Regulation 5 Environmental objectives: human activity or natural conditionI1
Scotland
Less stringent environmental objectives may be set under section 9(1)(a)(ii) of the Act for a shellfish water protected area instead of those required pursuant to regulation 3 when the area is so affected by human activity, or the natural condition of the area is such that the achievement of the environmental objectives required pursuant to regulation 3 would be infeasible or disproportionately expensive, and the following conditions are met—
the environmental and socio-economic needs served by such human activity cannot be achieved by other means which are a significantly better environmental option not entailing disproportionate costs;
the highest shellfish water quality possible is achieved, given impacts that could not reasonably have been avoided due to the nature of the human activity or pollution;
no further deterioration occurs in the shellfish water quality of the affected area; and
the establishment of less stringent environmental objectives, and the reasons for it, are set out in the river basin management plan (or the next update of it) and those objectives are reviewed every 6 years.