EPA/DEHLG Water Quality Seminar
Implications of Ground and Surface
Water Regulations for Planning
Policy and Practice
Mr Niall Cussen
Senior Adviser
Department of the Environment
Heritage and Local Government
Presentation Outline
• Context
• Surface Water Regulations
• Groundwater Regulations
• Related issues
• Planning Process
• Development Plan
• Development Management
• Implications of the Regulations
• Policy
• Practice
• Potential responses
Context: Patterns of Development
Planning for Urban Development
• Planning and Water Quality have
tended to operate in separate
contexts…
• Understanding of issues is good
at specific locations (capacity of
plants p.e./relationship to
zoning), extent of scope for
development consents…
• Understanding of wider systemic
issues (cumulative effects) is
poor…regional/sub regional
settlement patterns over time…
• SEA/AA, River Basin Catchment
Planning, various designations v
helpful, also pose major
challenges for the planning
system…
Planning in Rural Areas
• Rural settlement: a key interface
regarding planning/water quality
interaction…
• Traditionally a very difficult
policy and political question…
• Irelands topography,
geomorphology and sociopolitical history increase the
challenge…
• No simple solutions…
• Implications of new EPA Code of
Practice…
•
440,000 systems
• 25,000 impacting on
groundwater?
• 120,000 impacting on surface
waters?
• Apart from Cavan, no regime for
inspection/monitoring
• River Basin Management Plans
coming in 2010
Interim Status: River Quality
Number
% by
number
High
485
9%
Good
1,598
40%
Moderate
1,562
28%
Poor
751
21%
Bad
68
2%
n/a
61
1%
RIVERS
Total
4,525
Context: Water Quality Regulations
• Give legislative effect to relevant EU Directives establishing
requirements on public authorities…
• To prevent deterioration in water quality status…
• Defined by scientific process (by EPA)…
• To protect high and good status waters where they exist…
• To achieve environmental objectives of associated protected
areas…
• To restore waters of less than good status by 2015…
• Public authorities cannot carry out any of their functions in a
manner that will knowingly cause or allow deterioration in quality…
• Measures: e.g. pollution reduction plans by specified dates…
Context: ECJ Case 188/08
• Irelands legislation, as regards on site systems, does not comply with
Articles 4 and 8 of the Waste Directive (75/442/EEC)
• Cavan bye-laws do comply with the Directive because:
• Requirements to comply with standards
• Regular inspections by competent persons
• Provide for penalties for non-compliance
• Provide for corrective measures
• Programme for Govt Commitment: “to introduce a scheme for the licensing and
inspection of septic tanks”
• Response to the EU Commission
• DEHLG Task Force (with EPA, LG representation)
• Govt approval of response to deal with judgement
• Planning Circular and revised Part H Building Regulations Q1
• Draft legislation Q1-2
• Regulatory Impact Assessment
• Public Consultation
• Legislation finalised by end 2010 (standards, owner responsibilities, monitoring and
inspection, remedial actions)
• Key Issue: standards for all systems (legacy)
Context: Waste Water Discharge (Authorisation) Regs
• Response to ECJ Case 282/02 regarding Dangerous Substances
Regulations…
• Part VIII – linkages between decisions taken in a planning context
and discharge licences authorising operation of municipal waste
water treatment plants…
• You must have capacity in place (or “in the bag”) at the time of
making decisions (taking into account the cumulative effect of
previously permitted development)…
• Approving development that could lead to breaches in EPA WWTP
licences is a criminal offence…
•
Context: Fresh Water Pearl Mussel Regs
• Response to ECJ Case 282/02…
• Setting legally binding objectives for water quality in rivers
inhabited by freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera) and designated
as Special Areas of Conservation…
• Minister to carry out a programme of investigation and monitoring
within each river sub-basin to:
• establish baseline conditions, threats and pressures…
• prepare a programme of measures…
• prepare sub-basin management plans…
• EPA required, when classifying surface waters in accordance with
WFD, to assign less than good status when FWPM is found to be in
a less than favourable conservation status…
• Discharge licences to set ELV’s that protect FWPM and examine
existing consents and review…
Our Planning
System
Spatial Strategy
Regional
Planning
Guidelines
National Policy and
Legislation
NDP 2007-2013
Development
Plans
National
Regional
Local
Climate Change
Local Plans
Water Quality Regs
County Development
Board strategies
Dept/Agency Capital
programmes
Planning Guidelines
Other Local Level
Plans
RBMP’s Various Action
Plans
LA capital programmes
Establishes Policy Context for…
Housing Strategy
Assessment of and Decisions on Development Proposals
Application to Planning
Authority (PA)
Bord Pleanala (Strategic
Infrastructure) (SI)
Development/
Refusal of PP
PA Decision
SI Decision
ABP decision
to grant/refuse
Appeal?
Planning: Legislative Requirements for Plans (2000 Act)
• Regional Planning Guidelines: Section 23 (2) RPG’s shall address (e)
water supply and wastewater issues…(i) the preservation and
protection of the environment….
