Waste Management Act, 1996

Application of the Act of 1963 and related regulations.

54.—(1) Where a waste licence is granted under this Act in relation to an activity, and a permission has been granted under Part IV of the Act of 1963 in respect of development comprising or for the purposes of that activity, any conditions attached to that permission shall, in so far as they are for the purposes of the prevention, limitation, elimination, abatement or reduction of environmental pollution, cease to have effect.

(2) The grant of a permission under Part IV of the Act of 1963 in relation to any development comprising or for the purposes of a waste recovery or disposal activity shall not prejudice, affect or restrict in any way the application of any provision of this Act to such an activity.

(3) Notwithstanding section 26 of the Act of 1963 or any other provision of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Acts, 1963 to 1993, where a waste licence has been granted or is or will be required in relation to an activity, a planning authority or An Bord Pleanála shall not, in respect of any development comprising or for the purposes of the activity—

(a) decide to refuse a permission or an approval under Part IV of the Act of 1963 for the reason that the development would cause environmental pollution, or

(b) decide to grant such permission subject to conditions which are for the purposes of prevention, limitation, elimination, abatement or reduction of environmental pollution from the activity,

and accordingly—

(i) a planning authority in dealing with an application for a permission or for an approval for any such development shall not consider any matters relating to the risk of environmental pollution from the activity;

(ii) An Bord Pleanála shall not consider any appeal made to it against a decision of a planning authority in respect of such an application, or any submissions or observations made to it in relation to any such appeal, so far as the appeal, or the submissions or observations, as the case may be, relates or relate to the risk of environmental pollution from the activity.

(4) Where a permission under Part IV of the Act of 1963 has been granted or an application has been made for such permission in relation to any development comprising or for the purposes of a waste recovery or disposal activity, the carrying on of which requires the grant of a waste licence, the Agency—

(a) shall consult with the planning authority in whose functional area the activity is or will be carried on in relation to any development which—

(i) is necessary to give effect to any conditions to be attached to a waste licence in respect of the activity, and

(ii) the Agency considers is not the subject of a permission or an application for a permission under Part IV of the Act of 1963, and

(b) may attach to the waste licence such conditions related to the development aforesaid as may be specified by the said planning authority for the purposes of the proper planning and development of its functional area, or more stringent conditions as the Agency may consider necessary for the prevention, limitation, elimination, abatement or reduction of environmental pollution from the activity.

(5) Works consisting of or incidental to the carrying out of development referred to in subsection (4) (a) and the provision of waste collection receptacles in accordance with regulations under section 29 (4) (o) shall each be exempted development within the meaning, and for the purposes, of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Acts, 1963 to 1993, and a condition attached to a permission granted under Part IV of the Act of 1963 shall not prejudice, affect or restrict in any way the provision of waste collection receptacles as aforesaid.

(6) References in sections 25, 26 and 41 of the Act of 1963 to an activity in relation to which a licence under Part IV of the Act of 1992 is required shall be construed as including references to an activity in relation to which a waste licence under this Act is required.

(7) (a) Where development is proposed to be carried out by or on behalf of a local authority in its functional area, being development which comprises or is for the purposes of a waste recovery or disposal activity requiring the grant by the Agency to the local authority of a waste licence, the Minister may by order grant an exemption (if he or she is satisfied that exceptional circumstances warrant the granting of such an exemption) in respect of such development from a requirement of regulations under section 45 to furnish an environmental impact statement.

(b) The Minister in making an order under this subsection shall comply with the provisions of Article 2 (3) of Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June, 19851 .

(c) Without prejudice to paragraph (b), the Minister shall, where he or she considers it necessary to do so for the purpose of paragraph 3 (a) of Article 2 of the aforesaid Directive, specify in an order under this subsection requirements to be complied with by the local authority concerned or, as the case may be, the person who proposes to carry out the development on its behalf in relation to the matters specified in the said paragraph.

(d) The Minister shall cause an order under this subsection to be published in the Iris Oifigiúil.

(e) The reference in this subsection to a local authority's functional area is a reference to its functional area in its capacity as a planning authority.

(8) The Minister may make regulations specifying the time within which an application for a waste licence shall be made relative to an application for a permission under Part IV of the Act of 1963.

O.J. No. L 175/40, 5 July, 1985