The Environmental Impact Assessment (Fish Farming in Marine Waters) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“additional information” in any case where an environmental statement has been prepared means any substantive information relating to the statement provided by the applicant which is not contained in it;

“Appeals Commission” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 13(1);

“applicant” means a person who is minded to apply for, or who has applied for, a fish culture licence;

“consultation bodies” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 4(4);

“the Department” means the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development;

“the Directive” means Council Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, as amended by Council Directive 97/11/EC and Council Directive 2003/35/EC;

“document” includes a chart, map, diagram, illustration or other descriptive matter in any form and also includes, where appropriate, a copy of a document;

“environmental assessment” in relation to any application means the assessment of environmental information in respect of the proposed development required by regulation 3(1);

“environmental information” means—

(a)

an environmental statement, including any additional information;

(b)

any representations made by an authority, body or person required by these Regulations to be invited to make representations or to be consulted; and

(c)

any representations duly made by any other person about the likely environmental effects of a proposed development;

“environmental statement” means a statement—

(a)

that includes such of the information referred to in Part I of Schedule 2 as is reasonably required to assess the environmental effects of a proposed development and which the applicant can, having regard in particular to current knowledge and methods of assessment, reasonably be required to compile; but

(b)

which includes at least the information referred to in Part II of Schedule 2;

“fish culture licence” means a licence granted under section 11 of the Fisheries Act (Northern Ireland) 1966(1);

“fish farming” means keeping live fish, excluding shellfish, (whether or not for profit) with a view to their sale or to their transfer to other marine waters;

“general advertisement” means publication of a notice—

(a)

in the Belfast Gazette; and

(b)

on the website maintained by the Department;

“inland waters” means waters of any river above the boundary between the tidal and freshwater portions thereof, and the waters of any freshwater lake;

“the Londonderry Area” has the meaning given to it by section 2(1) of the Foyle Fisheries Act (Northern Ireland) 1952(2);

“local advertisement” means a notice in two or more newspapers circulating in the immediate locality of any proposed development;

“marine waters” means waters within the seaward limits of the territorial sea adjacent to Northern Ireland, other than inland waters;

“proposed development” in relation to any application means the fish farm intended to be used in connection with the fish culture licence;

“scoping opinion” means a written statement of the opinion of the Department under regulation 6 as to the information to be provided in an environmental statement;

“screening opinion” means a written statement of the opinion of the Department under regulation 4 as to whether an environmental assessment is required in any case;

“selection criteria” means the criteria set out in Schedule 1;

“sensitive area” means any of the following—

(a)

an area designated by order as a National Park under Article 12 of the Nature Conservation and Amenity Lands (Northern Ireland) Order 1985(3);

(b)

an area of outstanding natural beauty designated as such by an order made under Article 14 of the Nature Conservation and Amenity Lands (Northern Ireland) Order 1985;

(c)

an area of land declared to be a national nature reserve under Article 18 of the Nature Conservation and Amenity Lands (Northern Ireland) Order 1985;

(d)

an area designated by order as a marine nature reserve under Article 20(4) of the Nature Conservation and Amenity Lands (Northern Ireland) Order 1985;

(e)

a nature reserve provided by a district council under Article 22(1) of the Nature Conservation and Amenity Lands (Northern Ireland) Order 1985;

(f)

an area of special scientific interest, that is to say, an area of land declared to be an area of special scientific interest under Article 28 of the Environment (Northern Ireland) Order 2002(5);

(g)

a wildlife refuge, that is to say, an area specified in an order made under Article 16 of the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985(6);

(h)

a scheduled monument within the meaning of the Historic Monuments and Archoelogical Objects (Northern Ireland) Order 1995(7);

(i)

a European site within the meaning of regulation 9 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, etc) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995(8);

(j)

Ramsar sites listed under the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat(9);

(k)

a property appearing on the World Heritage list kept under Article 11(2) of the 1972 UNESCO Convention for the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage(10).

(2) Expressions used both in these Regulations and in the Directive have the same meaning for the purposes of these Regulations as they have for the purposes of the Directive.

(3) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(11) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Assembly.

(1)

1966 c.17 (N.I.); section 11 was substituted by Article 6 of the Fisheries (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 1991, S.I. 1991/1466 (N.I.13)

(2)

1952 c.5 (N.I.)

(3)

S.I. 1985/170 (N.I. 1) as amended by S.I. 1989/492 (N.I. 3) and S.I. 2002 No. 3135 (N.I. 7)

(4)

Article 20 was amended by section 3 of, and Schedule 1 to, the Territorial Sea Act 1987 (1987 c.49)

(5)

S.I. 2002/3153 (N.I. 7)

(6)

S.I. 1985/171 (N.I. 2)

(7)

S.I. 1995/1625 (N.I. 9)

(8)

S.R. 1995 No. 380 as amended by S.R. 2004 No. 435

(9)

See Command paper 6464

(10)

See Command paper 9424

(11)

1954 c.33 (N.I.)