Michael McNamara (Clare, Labour)
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811. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the statutory basis upon which a local authority can decline to take into charge of an on-site wastewater treatment plant when requested to do so by the majority of owners of the houses involved in accordance with s. 180(2)(a) of the Planning and Development Act 2000. [35192/13]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Section 180 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 applies to estates which have been granted planning permission and includes the construction of two or more houses (which as defined in the Act includes apartments) and the provision of new roads, open spaces, car parks, sewers, water mains or drains. In relation to estates which have been completed to the satisfaction of the planning authority in accordance with the permission, section 180 provides that the planning authority must, if requested to do so by the developer or by the majority of the qualified electors who are owners of the houses involved, initiate the procedures in section 11 of the Roads Act 1993 for declaring the road(s) to be public roads, for whose maintenance the local authority will then be responsible. Section 11 of the Roads Act empowers a local authority, by order, to declare any road over which a public right of way exists to be a public road. Before making an order the local authority must be satisfied the road is of general public utility, consider the financial implications of taking the road in charge and consult with the public/consider any objections received. The consideration of the objections and the making of the order declaring the road to be a public road is a reserved function, so that the decision whether to take the road in charge is ultimately one for the discretion of the elected members.

In relation to estates which have not been completed to the satisfaction of the planning authority and enforcement proceedings have not been commenced within the relevant period section 180 also provides that the planning authority must, if requested to do so by the majority of the owners, initiate the procedures in section 11 of the Roads Act. However, in this case the section provides that the provision in section 11 of the Roads Act requiring the authority to consider the financial implications of taking the road in charge is to be disregarded. Section 180 also provides that where a planning authority, in complying with section 180, makes an order under section 11 of the Roads Act, it must also take in charge any open spaces, car parks, sewers, water mains, or drains within the attendant grounds of the development.

Section 180 was amended in the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010 to provide that a planning authority may take in charge an unfinished estate, at the request of the owners of the housing units, at any time after the expiration of the planning permission, in situations where enforcement actions have commenced or where the planning authority consider that enforcement action will not result in the satisfactory completion of the estate by the developer. Planning authorities have also been empowered to take in charge part of an estate or some, but not all, of the facilities in an estate.

Michael McNamara (Clare, Labour)
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812. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if local authorities are exposed to a liability if they did not carry out prescribed reviews of discharge to waters authorisations for private wastewater treatment plants which were subsequently found to be dysfunctional and/or non-compliant. [35193/13]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Labour)
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813. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if all local authorities have carried out reviews of all section 4 discharge to waters licences by 22 December 2012; if the EPA has carried out reviews of all municipal wastewater treatment plants by 22 December 2012; if there was any obligation to have done do; if the EU Commission has requested information from Ireland regarding these issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35194/13]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 812 and 813 together.

The Environmental Protection Agency is the statutory body responsible for the supervision of wastewater discharges from local authority wastewater treatment plants. The Agency is also the statutory body for investigating complaints of pollution and for the enforcement of environmental legislation in Ireland. Details of all prosecutions taken by the Agency for pollution incidents and details of it’s enforcement activities are published on the Agency’s website. Regulation 11 of the European Communities Environmental Objectives (Surface Waters) Regulations 2009 requires that not later than 22 December 2012, the terms of every authorisation, including licences issued under Section 4 of the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act 1977, be examined and a determination made as to whether the authorisation / licence requires to be reviewed. In accordance with Regulation 13, it is an offence not to comply with a requirement of the regulations.

All local authorities have completed their examination of Section 4 licences and have determined whether a review is required. While the majority of these reviews were completed by 22 December 2012, I understand that a number are still ongoing.  In this regard, the Local Government (Water Pollution) Regulations 1978 and 1992 set down a procedure for reviewing Section 4 licences which provides for a requirement for statutory notices, time periods to respond to such notices and an appeals mechanism to An Bord Pleanala. The European Commission does not ordinarily request information regarding these issues but may make enquiries in relation to specific cases.