The Urban Waste Water Treatment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007

Duty to provide and maintain collecting systems and treatment plants

6.—(1) This regulation supplements the duty imposed on every sewerage undertaker by Article 149(1) of the 2006 Order to provide sewerage systems and any contravention of the requirements of this regulation shall be treated for the purposes of that Order as a breach of that duty.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), the duty imposed by sub-paragraph (1)(a) of Article 149 of the 2006 Order shall include a duty to ensure that collecting systems which satisfy the requirements of Schedule 2 are provided for every agglomeration with a population equivalent which is greater than 2,000.

(3) Paragraph (2) shall not apply where:

(a) the Department is satisfied that the establishment of a collecting system is not justified because it would produce no environmental benefit, or

(b) the relevant enforcement authority is satisfied that the establishment of a collecting system is not justified because it would involve excessive cost,

and individual systems or other appropriate systems are provided that the Department has certified achieve the same level of environmental protection.

(4) The duty imposed by sub-paragraph (1)(b) of Article 149 of the 2006 Order shall include a duty to ensure that urban waste water entering collecting systems is, before discharge, subject to treatment provided in accordance with regulation 7, and to ensure that—

(a) plants built in order to comply with that regulation are designed (account being taken of seasonal variations of the load), constructed, operated and maintained to ensure sufficient performance under all normal local climatic conditions;

(b) treated waste water and sludge arising from waste water treatment are reused whenever appropriate; and

(c) disposal routes for treated waste water and sludge minimise the adverse effects on the environment.