Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, I am happy to have the opportunity to outline the Water Environment (Abstractions and Associated Impoundments) Bill 2022 to the Seanad.

The purpose of the Bill is to set out a system of controls on the abstraction and impoundment of water, to protect our environment and to ensure compliance with Ireland's responsibilities under the water framework directive. Article 11 subsection (3) of the water framework directive requires all member states to implement measures to control the abstraction of freshwater, surface and groundwater and impoundment of fresh surface water. The provisions of the water framework directive have not been transposed into Irish law and the Bill is a significant milestone in Ireland's overall environmental protection measures.

Unfortunately, the absence of a comprehensive and modern abstraction-management and control regime in Ireland has led the European Union to open infringement proceedings against Ireland for failure to fully transposed the directive. Enactment of the Bill will form a considerable part of Ireland's response to these proceedings. In general, abstraction pressures on our water environment are relatively low compared with some of the more significant pressures identified in the draft river basin management plan 2022-2027. Detailed assessments of our water bodies by the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, and the local authority waters programme, as part of our river-basin management planning cycles, will aim to refine and identify the more significant abstraction pressures. This will give us a better picture of the nature of these pressures and the water bodies that are most affected. Changes to our climate and meteorological pattern in recent years have also given rise to concerns over the management of our water courses. Not only do we want to have waters of sufficient quality, but we also want sufficient quantity of water to supply our growing population centres and industries to help us continue to produce high-quality foods on our land.

At a high level, the Bill provides for a modern registration, licensing and control regime for water abstractions. Its focus is on the largest abstractions in Ireland as well as smaller abstractions that may cause short-term or ongoing environmental damage. It is designed to be based on the risk of a water body not meeting the environmental objectives under the water framework directive and is not intended to control all abstractions. This risk-based approach is in keeping with the principles of the directive and is similar to the approach taken in other EPA environment licensing regimes.

The Bill also includes provisions relating to water impoundment infrastructure associated with abstractions. For example, where a dam or other barrier interrupts the flow of a river for the purpose of abstracting water, the controls in the licence will extend to the operation of the impounding infrastructure.

The most significant abstractor of water in Ireland is Irish Water. A large proportion of the current registered water abstractors involve drinking water abstractions operated by Irish Water. Provisions of the Bill will allow Irish Water to operate these abstractions within a framework that protects the quantity of water available and will ensure the EPA can regulate these abstractions appropriately. In particular, the Bill will allow for a streamlined, comprehensive and robust application process for the water supply project from the Parteen Basin to supply to eastern and midland regions. It will modernise the legal framework around significant abstractions and will ensure appropriate levels of oversight and control will be applied to that proposed abstraction. I will now elaborate on the provisions of the Bill.

It is a relatively detailed Bill comprised of 11 parts, 116 sections and one Schedule. It is largely a technical Bill. Part 1 covers sections 1 to 7, inclusive, and primarily addresses the general matters, including, the Title of the Bill, arrangements for bringing the Bill into operation and standard provisions. Section 7 also includes some existing legislation that will be repealed to further strengthen the legal provisions of the Bill.

Part 2 confirms regulation-making powers on the Minister to regulate unlicensed abstractions, including, abstractions below the registration threshold and those awaiting a decision on a licence application. Local authorities will be responsible for ensuring compliance with these regulations under Part 9.

Part 3 details the exemptions from the requirements of the Bill that may be applied by the Minister by way of regulations. Part 4 includes sections 11 to 13, inclusive, and provides for the maintenance of a register of abstractions over the threshold of 25 cu. m per day by the EPA. These provisions replace the provisions of the European Union (Water Policy) (Abstractions Registration) Regulations 2018, which will be repealed under section 7 of the Bill.

Part 5 is the most substantial part of the Bill and sets out the principal licensing provisions for abstractions that require a licence. Sections 14 to 20, inclusive, contain the main provisions relating to abstractions that require a licence. These include the circumstances in which an abstracter is required to apply for a licence, the requirements of the EPA to assess these applications and the powers to grant or refuse a licence. It also sets out the provision for the Minister to vary the thresholds for licensing.

Sections 21 to 28, inclusive, address licence applications that require an environmental impact assessment, EIA. These sections place particular emphasis on the procedures to be followed in determining an EIA, the level of detail required to make a full assessment and, most importantly, the co-ordination of an EIA between Environmental Protection Agency and the relevant planning authority.

Sections 29 to 36, inclusive, relate to licence applications for abstractions that may be subject to retrospective environmental impact assessment. A retrospective EIA is required in cases where the EPA determines that an environmental impact assessment was required and should have been made prior to or after the commencement of the abstraction. For a variety of reasons, the EIA may not have been undertaken at the time when the abstraction commenced. The process set out in these sections will ensure the appropriate environmental assessment is undertaken and all legal obligations are fully met.

