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Water Framework Directive (Groundwater Quality) Directions 2005
The Scottish Ministers, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by section 40 of the Environment Act 1995( 1) hereby give SEPA the following Directions:
Citation, commencement, extent and purpose
1. - (1) These Directions may be cited as the Water Framework Directive (Groundwater Quality) Directions 2005 and shall come into force on 21st December 2005.
(1) These Directions extend to Scotland only.
(2) These Directions are for the purpose of giving effect to Article 17.4 of Directions 2000/60/EC.
Interpretation
2. - (1) In these Directions-
"Council text" means the draft proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of groundwater against pollution being the common position adopted by the Council of the European Union on 9th November 2005 set out in the Schedule to these Directions;
"Directive 2000/60/EC" means Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23rd October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy( 2) as amended by Decision No. 2455/2001/EC of the European parliament and of the Council of 20th November 2001 establishing the list of priority substances in the field of water policy and amending Directive 2000/60/EC( 3);
"river basin district" and "river basin management plan" have the same meaning as in the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003( 4) and the Water Environment (Water Framework Direction) (Solway Tweed River Basin District) Regulations 2004( 5), as the case may require;
"starting point for trend reversal" means the point at which measures must be implemented to reverse a significant and sustained upward trend in pollutant concentrations or indicators of pollution identified under paragraph 6(1)(a) below; and
"the Solway Tweed River Basin District" means the area identified by regulation 3(1) of the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (Solway Tweed River Basin District) Regulations 2004.
(2) References in the Council text to "threshold values", "threshold values established in accordance with Article 3 and Annex II" and "threshold values established pursuant to Article 3" shall be treated as references to threshold values approved by the Scottish Ministers.
(3) Expressions used in these Directions which are also used in Directive 2000/60/EC shall have the same meaning as in that Directive.
General duty in the Solway Tweed River Basin District
3. In discharging its functions in compliance with this Direction in relation to the Solway Tweed River Basin District SEPA shall co-operate with the Environment Agency, in relation to the exercise by the Environment Agency of corresponding functions, so as to secure that the assessment of groundwater chemical status, identification of significant and sustained upward trends and determination of the starting point for trend reversal is co-ordinated for the whole of that river basin district and shall provide to the Secretary of State a copy of any proposal submitted under these Regulations to the Scottish Ministers.
( 1) 1995 c.25. Functions of the Secretary of State under section 40, so far as within devolved competence, were transferred to the Scottish Ministers by virtue of section 53 of the Scotland Act 1998 (c.46).
( 2) O.J. No. L 327, 22.12.00, p.1.
( 3) O.J. No. L 331, 15.12.01, p.1.
( 4) 2003 asp 3.
( 5) S.I. 2004/99.
Threshold values
4. -(1) SEPA must by 22nd June 2008 prepare and submit to the Scottish Ministers for their approval proposals for threshold values for pollutants, groups of pollutants or indicators of pollution that have been identified as contributing to the condition of bodies of groundwater being characterised as being at risk of failing to achieve good groundwater chemical status.
(2) Threshold values must be derived in accordance with Parts A and B of Annex II to the Council text, on the basis of methodologies approved by the Scottish Ministers.
(3) Where new information indicates that, in order to protect human health and the environment, a new threshold value should be set for a substance or an approved threshold value should be changed, SEPA must prepare and submit to the Scottish Ministers for their approval proposals for new or revised threshold values.
(4) Where in the opinion of SEPA a groundwater body is no longer at risk from a pollutant, group of pollutants or indicator of pollution, SEPA may prepare and submit to the Scottish Ministers for their approval proposals for the revocation of the threshold value that pollutant, group of pollutants or indicator of pollution.
(5) SEPA must by 22nd December 2006 submit to the Scottish Ministers for their approval proposals for-
(a) methodologies to be applied for the purposes of deriving threshold values; and
(b) the consultation measures it is to take in connection with the preparation of proposals under paragraph (1), (3) and (4).
