Division Specifications and standardised methods for monitoring and assessment

1. 1..

   In coastal waters, the criteria elements shall be selected in accordance with F1any enactment which gives effect to Directive 2000/60/EC.

2. 2..

   For D5C2 and D5C3, F2the Secretary of State, in consultation with the devolved policy authorities, may in addition use phytoplankton species composition and abundance.

3. 3..

   Information on the pathways (atmospheric, land- or sea-based) for nutrients entering the marine environment shall be collected, where feasible.

4. 4..

   Monitoring beyond coastal waters may not be necessary due to low risk, such as in cases where the threshold values are achieved in coastal waters, taking into account nutrient input from atmospheric, sea-based including coastal waters, and transboundary sources.

5. 5..

   Assessments under any enactment which gives effect to Directive 2000/60/EC shall be used for the assessments of each criterion in coastal waters.

6. 6..

   Values set in accordance with any enactment which gives effect to Directive 2000/60/EC shall refer either to those set by intercalibration under F3Commission Decision 2018/229 establishing, pursuant to Directive 2000/60/EC of the Parliament and of the Council, the values of the Member State monitoring system classifications as a result of the intercalibration exercise or to those set in F4the relevant national legislation in accordance with Article 8 and Annex V of Directive 2000/60/EC. These shall be understood as the ‘Good-Moderate boundary’ for Ecological Quality Ratios.

7. 7..

   Species composition shall be understood to refer to the lowest taxonomic level appropriate for the assessment.

8. 8..
   1. (1)

      F5This paragraph 8 has effect for the purposes of the reference in paragraph 6 to Article 8 of, and Annex 5 to, Directive 2000/60/EC.

   2. (2)

      Article 8 of that Directive is to be read as if—

      1. (a)

         in paragraph 1—

         1. (i)

            for “Member States” there were substituted “the United Kingdom”;

         2. (ii)

            in the final indent, the reference to “Community legislation” were a reference to F6assimilated law;

      2. (b)

         in paragraph 2, in the second sentence, the reference to Annex 5 of Directive 2000/60/EC were a reference to that Annex as modified by paragraph 8(3) below;

      3. (c)

         in paragraph 3, the second sentence were omitted.

   3. (3)

      Annex 5 of that Directive is to be read as if—

      1. (a)

         any reference to “Community legislation” were a reference to F7assimilated law;

      2. (b)

         references in tables 1.2.1 to 1.2.5 to Directive 91/414/EC, wherever they occur, were references to Regulation (EC) 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market;

      3. (c)

         references in tables 1.2.1 to 1.2.5 to Directive 98/8/EC, wherever they occur, were references to Regulation (EC) 528/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the making available on the market and use of biocidal products;

      4. (d)

         in section 1.3.1, in the unnumbered paragraph headed “selection of monitoring points”, the fourth indent (referring to “the Information Exchange Decision 77/795/EEC”) were omitted;

      5. (e)

         in section 1.3.5, the reference to “the Drinking Water Directive” were a reference to assimilated law which transposed Directive 98/83/EC on the quality of water intended for human consumption;

      6. (f)

         in section 1.4.1—

         1. (i)

            in point (iii), for the words from “shall be established” to the end there were substituted “are as set out in Commission Decision 2018/229 establishing, pursuant to Directive 2000/60/EC of the Parliament and of the Council, the values of the Member State monitoring system classifications as a result of the intercalibration exercise”;

         2. (ii)

            points (iv) to (ix) were omitted;

      7. (g)

         in section 1.4.3, for the words “Annex IX, Article 16 and under other relevant Community legislation” there were substituted “Annex 1 to Directive 2008/105/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on environmental quality standards in the field of water policy and under other relevant assimilated law”;

      8. (h)

         in section 2.3.2, for “other relevant Community legislation in accordance with Article 17” there were substituted assimilated law which transposed Directive 2006/118/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 on the protection of groundwater against pollution and deterioration”;

      9. (i)

         in section 2.4.5—

         1. (i)

            “Without prejudice to the Directives concerned” were omitted;

         2. (ii)

            for “Article 17” there were substituted assimilated law which transposed Directive 2006/118/EC”;

      10. (j)

          any reference to a “Member State” or “Member States” were a reference to the United Kingdom;

      11. (k)

          any reference to any Article or Annex of Directive 2000/60/EC were read in accordance with paragraph 8(4) below.

