The Secretary of State has been designated1 for the purposes of making regulations under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19722 in relation to the environment.

The Secretary of State makes these Regulations3 in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 2 and 7(9) of, and Schedule 1 to, the 1999 Act4 and by section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 and paragraph 1A of Schedule 2 to the European Communities Act 19725,

In accordance with section 2(4) of the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999 (“the 1999 Act”)6, the Secretary of State has consulted the Environment Agency, the Natural Resources Body for Wales, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, and such bodies or persons appearing to the Secretary of State to be representative of the interests of local government, industry, agriculture and small businesses, and such other bodies and persons, as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.

These Regulations make provision for a purpose mentioned in section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972, and it appears to the Secretary of State that it is expedient for the references to EU instruments in these Regulations to be construed as references to those instruments as amended from time to time.