The Gas Transporter Pipe-line Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations 2007

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Gas Transporter Pipe-line Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 1999 (“the 1999 Regulations”). The 1999 Regulations implement, in relation to pipe-line installations, Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment as amended by Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997. These Regulations implement Directive 2003/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003. Directive 2003/35/EC provides for public participation in respect of the drawing up of certain plans and programmes relating to the environment and amends, with regard to public participation and access to justice, Council Directives 85/337/EEC and 96/61/EC.

Regulation 4 of these Regulations amends regulation 2 of the 1999 Regulations by inserting definitions for “additional information”, “application for consent”, “further information”, “the Gazette” and “supplementary information”. Regulation 4 also amends the definitions of “the consultation bodies” and “EEA State”.

Regulation 5 amends regulation 7 of the 1999 Regulations; it inserts a requirement on the Secretary of State to send to the consultation bodies and such other persons he considers appropriate, a copy of any request for an opinion as to the content of an environmental statement, the documents that accompanied any such request and his opinion in relation to that request.

Regulation 6 amends regulation 8 of the 1999 Regulations by requiring that the relevant planning authority makes any opinion as to the content of an environmental statement available for public inspection.

Regulation 8 amends regulation 10 of the 1999 Regulations to require supplementary information to be served on the consultation bodies. It also sets out the information to be contained in the notice which the gas transporter must publish after he makes an application for consent, and requires that such a notice is published as soon as is reasonably practicable.

Regulation 9 amends regulation 11 of the 1999 Regulations; the changes made concern how “further information” is to be construed, and also the publicity requirements for “further information”.

Regulation 10 inserts a new regulation 11A into the 1999 Regulations. This sets out the procedure which the Secretary of State must follow when he receives “additional information” and the publicity requirements relating to such “additional information”.

Regulation 11 amends regulation 12 of the 1999 Regulations to allow the applicant to charge for copies of any supplementary information.

Regulation 13 amends regulation 14 of the 1999 Regulations by inserting a new obligation on the Secretary of State to take into account the provisions of regulation 11A and any additional information received when making his decision on whether to grant consent. It also amends the information to be contained in the statement accompanying the Secretary of State’s decision and the publicity requirements for the decision and the statement.

Regulation 14 amends regulation 18 of the 1999 Regulations so that a person who knowingly or recklessly submits to the Secretary of State false or misleading information which is contained in supplementary information or additional information commits an offence.

Regulation 15 amends Part 1 of Schedule 3 to the 1999 Regulations; the amendments concern the descriptions of pipe-line works in respect of which an environmental statement is required.

An impact assessment covering changes to the gas transporter pipe-line works environmental impact assessment (“EIA”) regime as well as the EIA regimes for pipe-line works and electricity works, is available from the Energy Development Unit, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET.

A Transposition Note is available and can also be obtained from the Energy Development Unit, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET.

The impact assessment and Transposition Note are also annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum, which is available alongside the instrument on the Office of Public Sector Information website: www.opsi.gov.uk.