# The Environmental Liability (Prevention and Remediation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009, Regulation 3: Meaning of “environmental damage”

Extent: N.I.

(1) Subject to regulations 5, 6 and 7, these Regulations apply to environmental damage to—
(a) Protected species or natural habitats, or an area of special scientific interest;
(b) Surface water or groundwater;
(c) Marine waters; or
(d) Land.
(2) Environmental damage to protected species or natural habitats or an area of special scientific interest means damage of a kind specified in Schedule 1 if it is caused by—
(a) an activity in Schedule 2; or
(b) an activity where the operator was at fault or was negligent as to whether such damage would be caused.
(3) Environmental damage to surface water means damage to a body of surface water classified as such pursuant to Annex II to Council Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy as last amended by Commission Directive 2014/101/EU, caused by an activity in Schedule 2 such that one of the—
(a) biological quality elements listed in Annex V to that Directive;
(b) level of one of the chemicals listed in the legislation in Annex IX or a chemical listed in Annex X to that Directive as amended by Directive 2013/39/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council; or
(c) physicochemical quality elements (as listed in Annex V to that Directive),
is adversely affected in such a way that its value changes to a value consistent with the water being classified as a lower status than before the damage (whether or not the body of water is, in fact, reclassified).
(4) Environmental damage to groundwater means any adverse effect on a body of groundwater as described in Annex II to Directive 2000/60/EC on—
(a) its conductivity or its level (both of which are specified in Annex V to Directive 2000/60/EC); or
(b) its concentration of pollutants (as specified in that Annex and in Directive 2006/118/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of groundwater against pollution and deterioration) as amended by Commission Directive 2014/80/EU
in such a way that the value changes to a value consistent with the water being classified as a lower status than before the damage caused by an activity in Schedule 2 (whether or not the body of water is, in fact, reclassified).
(4A) Environmental damage to marine waters means damage to marine waters classified as such pursuant to Directive 2008/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy, such that their environmental status is significantly adversely affected... .
(5) Environmental damage to land means contamination of land by substances, preparations, organisms or micro-organisms arising out of an activity specified in Schedule 2 that results in a significant risk of adverse effects on human health.
(6) This regulation extends to the foreshore, sea bed and subsoil and their natural resources.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2009/252/regulation/3 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/environmental-liability-prevention-and-remediation-regulations-northern-ireland-2009/regulation-3
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.