The Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017

River basin management plans: publication

28.—(1) The Department must publish an updated river basin management plan for the river basin district and the part of each international river basin district falling within Northern Ireland (or, as the case may be, a single plan).

(2) As soon as an updated river basin management plan is published, the Department must—

(a) take such steps as it considers appropriate for the purpose of bringing the updated plan to the attention of the general public and those persons likely to be interested in or affected by it and, in particular, must—

(i) make copies of the updated plan accessible to the public free of charge through its website and its principal offices; and

(ii) publish a notice specifying the arrangements made for making copies of the updated plan accessible to the public;

(b) publish a statement of the steps taken by the Department to comply with regulation 27(1) to (6), so far as they relate to the draft plan; and

(c) publish a summary of the representations referred to in regulations 27(7) and any changes made to the plan in light of those representations.

(3) A notice required in accordance with paragraph (2)(a)(ii) must be published—

(a) in the Belfast Gazette; and

(b) at least once in each of two successive weeks in one or more newspapers circulating in the river basin district or the part of the international river basin district to which the plan relates.

(4) The Department must publish any updated plan—

(a) by 22nd December 2021; and

(b) subsequently, by 22nd December of the sixth year following that date and of each sixth year following that.