or a person authorised by the monitoring authority, may by notice require a district council to –

(a) produce for inspection or for removal for inspection elsewhere, records it is required to keep under paragraph (1);

(b) supply the monitoring authority with information about, or evidence as to, matters connected with the sending of biodegradable municipal waste to landfills;

and to do so in such form, at such reasonable place and within such reasonable time as is specified in the notice.

(7) The monitoring authority, or a person authorised in writing by the monitoring authority, may make copies of –

(a) records produced under paragraph (6)(a),

(b) information or evidence supplied under paragraph (6)(b).

Obligation for operators of landfills to keep records and make returns

11.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), an operator of a landfill must keep records containing the following information for each scheme year –

(a) the weight in tonnes (rounded up to the nearest tonne) of each load of municipal waste accepted at the landfill;

(b) the standard description of, and the appropriate code in the European Waste Catalogue for, the waste;

(c) the area in which the municipal waste originated and the district council for that area; and

(d) any treatment applied to the waste at the landfill before it is landfilled.

(2) Where any waste has been sent to a landfill directly from a transfer station –

(a) paragraph (1)(c) does not apply to that waste, but

(b) the operator of the landfill must record the name of the transfer station.

(3) The records under paragraph (1) and (2)(b) must be kept for a period of two years beginning on the day after the day on which the reconciliation period for the scheme year ends.

(4) An operator of a landfill must submit to the monitoring authority, in the form specified by the monitoring authority, a return containing the information in paragraph (1) for each 3 month period in a scheme year ending on 31st March, 30th June, 30th September and 31st December within 2 months of the end of that period.

(5) The monitoring authority, or a person authorised in writing by the monitoring authority, may by notice require an operator of a landfill –

(a) to produce for inspection, or for removal for inspection elsewhere, records they are required to keep under paragraph (1) and (2)(b); and

(b) to do so in such form, at such reasonable place and within such reasonable time as is specified in the notice.

(6) The monitoring authority, or a person authorised by the monitoring authority, may make copies of records produced under paragraph (5).

(7) A person authorised in writing by the monitoring authority may enter at any reasonable time (and, if need be, by force) premises occupied by a person concerned in the operation of a landfill for the purposes of –

(a) finding records which are required to be kept under paragraph (1) and (2)(b),

(b) inspecting them or removing them for inspection elsewhere, and

(c) copying them.

(8) On entering any premises under paragraph (7), a person may take with him –

(a) any other person duly authorised by the monitoring authority;

(b) if the authorised person has reasonable cause to apprehend any serious obstruction in the execution of his duty, a constable; and

(c) any equipment or materials required for any purpose for which the power of entry is being exercised.

(9) The power of the monitoring authority, or a person authorised by the monitoring authority, under paragraphs (5) to (7) includes power to require any person to afford such facilities and assistance –

(a) within the person’s control, or

(b) in relation to which the person has responsibilities,

as are necessary to enable the monitoring authority or an authorised person to exercise the power.

(10) In this regulation –

“operator of a landfill” means the person who has control over the operation of the landfill; and

“transfer station” means a waste facility where the waste mentioned in paragraph (2) is unloaded only in order to permit the waste to be prepared for further transport for recovery, treatment or disposal elsewhere.

Determining the amount of biodegradable municipal waste in amounts of waste

12.—(1) The provisions in this regulation apply for the purposes of –

(a) determining whether a district council is liable to a penalty under section 9 of the Act;

(b) the provisions in –

(i) section 10(2)(a), (b) and (d) of the Act,

(ii) regulation 13.

(2) For the purposes mentioned in paragraph (1) it must be assumed that –

(a) the amount of biodegradable municipal waste in an amount of collected municipal waste is 71% by weight (rounded up to the nearest tonne);

(b) an amount of separated municipal waste is comprised only of those types of waste which it is the purpose of the process of separation to separate; and

(c) where an amount of separated municipal waste contains a type of waste which is listed in the first column of the table in the Schedule to these Regulations, the amount of biodegradable municipal waste by weight in that type of waste is the corresponding amount in the second column of that table (rounded up to the nearest relevant amount).

(3) In paragraph (2) –

“amount of collected municipal waste” means the amount of collected municipal waste for any period of time, but such period must not be less than three months;

“separated municipal waste” means waste which has been separated from other municipal waste, whether the separation occurs before or after the waste comes into the possession or under the control of a district council.

“nearest relevant amount means” –

(a)

the nearest tonne, or

(b)

where the amount of biodegradable municipal waste referred to in paragraph (2)(c) is –

(i)

less than 10 tonnes, the nearest 100 kilograms, or

(ii)

less than 1 tonne, the nearest 10 kilograms.

Calculation of the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfills

13.—(1) No later than 5 months after the end of a scheme year, in relation to each district council the monitoring authority must –

(a) calculate, in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3), the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfills by the district council during the scheme year;

(b) prepare, in accordance with regulation 14(2) and (3), a draft reconciliation for the district council by reconciling the allowances available to the district council for the scheme year with the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfills by the district council as calculated under sub-paragraph (a); and

(c) notify the district council of –

(i) the calculation under sub-paragraph (a), and

(ii) the draft reconciliation under sub-paragraph (b).

(2) In making the calculation referred to in paragraph (1)(a) the monitoring authority shall carry out the following steps –

(a) calculate the amount of biodegradable municipal waste by weight in the amount of collected municipal waste for the scheme year;

(b) if any municipal waste is sent to any waste facilities, subtract from the amount calculated under sub-paragraph (a) the amount of biodegradable municipal waste by weight which is sent to those waste facilities; and

(c) if any of the municipal waste mentioned in sub-paragraph (b) is sent to landfills after treatment at the waste facilities mentioned in the same paragraph, add to the amount calculated under paragraph (b) the amount of biodegradable municipal waste by weight which is sent to those landfills.

(3) The monitoring authority must round the amount calculated in accordance with paragraph (2) up to the nearest tonne.

Utilisation of landfill allowances

14.—(1) As soon as reasonably practicable after the end of the reconciliation period the monitoring authority must reconcile the allowances available to each district council with the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfills by the district council, as calculated under regulation 13(1)(a), by deeming allowances to have been utilised in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3).

(2) Landfill allowances available to a district council for the scheme year must be utilised in the following order –

(a) allowances originally allocated to another district council which have been transferred to the landfill allowance account;

(b) allowances borrowed from a later scheme year;

(c) any other allowances.

(3) Within each category in paragraph (2), allowances must be utilised according to the order of their vintage.

(4) The monitoring authority must deem allowances to have been utilised until –

(a) the number of allowances deemed to have been utilised is equal to the number of allowances needed to authorise the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfills by the district council, as calculated under regulation 13(1)(a); or

(b) no more allowances are available to that district council for the scheme year.