Urban Waste Water Treatment (England and Wales) Regulations 1994

Year1994

1994 No. 2841

WATER, ENGLAND AND WALES

The Urban Waste Water Treatment (England and Wales) Regulations 1994

Made 4th November 1994

Laid before Parliament 9th November 1994

Coming into force 30th November 1994

The Secretary of State for the Environment and the Secretary of State for Wales, being Ministers designated1for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19722in relation to measures relating to the collection, treatment and discharge of urban waste water, and the treatment and discharge of waste water from certain industrial sectors, acting jointly in exercise of the powers conferred on them by the said section 2(2) and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, hereby make the following Regulations:

S-1 Citation, commencement and extent

Citation, commencement and extent

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Urban Waste Water Treatment (England and Wales) Regulations 1994, shall come into force on 30th November 1994 and shall extend to England and Wales.

S-2 Interpretation

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

“agglomeration” means an area where the population and/or economic activities are sufficiently concentrated for urban waste water to be collected and conducted to an urban waste water treatment plant or to a final discharge point;

“the Authority” means the National Rivers Authority;

“coastal waters” means the waters outside the low-water line or the outer limit of an estuary;

“collecting system” means a system of conduits which collects and conducts urban waste water;

“the Directive” means Council Directive 91/271/EECconcerning urban waste water treatment3, and references to other Community Directives are references to Directives other than Council Directive 91/271/EEC;

“domestic waste water” means waste water from residential settlements and services which originates predominantly from the human metabolism and from household activities;

“estuary” means the transitional area at the mouth of a river between fresh-water and coastal waters, the outer (seaward) limits of which are shown on maps kept in accordance with regulation 12;

“eutrophication” means the enrichment of water by nutrients, especially compounds of nitrogen and/or phosphorus, causing an accelerated growth of algae and higher forms of plant life to produce an undesirable disturbance to the balance of organisms present in the water and to the quality of the water concerned;

“high natural dispersion area” has the meaning given by regulation 3;

“industrial waste water” means any waste water which is discharged from premises used for carrying on any trade or industry, other than domestic waste water and run-off rain water;

“population equivalent” is a measurement of organic biodegradable load, and a population equivalent of 1 (1 p.e.) is the organic biodegradable load having a five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) of 60g of oxygen per day (the load shall be calculated on the basis of the maximum average weekly load entering the treatment plant during the year, excluding unusual situations such as those due to heavy rain);

“secondary treatment” means treatment of urban waste water by a process generally involving biological treatment with a secondary settlement or other process in which the requirements established in Table 1 in Schedule 3 are respected;

“sensitive area” has the meaning given by regulation 3;

“sludge” means residual sludge, whether treated or untreated, from urban waste water treatment plants;

“urban waste water” means domestic waste water or the mixture of domestic waste water with industrial waste water and/or run-off rain water;

and other expressions used in the Directive have the same meaning as in the Directive.

(2) Any reference in these Regulations to a numbered regulation or Schedule is a reference to the regulation or Schedule so numbered in these Regulations.

S-3 Sensitive areas and high natural dispersion areas

Sensitive areas and high natural dispersion areas

3.—(1) In these Regulations—

(a)

(a) “sensitive area” means an area of water which the Secretary of State has identified in accordance with the criteria set out in Part I of Schedule 1, and which is shown as such on maps deposited with the Authority for the purposes of this regulation;

(b)

(b) “high natural dispersion area” means an area of water which the Secretary of State has identified in accordance with the criteria set out in Part II of Schedule 1, and which is shown as such on maps deposited with the Authority for the purposes of this regulation.

(2) The Secretary of State shall review the identification of sensitive areas and high natural dispersion areas, in accordance with the relevant criteria in Schedule 1, no later than 31st December 1997 and thereafter at intervals of no more than four years.

(3) Where, following a review under paragraph (2) above, an area of water becomes or ceases to be identified as a sensitive area or a high natural dispersion area the Secretary of State shall deposit with the Authority, in substitution for the maps already so deposited for the purposes of this regulation, such further maps as may be necessary to reflect the changes in identification.

