S.I. No. 267/2001 - Waste Management (Use of Sewage Sludge in Agriculture) (Amendment) Regulations, 2001

In exercise of the powers conferred on the Minister for the Environment and Local Government by sections 7 and 51 of the Waste Management Act, 1996 (No. 10 of 1996), which said powers are delegated to me by the Environment and Local Government (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) (No. 2) Order, 1997 ( S.I. No. 428 of 1997 ), I, Dan Wallace, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government, hereby make the following Regulations:-

1.

1)  These Regulations may be cited as the Waste Management (Use of Sewage Sludge in Agriculture) (Amendment) Regulations, 2001.

2)  These Regulations and the Waste Management (Use of Sewage Sludge in Agriculture) Regulations, 1998 may be cited together as the Waste Management (Use of Sewage sludge in Agriculture) Regulations, 1998 to 2001.

3)  These Regulations shall come into operation on last day of June 2001.

4)  The purposes for which these Regulations are made include the purpose of giving effect to provisions of Council Directive 86/278/EEC ¹ of 12 June, 1986 on the protection of the environment, and in particular of the soil, when sewage sludge is used in agriculture.

2.

1)  In these Regulations, any reference to the Schedule or an article which is not otherwise identified is a reference to the Schedule or an article of these Regulations.

2)  In these Regulations, any reference to a sub-article which is not otherwise identified is a reference to a sub-article of the provision in which the reference occurs.

3)  In these Regulations -

“the 1998 Regulations” means the Waste Management (Use of Sewage Sludge in Agriculture) Regulations, 1998;

3.

Article 4 of the 1998 Regulations is hereby amended by the addition of the following sub-article:

“(d)    ensure that sludge is not used except in accordance with a nutrient management plan.”

4.

Article 6 of the 1998 Regulations is hereby amended by the substitution of the following for sub-article (2)

“(2)    Subject to sub-article (1), the limit values set out in Part II of the Schedule for the amounts of specified heavy metals which may be added annually to land used for the purpose of agriculture shall be observed.”

5.

Article 8 of the 1998 Regulations is hereby amended by the substitution in sub-article (2)(b) of “Part IV” for “Part II”.

6.

The Schedule of the 1998 Regulations is hereby amended by the substitution of the following for Part II:

“

Part II

LIMIT VALUES FOR AMOUNTS OF HEAVY METALS WHICH MAY BE ADDED ANNUALLY TO AGRICULTURAL LAND, BASED ON A TEN YEAR AVERAGE

”

Explanatory Note

This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation

These Regulations amend the Waste Management (Use of Sewage Sludge in Agriculture) Regulations, 1998 ( S.I. No. 148 of 1998 ) by replacing the two tonne per hectare per year limit on the amount of dry matter to be added to soil, with limits based on absolute quantities of specified heavy metals which may be introduced into soil per hectare per year subject to the carrying out of nutrient management plans. The Regulations also require that sludge is used in accordance with a nutrient management plan and provide for the inclusion of additional technical parameters to be entered in the sludge register provided for in the 1998 Regulations.

¹      O.J. No. L 181/6, 4 July 1986