Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 11:

In page 7, lines 20 and 21, to delete "ensure that the system does not constitute" and substitute the following:

"make a practical effort to ensure the system does not constitute".

Both amendments relate to section 70C which deals with the duties of owners of premises connected to domestic wastewater treatment systems. Instead of compelling the owner of the property to ensure the system is not likely to constitute a risk to public health or the environment, amendment No. 11 proposes that the owner of the property would make a practical effort. We have not seen the regulations defining the required percolation area. We are led to believe there may be a legal agreement between the Commission and the Minister, but if there is, I still do not have clarification on those standards. If an individual is expected to increase the percolation area and does not have the land to increase the percolation area to whatever the new standards might be and if we want to keep tomorrow's water safe, the new standards would need to be on the lines of the 2007 Commission proposals or the 2009 EPA proposals. If the Minister introduces regulation for a weaker maintenance standard, all the NGOs will appeal to the Commission and we will end up in court again. We want the insertion of the term "practical effort" because a person cannot be expected to increase the percolation area without the land.

Amendment No. 12 proposes to delete lines 28 and 29, "(iii) adversely affect the countryside or places of special interest". The proposed new section 70C(1)(b)(iii) specifies that the owners of premises shall make sure the treatment system will not "adversely affect the countryside or places of special interest". This provision is as wide as it is long. It is very broad and Fianna Fáil cannot support the insertion of these two lines without an exact definitive breakdown of what is meant by them. The word "countryside" could mean anything. As for the phrase "places of special interest", one can only assume it would be a special area of conservation, SAC, a special protection area, SPA, a natural heritage area, NHA, or a wetlands area. Last week on Committee Stage the Minister indicated that no planning permissions, environmental impact assessments, screenings or ecological reports would be required. He also gave an assurance that were someone obliged to upgrade a septic tank, none of these criteria would be required to be met. The presence of the phrase "places of special interest" suggests this includes SPAs and NHAs. However, Fianna Fáil cannot support the broad-brush approach reflected by these two lines as it believes the legislation should include a definition.