S-4 Duty to provide and maintain collecting systems and treatment plants

Duty to provide and maintain collecting systems and treatment plants

4.—(1) This regulation supplements the duty imposed on every sewerage undertaker by section 94 of the Water Industry Act 19914(general duty to provide sewerage system) and any contravention of the requirements of this regulation shall be treated for the purposes of that Act as a breach of that duty.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3) below, the duty imposed by subsection (1)(a) of the said section 94 shall include a duty to ensure that collecting systems which satisfy the requirements of Schedule 2 are provided—

(a)

(a) where the urban waste water discharges into receiving waters which are a sensitive area, by 31st December 1998 for every agglomeration with a population equivalent of more than 10,000; and

(b)

(b) without prejudice to sub-paragraph (a) above—

(i) by 31st December 2000 for every agglomeration with a population equivalent of more than 15,000; and

(ii) by 31st December 2005 for every agglomeration with a population equivalent of between 2,000 and 15,000.

(3) Paragraph (2) above shall not apply where either—

(a)

(a) the Authority has certified that the establishment of a collecting system is not justified because it would produce no environmental benefit; or

(b)

(b) the Secretary of State has certified that the establishment of a collecting system is not justified because it would involve excessive cost,

and individual systems or other appropriate systems are provided and the Authority has certified that those systems achieve the same level of environmental protection.

(4) The duty imposed by subsection (1)(b) of the said section 94 shall include a duty to ensure that urban waste water entering collecting systems is, before discharge, subject to treatment provided in accordance with regulation 5, and to ensure that—

(a)

(a) plants built in order to comply with that regulation are designed (account being taken of seasonal variations of the load), constructed, operated and maintained to ensure sufficient performance under all normal local climatic conditions;

(b)

(b) treated waste water and sludge arising from waste water treatment are reused whenever appropriate; and

(c)

(c) disposal routes for treated waste water and sludge minimise the adverse effects on the environment.

S-5 Requirements as to provision of treatment

Requirements as to provision of treatment

5.—(1) Subject to paragraph (5) below, treatment plants which provide secondary treatment or an equivalent treatment shall be provided—

(a)

(a) by 31st December 2000 or, in an exceptional case, such later date (not being later than 31st December 2005) as the Commission may agree pursuant to a request under Article 8(1) of the Directive, in respect of all discharges from agglomerations with a population equivalent of more than 15,000;

(b)

(b) by 31st December 2005 in respect of all discharges from agglomerations with a population equivalent of between 10,000 and 15,000;

(c)

(c) by 31st December 2005 in respect of all discharges to freshwaters and estuaries from agglomerations with a population equivalent of between 2,000 and 10,000.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3) below, treatment plants which provide more stringent treatment than that described in paragraph (1) above shall be provided by 31st December 1998 in respect of all discharges from agglomerations with a population equivalent of more than 10,000 into sensitive areas, or into the relevant catchment areas of sensitive areas where the discharges contribute to the pollution of these areas.

(3) Paragraph (2) above shall not apply in relation to a sensitive area where the Authority has certified that it is satisfied, as a result of monitoring, that the minimum percentage of reduction of the overall load entering all urban waste water treatment plants in that area, and all urban waste water treatment plants in the catchment area of that area the discharges from which contribute to the pollution of that area, is at least 75% for total phosphorus and at least 75% for total nitrogen.

(4) Where, following a review of the identification of waters as sensitive areas or high natural dispersion areas under regulation 3, an area ceases to be identified as a high natural dispersion area or becomes identified as a sensitive area, then, as respects that area, paragraph (1) or, as the case may be, paragraph (2) above shall have effect as if the relevant date specified in that paragraph were the seventh anniversary of the change of identification or, if later, the date so specified.

(5) Discharges of urban waste water from agglomerations with a population equivalent of between 10,000 and 150,000 (or, in an exceptional case and with the...

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