• Development Plans
• Mandatory Objective: Conservation and Protection of the
Environment (Including European Sites) (Section 10(2)(c))
• Implementation of River Basin Management Plans?
• Discretionary: First Schedule Part IV Environment and Amenities
• Protecting and preserving the quality of the environment,
including the prevention, limitation, abatement or reduction of
environmental pollution and the protection of waters,
groundwater, the seashore and the atmosphere
• Prohibiting, regulating or controlling the deposit or disposal of
waste materials, refuse and litter, the disposal of sewage and the
pollution of waters
Development Management
• Article 7 Planning and Development Regulations 2001 – de-exempts
schedule 2 development where such development would affect an
area of scientific/ecological interest, the preservation of which is an
objective of the development plan…(could be used to conserve
pristine/sensitive areas but would need excellent consultation and
public information)…
• Section 34(2): When making its decision in relation to a planning
application, planning authority shall be restricted to considering the
proper planning and development of the area, regard being had to:
• Provisions of the development plan…
• Special Amenity Area Orders…
• Protection of European Sites…
• Government policy…
• Scope for any conditions of pp…
• Other statutory provisions… (e.g. 2007 WW Discharge
Authorisation Regulations)
Development Plan Policies
• Getting the development plan
right is critical to all planning
decisions…
• Generally, plans need better
grounding in water quality
related issues…
• E.g. definition of rural housing
policies – area types defined by
development pressure,
population trends etc….
• May be directing development
towards sensitive areas…
• Need additional maps and
policies showing these sensitive
areas from WQ perspective,
policies, objectives in
response…
Groundwater Protection and Planning
• A specific gap in many
development plans…
• SP5/2003 called for these in
2003!
• Counties that have them:
probably low risks…
• Counties with highest risks: still
do not have them in some
cases…
• The maps will help citizens know
how the planning authority will
consider their proposals…
• Political challenges…
RBMP’s: Potential Data Source for Development Plans
• €50m spent on River Basin Management
Plans so far…
• Huge levels of data regarding water quality
in place…
• However, the data will probably need
further analysis/application to the planning
context to enable the planning and water
quality codes to be properly integrated at
development plan stage – understanding
cumulative effects of development…
• Evidence base for control of some
exempted development in pristine/sensitive
locations utilising Article 7 Planning and
Development Regulations 2001
(Agricultural buildings, afforestation, land
reclamation) by inserting objectives in
development plans…
Water Quality/Planning Interface Case Study: Leitrim
• 2006 population, 28,000 persons, 19,000 in rural areas (one-off
houses with on-site wastewater treatment systems)…
• Probably 80%+ of sites presenting for planning will not meet EPA
Code of Practice Standards – major practical and political issues…
• River Basin Management Plans: High/Good status, Pristine
headwaters, ecological status…
• Next development plan must predict likely levels of housing
development in different areas, urban and rural – over the plan
period (Planning and Development Bill – Core Strategy)…
• Regional Planning Guideline allocation of future population growth
to Leitrim County increase to 2016: 4,200 persons, Carrick-on
Shannon increase to 2016: 1000 persons…
• Rest of County: 3,200 persons..or…
Case Study continued…
• An extra 1750 houses throughout the county as a whole…
• Or 1300 houses in mainly rural parts of the county…
• But how do we know the WQ implications of this?…
• Water quality data that is available must be sufficient to assess the
cumulative implications for further housing development in rural
areas?...
• Organisational and management dimensions…
• Once the evidence base is in place, will enable development plans to
attempt to resolve conflict between meeting needs and protecting
environment by consideration of alternatives for specific sensitive
locations: grouped systems? tankering)? zero-loss systems?...
Implications for Planning System
• Water Quality and Planning Codes have specific (differing)
requirements but require better integration…
• Planning system is deciding on policies and proposals at specific
locations…needs precise and predictive info…cause and effect…
• Need for further analysis of existing data from river basin plans etc
to quantify environmental (water quality) carrying capacity against
anticipated development activity…(e.g. from Housing Strategy)
• There is a need for a pilot study/demonstration project, especially in
rural authorities, to develop existing RBMP data and apply to the
development plan review context and showcase the way forward…
• SEA of Development Plans and local authority WQ obligations:
exposure to legal challenge of validity of plans…
Conclusion
• Regulations: another step towards integration of planning and
environmental codes…is this a coming of age for planning?
• Existing measures and data under River Basin Management Plans
will need further analysis/application to the planning context…
• The critical interfaces are relationship to formulation of core
strategy, rural settlement and preservation objectives within
development plans…
• Political context: exposure to litigation/EU complaints/ECJ
cases/rulings from lack of buy-in and linkage – Development Plan
SEA – River Basin Management Plans – Habitats Assessment…
• Difficult (but necessary) message to get across politically…
• Role for demonstration projects/pilot studies in the planning arena
as per Model Housing Strategy?…