Regulation 10 Assistance in preparation of environmental statements

(1)

Subject to paragraph (6), where the Department is required to prepare an environmental statement in pursuance of regulation 8 it may consult with any person to determine whether that person has in his possession any information which may be relevant to the preparation of the environmental statement and if that person has any such information, he shall make that information available to the Department.

(2)

Where the Department has prepared an environmental statement in relation to any proposed works and made that statement available in accordance with regulation 11(4), the Department, as the case may be, or the Commission acting in accordance with regulation 14(5), may determine that further information is relevant to any matter which is required to be, or may be, dealt with in the statement.

(3)

Subject to paragraph (6), the Department may consult with any person to determine whether that person has in his possession any further information which the Department considers relevant to the environmental statement and if that person has any such information, he shall make that information available to the Department.

(4)

Where, pursuant to paragraph (3), the Department obtains any further information it shall—

(a)

by notice published in the Belfast Gazette and at least two local newspapers state that the further information is available, and give details of the places where and times at which a copy of that further information may be inspected or obtained and, if a charge is to be made for a copy thereof under regulation 12, the amount of the charge; and

(b)

state that any person who wishes to make representations in relation to the further information should make such representations in writing to the Department at the address specified in the notice within 28 days of the date of the publication of the notice in the Belfast Gazette.

(5)

At the same time as the notice referred to in paragraph (4)(a) is published, the Department shall—

(a)

send copies of the further information to:

(i)

the Drainage Council;

(ii)

the district council of the district or, as the case may be, each district in which the proposed works are situate; and

(iii)

any other person who appears to it to have an interest in the matter including, where appropriate, another EEA State;

(b)

make available for inspection at an office of the Department or at some other convenient place, for a period of at least 28 days following the date of the publication of the notice in the Belfast Gazette, the further information, the details of the proposed works and the environmental statement relating to the works in question, and ensure that a reasonable number of copies of the information are made available.

(6)

Nothing in paragraph (1) or (3) shall require the disclosure by any person of information which is capable of being treated as confidential or must be so treated under regulation 5 of the Environmental Information Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993^f1.

(7)

Any person making information available to the Department in accordance with paragraph (1) or (3) may make a reasonable charge reflecting the cost thereof and the Department shall pay that charge.

Annotations

Footnotes

f1: S.R. 1993 No. 45 as amended by S.R. 1998 No. 238