The Harbour Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 1999

Interpretation

2.—(1) In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires—

• “the appropriate Authority” means—

  (a)

  as regards harbour works relating to fishery harbours in England, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food;

  (b)

  as regards harbour works relating to fishery harbours in Wales, the National Assembly for Wales;

  (c)

  as regards any other harbour works in England or Wales, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions;

  (d)

  as regards harbour works in Scotland, the Scottish Ministers;

• “developer” means any person who proposes to carry out or who carries out harbour works;

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

• “EEA Agreement” means the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17th March 1993(1);

• “EEA State” means a State which is a Contracting Party to the EEA Agreement;

• “environmental statement” means a statement that includes such information of the descriptions referred to in Schedule 1 as is considered, in accordance with these Regulations, to be relevant to the proposed harbour works, but which includes at least the essential environmental information;

• “essential environmental information” means—

  (a)

  a description of the proposed harbour works comprising information on its site, design and size;

  (b)

  a description of the measures which the applicant proposes to take in order to prevent, reduce or remedy significant adverse effects;

  (c)

  data required to identify and assess the main effects which the proposed harbour works are likely to have on the environment;

  (d)

  an outline of the main alternatives studied by the developer and an indication of the main reasons for his choice, taking into account the environmental effects; and

  (e)

  a non-technical summary of the information mentioned in sub-paragraphs (a) to (d);

• “fishery harbour” has the meaning assigned to it in section 21 of the Sea Fish Industry Act 1951(2);

• “harbour” has the meaning assigned to it in section 57 of the Harbours Act 1964(3);

• “harbour authority” means the harbour authority as defined in section 57 of the Harbours Act 1964 in relation to the harbour where the harbour works are proposed to be carried out;

• “harbour works” means works involved in the construction of a harbour or in the making of modifications to an existing harbour;

• “provisional order” has the meaning assigned to it in section 57 of the Harbours Act 1964;

• “relevant project” means a project which would be likely to have significant effects on the environment by virtue of factors such as its nature, size or location;

• “selection criteria” means the criteria set out in Schedule 2;

• “sensitive area” means any of the following—

  (a)

  land notified under section 28(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981(4) (areas of special scientific interest);

  (b)

  land to which section 29(3) of that Act (nature conservation orders) applies;

  (c)

  land declared to be a national nature reserve under section 35 of that Act;

  (d)

  an area to which paragraph (u)(ii) in the table in article 10 of the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995(5) applies;

  (e)

  a National Park within the meaning of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949(6);

  (f)

  the Broads within the meaning of the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act 1988(7);

  (g)

  a property appearing on the World Heritage List kept under article 11(2) of the 1972 UNESCO Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage(8);

  (h)

  a scheduled monument within the meaning of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979(9);

  (i)

  an area of outstanding natural beauty designated by order under section 87 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 (designation of areas of outstanding natural beauty);

  (j)

  a European site within the meaning of regulation 10 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats etc) Regulations 1994(10);

  (k)

  an area designated as a natural heritage area under section 6(2) of the Natural Heritage (Scotland) Act 1991(11) or as a national scenic area under section 262C of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1972(12);

  and subject thereto, expressions used which are also used in the Directive have the meaning which they bear in the Directive.

(2) For the purposes of this Part a person carries out harbour works if he carries out the whole or any part of such works or any operation in connection with or for the purposes of such works.

(3) Harbour works constituting a project which is of a description mentioned in Annex II to the Directive shall be treated for the purposes of this Part as not falling within that Annex unless—

(a) the area of the harbour works exceeds 1 hectare,

(b) any part of the harbour works is to be carried out in a sensitive area, or

(c) the appropriate Authority determines that the harbour works constituting the project shall be treated for the purposes of this Part as falling within that Annex.

(1)

Cmnd. 2073.

(2)

1951 c. 30.

(3)

1964 c. 40; the definition of “harbour” has been amended by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65), Schedule 29, and by the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 (c. 21), Schedule 13, paragraph 33. The definition of “marine work” in section 57 of the Harbours Act 1964 has been amended by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, Schedule 19, paragraph 16, and by the Companies Act 1989 (c. 40), Schedule 18, paragraph 5.

(4)

1981 c. 69; section 28 has been amended by the Wildlife and Countryside (Amendment) Act 1985 (c. 31), the Wildlife and Countryside (Services of Notices) Act 1985 (c. 59), the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act 1988 (c. 4) and the Planning (Consequential Provisions) Act 1990 (c. 11).

(5)

S.I. 1995/419, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.

(6)

1949 c. 97. See the definition of “National Park” in section 5(3); section 5 has been amended by the Environment Act 1995 (c. 25), section 61(1) and the Environment Protection Act 1990 (c. 43), Schedule 8, paragraph 1(1) and (5). Section 87 has been amended by the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Schedule 8, paragraph 1(12).

(7)

1988 c. 4; see the definition of “the Broads” in section 2(3).

(8)

Command Paper 9424.

(9)

1979 c. 46. See the definition of “scheduled monument” in section 1(11).

(10)

S.I. 1994/2716.

(11)

1991 c. 28.

(12)

1972 c. 52. Section 6(9) of the Natural Heritage (Scotland) Act 1991 contains a saving provision for any area which was designated as a national scenic area under section 262C of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1972 as at the date of repeal of that section by section 27 of, and Schedule 11 to, the 1991 Act.