The Urban Waste Water Treatment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“the 1999 Order” means the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (1);

“the 2006 Order” means the Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006(2);

“the Authority” means the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation;

“agglomeration” means an area where the population and/or economic activities are sufficiently concentrated for urban waste water to be collected and conducted to an urban waste water treatment plant or to a final discharge point;

“coastal waters” means the waters outside the low-water line or the outer limit of an estuary;

“collecting system” means a system of conduits which collects and conducts urban waste water;

“the Department” means the Department of the Environment;

“the Directive” means Council Directive 91/271/EEC as amended by Council Directive 98/15/EC concerning urban waste water treatment(3), and references to other Community Directives are references to Directives other than the Directive;

“domestic waste water” means waste water from residential settlements and services which originates predominantly from the human metabolism and from household activities;

“estuary” means the transitional area at the mouth of a river between fresh water and coastal waters, the outer (seaward) limits of which are shown on the maps kept in accordance with regulation 14;

“eutrophication” means the enrichment of water by nutrients, especially compounds of nitrogen and/or phosphorus, causing an accelerated growth of algae and higher forms of plant life to produce an undesirable disturbance to the balance of organisms present in the water and to the quality of the water concerned;

“high natural dispersion area” has the meaning given by regulation 3;

“industrial waste water” means any waste water which is discharged from premises used for carrying on any trade or industry, other than domestic waste water and run-off rain water;

“population equivalent” is a measurement of organic biodegradable load, and a population equivalent of 1 (1 p.e.) is the organic biodegradable load having a five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅) of 60 g of oxygen per day (the load shall be calculated on the basis of the maximum average weekly load entering the treatment plant during the year, excluding unusual situations such as those due to heavy rain);

“relevant enforcement authority” means—

(a)

the Department for Regional Development, or

(b)

where the duty of a sewerage undertaker under article 149(1) of the 2006 Order is enforceable under Article 30 of that order by the Authority, the Authority;

“secondary treatment” means treatment of urban waste water by a process generally involving biological treatment with a secondary settlement or other process in which the requirements established in Table 1 in Schedule 3 are respected;

“sensitive area” has the meaning given by regulation 3;

“sludge” means residual sludge, whether treated or untreated, from urban waste water treatment plants; and

“urban waste water” means domestic waste water or the mixture of domestic waste water with industrial waste water and/or run-off rainwater.

(2) Other expressions used in these Regulations have the same meaning as in the Directive.

(3) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(4) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

(1)

S.I. 1999 No. 662 (N.I. 6) as amended by S.I. 2006/3336 (N.I. 21)

(2)

S.I. 2006/3336 (N.I. 21)

(3)

O.J. No. L135, 30.5.91, p. 40

(4)

1954 c. 33 (N.I.)