The Environmental Impact Assessment and Natural Habitats (Extraction of Minerals by Marine Dredging) (England and Northern Ireland) Regulations 2007

Provision of information to facilitate preparation of environmental statement

8.—(1) A prospective applicant may, where the proposed application requires an environmental statement, give notice of an intention to submit an application to the regulator.

(2) A notice under paragraph (1) shall include the information necessary to identify the location and nature of the dredging, and shall indicate the main environmental consequences of the dredging which will be referred to in the prospective applicant’s environmental statement.

(3) On receipt of a notice under paragraph (1), the regulator shall—

(a) notify the appropriate consultation bodies of the name and address of the prospective applicant and of the duty imposed on such consultation bodies by paragraph (4) to make information available to that person;

(b) notify the prospective applicant of the names and addresses of the bodies notified under sub-paragraph (a); and

(c) notify the prospective applicant of the name and address of each government department which may hold information which may be relevant to the preparation of the environmental statement.

(4) Subject to paragraph (5), any body notified under paragraph (3)(a) or government department notified to the prospective applicant under paragraph (3)(c), or the regulator, shall, if requested to do so by the prospective applicant, determine whether or not it has in its possession any information relevant to the preparation of the environmental statement and, if it has, the body, department or the regulator shall make that information available to the prospective applicant.

(5) Paragraph (4) shall not require the disclosure of any information—

(a) to which the Environmental Information Regulations 2004(1) apply, where the person holding it would be entitled to withhold it in response to a request made in accordance with those Regulations; or

(b) which in any other case would be exempt information if a request for its disclosure were made in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000(2).

(6) A reasonable charge reflecting the cost of making the relevant information available may be made by a body or any government department (other than the regulator who is responsible for deciding the application) which makes information available in accordance with paragraph (4).

(1)

S.I. 2004/3391.

(2)

2000 c. 36, see specifically Part II of that Act.