Electricity Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2000

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
CitationSI 2000/1927
Year2000

2000 No. 1927

ELECTRICITY, ENGLAND AND WALES

The Electricity Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2000

Made 17th July 2000

Laid before Parliament 20th July 2000

Coming into force 1st September 2000

The Secretary of State, being a Minister designated1for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19722in relation to measures relating to the requirement for an assessment of the impact on the environment of projects likely to have significant effects on the environment, in exercise of the powers conferred by that section hereby makes the following Regulations:—

1 GENERAL

PART I

GENERAL

S-1 Citation, commencement, application and extent

Citation, commencement, application and extent

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Electricity Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2000 and shall come into force on 1st September 2000.

(2) These Regulations apply in the case of—

(a)

(a) any application under section 36 of the Electricity Act 19893for consent to construct, extend or operate a generating station; or

(b)

(b) any application under section 37 of the Electricity Act 1989 for consent to install or keep installed an electric line above ground,

which is received by the Secretary of State on or after the date on which these Regulations come into force.

(3) These Regulations extend throughout England and Wales.

S-2 Interpretation

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“the Act” means the Electricity Act 1989 and references to sections are references to sections of the Act;

“the consultative bodies” means—

(a) (other than in relation to development which is or is to be situated in the English area) the local planning authority and any principal council for the area where the land is situated, if not the local planning authority;

(b) where the application or proposed application relates to a site in England, the Countryside Agency4and the Nature Conservancy Council for England5;

(c) where the application or proposed application relates to a site in Wales, the Countryside Council for Wales6; and

(d) where the application or proposed application relates to a section 36 consent, the Environment Agency7;

“development” means the carrying out of building, engineering or other operations in, on, over or under land or sea in pursuance of any application to which these Regulations apply;

“EEA State” means a State which is a contracting party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2nd May 19928as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17th March 19939;

“EIA development” means development which is—

(a) Schedule 1 development;

(b) Schedule 2 development which falls within regulation 3(2); or

(c) any other development which the Secretary of State determines is EIA development in accordance with regulation 3(4);

“electric line” has the same meaning as in section 64;

“the English area” means the area so defined in Article 1(2) of the Civil Jurisdiction (Offshore Activities) Order 198710;

“environmental information” means the environmental statement prepared by the applicant, any representations duly made by any consultative body or any other person consulted pursuant to regulation 11(2)(a)(ii) and any representations duly made by any other person about the likely environmental effects of the proposed development;

“environmental statement” means a statement prepared in respect of development in accordance with regulation 4(1) (including any further information submitted by the applicant pursuant to a requirement under regulation 13(1));

“generating station” has the same meaning as in section 64;

“local planning authority” has the same meaning as is assigned to “ relevant planning authority” by sub-paragraph (a), (aa) or (ab) (as the case may be) of paragraph 2(6) of Schedule 8 to the Act11;

“principal council” has the same meaning as in section 270(1) of the Local Government Act 197212;

“register” means the register kept pursuant to section 69 of the Town and Country Planning Act 199013;

“Schedule 1 development” means development of a description set out in Schedule 1;

“Schedule 2 development” means development of a description set out in Schedule 2;

“scoping opinion” means a written statement of opinion of the Secretary of State given in accordance with regulation 7;

“screening opinion” means a written statement of opinion of the Secretary of State as to whether the development in question is EIA development;

section 36 consent” means a consent under section 36 to construct, extend or operate a generating station; and

section 37 consent” means a consent under section 37 to install or keep installed an electric line above ground.

(2) Except where the context otherwise requires, in these Regulations any reference to a numbered regulation or Schedule is a reference to the regulation in or the Schedule to these Regulations bearing that number and any reference in a regulation to a paragraph is a reference to a paragraph of that regulation.

S-3 Prohibition of grant of consent without consideration of environmental information

Prohibition of grant of consent without consideration of environmental information

3.—(1) The Secretary of State shall not grant a section 36 consent or a section 37 consent which relates to EIA development unless the requirements of regulation 4 have been satisfied.

(2) Schedule 2 development shall constitute EIA development if one of the events set out in paragraph (3) has occurred.

(3) The events referred to in paragraph (2) are:

(a)

(a) the submission by the applicant in relation to the proposed development of a document referred to by the applicant as an environmental statement for the purposes of these Regulations; or

(b)

(b) a determination by the Secretary of State (whether pursuant to a request for a screening opinion or regulation 6), having taken into account such of the criteria set out in Schedule 3 as are relevant to the development, that the application relates to EIA development as the development is likely to have significant effects on the environment by virtue of factors such as its nature, size or location.

(4) In spite of the fact that any development is not Schedule 1 development or Schedule 2 development, the Secretary of State may, having taken into account such of the criteria set out in Schedule 3 as are relevant to the development, make a determination (whether pursuant to a request for a screening opinion or regulation 6) that an application for a section 36 consent or a section 37 consent is for EIA development as the development is likely to have significant effects on the environment by virtue of factors such as its nature, size or location.

S-4 Procedure for grant of consent where an environmental statement is required

Procedure for grant of consent where an environmental statement is required

4.—(1) An applicant shall submit in relation to any application for a section 36 consent or a section 37 consent which relates to EIA development an environmental statement which includes—

(a)

(a) at least the information referred to in Part II of Schedule 4; and

(b)

(b) such of the information referred to in Part I of Schedule 4 as is reasonably required to assess the environmental effects of the development and which, having regard in particular to current knowledge and methods of assessment, the applicant can reasonably be required to compile, taking into account the terms of any scoping opinion given.

(2) In relation to any application for a section 36 consent or a section 37 consent which relates to EIA development, the Secretary of State shall not grant the required consent unless—

(a)

(a) he is satisfied that the applicant has complied with his obligations under paragraph (l);

(b)

(b) he has taken into consideration the environmental information (including without limitation any views expressed by other EEA States under regulation 12) and states in his decision in relation to that consent that he has done so; and

(c)

(c) the procedures laid down in regulations 9, 11, 12, 13 and 14 have been followed in so far as they are applicable.

2 SCREENING

PART II

SCREENING

S-5 Procedure for a screening opinion by Secretary of State

Procedure for a screening opinion by Secretary of State

5.—(1) A person who is minded to apply for a section 36 consent or a section 37 consent for development which he considers may be EIA development may make a written request to the Secretary of State for a screening opinion.

(2) A request for a screening opinion shall be accompanied by—

(a)

(a) a plan sufficient to identify the site which is the subject of the proposed development;

(b)

(b) a brief description of the nature and purpose of the proposed development and of its possible effects on the environment; and

(c)

(c) such further information or representations as the person making the request may wish to provide or make.

(3) The Secretary of State, on receiving a request for a screening opinion shall, if he considers that he has not been provided with sufficient information to give an opinion, within three weeks of the receipt of the request by him give notice to the person making the request of the particular points on which he requires further information.

(4) Where the Secretary of State considers that he has sufficient information he shall consult the local planning authority within whose area the land which is the subject of the proposed application is situated (or, in relation to a proposed development in, on, over or under the sea, such local planning authority or local planning authorities as he considers appropriate) as to its views on whether the proposed development is EIA development, unless the person requesting a screening opinion has already conveyed that authority’s views to the Secretary of State.

(5) A local planning authority shall give its views to the Secretary of State within three weeks of the date on which it was consulted under...

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