   4. (4)

      For the purposes of paragraph 8(3)(k), any reference to any Article or Annex of Directive 2000/60/EC is to be read as if—

      1. (a)

         any reference to a “Member State” or “Member States” were a reference to the United Kingdom;

      2. (b)

         any reference to “Community legislation” were a reference to F8assimilated law;

      3. (c)

         any reference to Article 8 were a reference to that Article as modified by paragraph 8(2) above;

      4. (d)

         any reference to Article 13 were a reference to that Article except in so far as it gives rise to any obligation under Article 15;

      5. (e)

         in Article 4—

         1. (i)

            in paragraph 1—

            1. (aa)

               in point (a)(iv), for “Article 16(1) and (8)” there were substituted assimilated law which transposed Directive 2008/105/EC”;

            2. (bb)

               in point (b)(iii), in the second subparagraph, for “paragraphs 2, 4 and 5 of Article 17” there were substituted assimilated law which transposed Directive 2006/118/EC”;

         2. (ii)

            in paragraph 8, the reference to “other Community environmental legislation” were a reference to assimilated law relating to the environment;

         3. (iii)

            in paragraph 9, the reference to “existing Community legislation” were a reference to assimilated law which was in force before 23rd October 2000;

      6. (f)

         in Article 7(2)—

         1. (i)

            for “at Community level under Article 16” there were substituted “by assimilated law which transposed Directive 2008/105/EC”;

         2. (ii)

            for “Directive 80/778/EEC as amended by Directive 98/83/EC” there were substituted assimilated law which transposed Directive 98/83/EC”;

      7. (g)

         in Article 11—

         1. (i)

            in paragraph 3(a), for the words from “required to implement” to the end there were substituted “under assimilated law for the protection of water”;

         2. (ii)

            in paragraph 3(j), in the fourth indent, for the words from “Directive” to the end there were substituted “Chapter 3 of Part 1 of the Energy Act 2008 and other assimilated law which transposed Directive 2009/31/EC on the geological storage of carbon dioxide”;

         3. (iii)

            in paragraph 3(k)—

            1. (aa)

               “in accordance with action taken pursuant to Article 16,” were omitted;

            2. (bb)

               for “agreed pursuant to Article 16(2)” there were substituted “in Annex 10”;

         4. (iv)

            in paragraph 6, the reference to “existing legislation” were a reference to assimilated law which was in force before 23rd October 2000;

      8. (h)

         in Annex 2—

         1. (i)

            in section 1.1, point (vi) were omitted;

         2. (ii)

            in section 1.4—

            1. (aa)

               after “gathered under”, in both places where it occurs, there were inserted assimilated law which transposed”;

            2. (bb)

               in the second paragraph, in point (ii), the reference to “Articles 9 and 15 of Directive 96/61/EC” were a reference to assimilated law which transposed Articles 5(3), 14 and 24 of Directive 2010/75/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on industrial emissions;

            3. (cc)

               in the third paragraph, in point (iii), the reference to “Directive 98/8/EC” were a reference to Regulation (EC) No 528/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the making available on the market and use of biocidal products.

Units of measurement for the criteria:

• D5C1: nutrient concentrations in micromoles per litre (μmol/l),

• D5C2: chlorophyll a concentrations (biomass) in micrograms per litre (μg/l),

• D5C3: bloom events as number of events, duration in days and spatial extent in square kilometres (km²) per year,

• D5C4: photic limit as depth in metres (m),

• D5C5: oxygen concentration in the bottom of the water column in milligrams per litre (mg/l),

• D5C6: Ecological Quality Ratio for macroalgal abundance or spatial cover. Extent of adverse effects in square kilometres (km²) or as a proportion (percentage) of the assessment area,

• D5C7: Ecological Quality Ratio for species composition and relative abundance assessments or for maximum depth of macrophyte growth. Extent of adverse effects in square kilometres (km²) or as a proportion (percentage) of the assessment area,

• D5C8: Ecological Quality Ratio for species composition and relative abundance assessments. Extent of adverse effects in square kilometres (km²) or as a proportion (percentage) of the assessment area.

Where available, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the devolved policy authorities, shall use the units or ecological quality ratios provided for under any enactment which gives effect to Directive 2000/60/EC.