The Water Environment (Shellfish Water Protected Areas: Environmental Objectives etc.) (Scotland) Regulations 2013

Environmental objectives: phased achievement

4.  The deadline by which an environmental objective set pursuant to regulation 3(b) must be achieved may be extended for the purposes of the phased achievement of the environmental objectives for a shellfish water protected area, if the following conditions are met—

(a) no further deterioration occurs in the shellfish water quality of the area;

(b) SEPA determines that all necessary improvements in the shellfish water quality of the area cannot reasonably be achieved within the timescale set out in regulation 3(b) for at least one of the following reasons—

(i) the scale of improvements required can only be achieved in phases exceeding the timescale, for reasons of technical feasibility;

(ii) completing the improvements within the timescale would be disproportionately expensive; or

(iii) natural conditions do not allow timely improvement in the shellfish water quality of the area;

(c) extensions are limited to a maximum of two updates (or, as the case may be, further updates) of the river basin management plan or the update of it which first sets out the information required by paragraph (d) (except in cases where the natural conditions are such that the environmental objectives set pursuant to regulation 3(b) cannot be achieved within that period);

(d) the river basin management plan (or the next update of it) sets out—

(i) the extension of the deadline, and explains the reasons for it;

(ii) a summary of the measures which are envisaged as necessary to bring the area progressively to the required quality by the extended deadline; and

(iii) the reasons for any significant delay in making these measures operational, and the expected timetable for their implementation; and

(e) a review of the implementation of the measures referred to in paragraph (d) and a summary of any additional measures is included in updates of the river basin management plan.