Quarries Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“the 1969 Act” means the Mines Act (Northern Ireland) 1969(1);

“the 1983 Order” means the Quarries (Northern Ireland) Order 1983(2);

“the 1995 Regulations” means the Mines and Quarries (Tips and Tipping Plans) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995(3);

“the 2000 Regulations” means the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000(4);

“appoint” in relation to a person means appoint in writing with a written statement summarising his duties and authority;

“competent” in relation to a person means a person with sufficient training, experience, knowledge and other qualities to enable him to undertake properly the duties assigned to him;

“excavation” means any place at the quarry where minerals are or have been extracted and includes the ground, faces or sides of the quarry and any other incline;

“excavations and tips rules” means the rules referred to in regulation 25;

“geotechnical assessment” has the meaning given to it in regulation 27(1);

“geotechnical specialist” means a chartered engineer or chartered geologist who has—

(a)

three or more years relevant experience in soil mechanics, rock mechanics or excavation engineering; and

(b)

is competent to perform a geotechnical analysis to determine the hazard and risk arising from the excavation or tip being assessed;

“hazard” in relation to an excavation or tip means having the potential to cause harm to the health and safety of any person;

“health and safety document” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 7;

“maintained” with respect to the quarry and its plant means maintained, where necessary to secure the health and safety of any person, in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair;

“management structure” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 8;

“mine” means any mine within the meaning of the 1969 Act;

“minerals” includes stone, slate, clay, gravel, sand and other natural deposits except peat;

“notifiable excavation” and “notifiable tip” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 28(3);

“operator” in relation to a quarry means the person in overall control of the working of the quarry;

“preparation for sale” includes the crushing, screening, washing, drying and bagging of minerals;

“public road” means a road as defined in Article 2(2) the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981(5);

“quarry” has the meaning given to it by regulation 3;

“railway company” means any person authorised by a statutory provision to construct, work or carry on a railway;

“tip” means an accumulation or deposit of any substance at a quarry (whether in a solid or liquid state or in solution or suspension) and includes, but is not limited to, overburden dumps, backfill, spoil heaps, stock piles and lagoons, and where any wall or other structure retains or confines a tip then it shall be deemed to form part of the tip;

“vehicle” means any mechanically propelled vehicle (including mechanically propelled plant);

“vehicle rules” means the rules referred to in regulation 14.

(2) Any reference in these Regulations to any specified document shall operate as a reference to that document as revised or reissued from time to time.

(1)

1969 c. 6 (N.I.)

(2)

S.I. 1983/150 (N.I. 4)

(3)

S.R. 1995 No. 296

(4)

S.R. 2000 No. 388 as amended by S.R. 2001 No. 348 and S.R. 2003 No. 454

(5)

1981/154 (N.I. 1), to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations