The Quality of Bathing Water Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make provision for the purpose of implementing in Northern Ireland Directive 2006/7/EC (“the Bathing Water Directive”) of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the management of bathing water quality and repealing Directive 76/160/EEC.

Regulations 3 and 4 make provision in relation to identifying bathing waters and the length of the bathing season.

Regulations 5 and 6 set out general duties imposed on the Department in order to secure compliance with the Bathing Water Directive, including in relation to public participation.

Regulation 7 requires the Department to establish a bathing water profile for every bathing water.

Regulation 8 requires the Department to establish a suitable monitoring programme.

Regulation 9 requires a bathing water operator to make certain information available in the vicinity of its bathing water. Regulation 10 requires the Department to make certain information available on its website and to the bathing water operator.

Regulations 11 and 12 require the Department to assess the bathing water quality data gathered under its monitoring programme and to classify each bathing water either as “poor”, “sufficient”, “good” or “excellent”.

Regulations 13 to 15 require the Department and bathing water operators to take certain management measures at bathing waters which are subject to pollution. Additional measures shall be taken where a bathing water is classified as “poor” or where a bathing water profile indicates there is short-term pollution.

Regulations 16 to 19 contain general provisions in relation to enforcement.

Regulation 20 places an obligation on the Department to co-operate with the competent authorities in the Republic of Ireland in relation to transboundary waters.

Regulation 21 revokes legislation transposing Council Directive 76/160/EEC concerning the quality of bathing water (OJ L31, 5.2.1976, p.1) which is repealed by the Bathing Water Directive.

A partial regulatory impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs to business and the voluntary sector is available from the Department of the Environment, 13^th Floor, River House, 48 High Street, Belfast BT1 2AW.