Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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Question 205: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the way waste water treatment systems are regulated; the reason many such systems have been certified by the Irish Agreement Board without essential health, safety, and consumer protection requirements being fulfilled; the redress consumers have if supplied with a faulty system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6959/07]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Part H of the Building Regulations (Drainage and Waste Water Disposal) sets out the requirements for the treatment of effluent from waste water systems. The relevant Technical Guidance Document H (TGD-H) provides guidance on how to comply with the requirements of Part H. TGD-H calls up the following standards:

(1) Septic tanks serving single houses: Irish Standard Recommendations SR6 of 1991 for Domestic Effluent Treatment and Disposal from Single Dwellings, issued by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI); and

(2) Septic tanks serving groups of houses: British Standard B.S. 6297: 1983 (incorporating amendment No. 1 of 1990), a Code of Practice for the Design and Installation of Small Sewage Treatment Works, issued by the British Standards Institution (BSI).

TGD-H also acknowledges that waste water treatment systems other than septic tanks may be used. Such systems are accepted as satisfactory provided it can be shown that they are fit for the use for which they are intended and for the conditions in which they are used. Part D of the building regulations (Materials and Workmanship) specifies alternative ways of proving compliance, including compliance with appropriate product standards or being subject to certification by an appropriate national certification body. The Irish Agreement Board (IAB) is the national and European recognised body for certifying new building products or systems for which national standards do not exist. The IAB is an independent body which operates under the aegis of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

A new European Standard (EN 12566-3), for small waste water treatments plants has been introduced and is now in the transitional phase of implementation. The need for new systems to comply with this standard has been brought to the attention of local authorities by Departmental Circular Letter BC16/2006 dated 8 November 2006.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently finalising a revised edition of their Manual on Wastewater Treatment Systems serving Single Houses, in consultation with all interested parties. It is understood that the EPA Manual will refer to relevant European Standards and that the NSAI propose to withdraw SR6: 1991, in favour of the proposed new edition of the EPA Manual, when available. My Department plans to amend TGD-H, to call up the EPA Manual and to consider any related issues at the time.