Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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298. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the current primary and secondary legislation dealing with contaminated soil, including soil contaminated by hydrocarbons; his plans to revise existing legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17287/17]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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299. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the facilities licensed to be used for the disposal of contaminated soil, including soil contaminated by hydrocarbons; the location of these facilities; the current status of the licence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17288/17]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 298 and 299 together.

Soil policy in Ireland is governed by a broad range of overarching EU policies, instruments and measures, as well as by national legislation such as the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992, as amended , the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act 1977, as amended, and the Waste Management Act 1996, as amended, as well as associated regulations. Responsibility for soil, and in particular soil contamination, rests across a range of Government Departments and State Agencies depending on the particular issue. For example, soil contamination has relevance to agriculture, biodiversity, industry, human and animal health, water quality, bogs, and the environment generally, as well as having potential impacts on climate change.Indeed, an exercise undertaken in my Department in 2016 identified some 35 strategic initiatives and binding measures that currently apply to soil quality in Ireland.

The issue of soil protection, including its legislative framework, is kept under review by the relevant responsible Departments and Agencies, and through various fora, particularly in the light of national, EU and international developments in the area of soil policy. My Department, as well as other Departments and Agencies, participate in these national and international discussions. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency is today hosting the “End of Waste Network” meeting in Dublin, where  soil is amongst the items on the agenda for discussion.

Once waste has been classified as hazardous, its treatment and management is subject to the Waste Management (Licensing) Regulations 2004, which govern the process under which waste licences are applied for and maintained. Once granted, each waste licence defines the nature of environmentally acceptable activities that can take place at a waste facility, including the acceptable types of waste that can be received. This is done by the conditions of the licence which are set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Under section 60(3) of the Waste Management Act 1996, I am precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to the performance, in specific cases, by a local authority or the EPA of their statutory functions under the Act. However, the EPA publishes comprehensive information on its licensees  which is available at . Further information is also available from the EPA’s Office of Environmental Sustainability at .