Sections 37 to 45, inclusive, provide for combined abstraction licence applications. These applications comprise existing abstraction operating prior to the commencement of the Act and a revised abstraction that will increase the existing abstraction rate. The purpose of these sections is to ensure a licence abstraction is sufficiently assessed in terms of any retrospective EIA and to provide for an equally robust assessment for the future proposed abstraction rate. Such scenarios may arise where population-growth predictions will necessitate an increase in drinking water supplies.

Chapter 5 of Part 5 includes sections 46 to 55, inclusive, and provides for a number of different requirements to complement the previous licensing sections. These include provisions around applications for joint licences, surrenders, transfers, reviews, revocations and suspensions. All these provisions are necessary to allow the EPA and licence holders sufficient scope to address changing circumstances as they may arise and enhance the ability of the EPA to manage the risks associated with these changes.

The final elements of Part 5 cover sections 56 to 59, inclusive, which are miscellaneous provisions relating to licensing that provides for judicial reviews of decisions, regulation-making powers of the Minister, EPA guidelines for the licensing process and minor amendments to the licences.Part 6 focuses solely on abstractions by Irish Water. Sections 60 to 73, inclusive, focus on the powers of Irish Water to make a public abstraction, provisions for objections to those abstractions, the process for An Bord Pleanála decisions and objections and provisions to address claims for compensation. These provisions for compensation are likely to be used where people feel their rights in respect of water would be materially or adversely affected by a public abstraction by Irish Water.

Sections 74 to 82, inclusive, set out provisions for Irish Water to undertake temporary abstractions to supplement or replace existing abstractions on a short-term basis. This may arise in the event of a severe drought, infrastructure failure or a contamination of a raw water source. These temporary abstractions are confined to eight weeks' duration with the possibility of a single eight-week extension being granted.

Section 80 allows the Minister to make an order exempting a temporary abstraction from licensing requirements in emergency circumstances. Any such order would only be considered on the basis of a civil emergency where the abstraction is for the sole purpose of responding to the emergency. As with other temporary abstractions, the same eight-week time limit applies to an emergency abstraction under section 80.

Section 82 provides for appeals and compensation relating to Irish Water temporary or emergency abstractions. Section 83 puts in place a framework for Irish Water abstractions from ESB reservoirs, with a particular focus on ensuring legal arrangements are in place between the parties before an abstraction licence can be granted.

Part 7 of the Bill relates to Waterways Ireland and its statutory functions and to abstractions from navigable waters and canals. This part ensures Waterways Ireland has significant input into EPA assessments of abstractions from navigable waters operated by Waterways Ireland. It also provides that any licensed abstraction from a canal can only be undertaken with the agreement of Waterways Ireland.

Part 8 comprises one section that addresses the operational safety of hydroelectric schemes. It provides that the EPA shall have regard to the function of the ESB when considering an application for an abstraction licence associated with a hydroelectric scheme.

Part 9 contains the principal enforcement provisions of the Bill. Sections 88 to 96, inclusive, set out the enforcement functions of local authorities and the EPA, including powers to appoint authorised persons to undertake enforcement actions. Sections 97 to 102, inclusive, provide for the issuing of compliance notices and requirements on those who receive a compliance notice. These notices can be issued by a local authority or the EPA for a number of offences, including abstracting water without a valid licence or breaching the conditions of an existing licence. The notice can also require the owner of the abstraction to take measures to protect the environment or meet the environmental objectives of the water body concerned or both. Sections 104 to 109, inclusive, set out the offences throughout the Bill, prosecution powers and the penalties associated with the conviction for an offence.

Part 10 contains four sections that relate to miscellaneous and transitional provisions. The transitional provisions are in place to ensure the integrity of the legal framework following the commencement of the abstractions Bill and repeal of the Water Supplies Act 1942, certain provisions of the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act 1964 and the abstractions registration regulations of 2018.

Part 11 contains three sections that require amendment to the Canals Act 1986, the Shannon Navigation Act 1990 and the Planning and Development Act 2000. The most substantial of these is section 116, which amends the Planning and Development Act. The amendment insert references to water abstractions and the need for consultation in certain circumstances between planning authorities and the EPA, including on environmental impact assessments.

The Schedule lists the public authorities referred to in the Bill. I thank the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage for the detailed pre-legislative scrutiny afforded to the general scheme of the Bill on 20 January 2021. I am glad to say the majority of recommendations as set out in the committee's report are reflected in the Bill. I look forward to the contributions of Senators as we progress the Bill through the parliamentary process.