(6) SEPA shall, by 22nd December 2008, prepare and keep up to date a list of approved threshold values.
(7) SEPA shall apply the threshold values approved by the Scottish Ministers for the purposes of assessing groundwater chemical status and determining the starting point for trend reversal.
Criteria for assessing groundwater chemical status
5. - (1) SEPA must apply the approach in the relevant provisions of the Council text when assessing groundwater chemical status.
(1) The relevant provisions of the Council text for the purposes of paragraph (1) are-
(a) Article 4(1) and (2); and
(b) paragraphs (1) to (4) of Annex III.
Significant and sustained upward trends and the starting point for trend reversal
6. - (1) Subject to sub-paragraph (8), for the purposes of giving effect to paragraphs 2.4.4 and 2.4.5 of Annex V to Directive 2000/60/EC, SEPA must, in relation to each body or group of bodies of groundwater that it has characterised as being at risk of failing to meet the objectives under Article 4 of that Directive, by 22nd December 2008-
(a) identify any significant and sustained upward trends in pollutant concentrations or indicators of pollution; and
(b) determine the starting point for reversal of each trend so identified.
(2) A body of groundwater must be treated as being subject to a significant and sustained upward trend where it is subject to a statistically significant increase of concentrations of a pollutant, group of pollutants or indicator of pollution, which presents a significant environmental risk.
(3) SEPA must base the assessment of whether a body of groundwater is subject to a significant and sustained upward trend on information from the sources specified in sub-paragraph (4) below assessed in accordance with paragraph 2(c) and (d) of Part A of Annex IV to the Council text.
(4) The sources mentioned in sub-paragraph (3) above are-
(a) monitoring programmes for groundwater-
(i) established under section 8 of the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003; or
(ii) in relation to the Solway Tweed River Basin District, established under paragraph 5 of Schedule 1 to the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (Solway Tweed River Basin District) Regulations 2004; and
(iii) designed in accordance with the requirements of those provisions and paragraphs 1 and 2(a) and (b) of Part A of Annex IV to the Council text; and
(b) for the purposes of identifying trends for the first river basin management plan, relevant data gathered before the start of the monitoring programmes.
(5) SEPA must carry out an additional trend assessment in the circumstances described in Article 5(5) of the Council text in order to verify that a plume of pollution from a contaminated site does not-
(a) expand;
(b) cause a deterioration in the chemical status of a body or group of bodies of groundwater; or
(c) present a risk to human health or the environment.
(6) The starting point for trend reversal must be determined in accordance with Article 5(3) and paragraph 1 of Part B of Annex IV to the Council text.
(7) On each sixth anniversary of 22nd December 2008, SEPA must review and where necessary revise a determination made under this paragraph.
(8) In relation to pollutants or indicators of pollution for which insufficient information is available to identify trends and determine starting points for trend reversal by 22nd December 2008, SEPA must comply with sub-paragraph (1) above as soon as possible after that date.
Information to be included in a river management plan
7.SEPA must ensure each river basin management plan and revised river basin management plan it submits to the Scottish Ministers includes, in relation to the river basin district-
(a) details of approved threshold values together with the information specified in Part C of Annex II to the Council text;
(b) in the case of a revised river basin management plan, details of any changes to the list of threshold values since the date of publication of the previous version of the plan;
(c) a summary of the assessment undertaken for the purposes of determining groundwater chemical status, including an explanation as to the manner in which exceedences of groundwater quality standards or threshold values at individual monitoring points have been taken into account.
(d) a summary of the information specified in Article 5(4)(a) of the Council text;
(e) details of each starting point for trend reversal determined under paragraph 6(1)(b) or, as the case may be paragraph 6(7), above together with a summary of the reasons for each determination; and
(f) a summary of the results of any additional trend assessment carried out under paragraph 6(5) above.
ANDREW SCOTT
A member of the staff of the Scottish Ministers
21 st December 2005
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