Edie Environmental Legislation Summary December 2007

Recent changes to legislation which will impact on the environmental sector in the UK, Europe and internationally come under the spotlight in this Semple Fraser and Edie News monthly round-up of new law and policy. This month regulations allow for tax relief on experimental fuels and energy-saving devices, a tightening of standards restricting noise on shipping and aims to better identify and log radioactive contaminated land sites.


UK

Energy

The Fuel-testing Pilot Projects (Biobutanol Project) Regulations 2007, S.I. No. 3098, made under section 20AB of the Hydrocarbon Oil Duties Act 1979, came into force on 23rd November 2007. Section 20AB enables the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to make regulations allowing relief from excise duty on experimental fuel within fuel testing projects approved by them.

However, these projects must be connected with the technological development of more environmentally friendly fuels. Section 20AB provides that the Commissioners may impose conditions and give directions in connection with such relief.

The full text of the Regulations is available via the link.

The Energy-Saving Items (Income Tax) Regulations 2007, S.I. No. 3278, came into force on 6th December 2007.

Section 312 of the Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005 provides that the Treasury may make regulations to specify descriptions of energy-saving items in respect of which expenditure may be deducted by residential landlords who pay income tax when calculating the profits of their property business. Section 314 provides that the Treasury may make regulations providing for the apportionment and restriction of the amount of such deduction.

The full text of the Regulations is available via the link below:-

link

Maritime

The Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Control of Noise at Work) Regulations 2007, S.I. No. 3075, will come into force in accordance with Regulation 1 of the same.

These Regulations implement Council Directive 2003/10/EC on the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from noise. They apply to United Kingdom ships wherever they may be and non-United Kingdom ships in United Kingdom waters. The Regulations impose duties on employers to protect workers who may be exposed to risk from exposure to noise at work.

The full text of the Regulations is available via the link below:-

link

The Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Control of Vibration at Work) Regulations 2007, S.I. No. 3077, will come into force on 23rd February 2008.

These Regulations implement Council Directive 2002/44/EC on the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from vibration. They apply to United Kingdom ships wherever they may be and non-United Kingdom ships in United Kingdom waters. The Regulations impose duties on employers to protect workers who may be exposed to risk from exposure to vibration at work.

The full text of the Regulations is available via the link below:-

link

The Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) (Carcinogens and Mutagens) Regulations 2007, S.I. No. 3100, will come into force on 1st March 2008.

These Regulations implement, in relation to United Kingdom ships, Directive 2004/37/EC, which consolidates Directive 1990/394/EEC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens and mutagens.

The full text of the Regulations is available via the link below:-

link

ENGLAND

Contaminated Land

The Radioactive Contaminated Land (Modification of Enactments) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2007, S.I. No. 3245, came into force on 10th December 2007.

In England the Radioactive Contaminated Land (Modification of Enactments) (England) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/1379) make provision for the identification and remediation of radioactive contaminated land; but, exclude circumstances where civil liability for damage to land is regulated, for the purposes of the Paris Convention on third party liability in the field of nuclear energy, by the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 or foreign law.

The effect of these Regulations is to amend the 2006 Regulations so as to apply to all radioactivity and to modify the Contaminated Land (England) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/1380) to provide for a new ground of appeal against a remediation .

These Regulations also implement obligations arising under Articles 48 and 53 of Council Directive 1996/29/Euratom laying down basic safety standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionizing radiation.

The full text of the Regulations is available via the link.

WALES

Contaminated Land

The Radioactive Contaminated Land (Modification of Enactments) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2007, S.I. No. 3250, came into force on 10th December 2007.

In Wales the Radioactive Contaminated Land (Modification of Enactments) (Wales) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/2988 (W.277)) make provision for the identification and remediation of radioactive contaminated land; but, exclude circumstances where civil liability for damage to the land is regulated, for the purposes of the Paris Convention on third party liability in the field of nuclear energy, by the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 or foreign law.

The effect of these Regulations is to amend the 2006 Regulations so as to apply to all radioactivity and modify the Contaminated Land (Wales) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/2989 (W.278)) to provide for a new ground of appeal against a remediation notice.

These Regulations also implement obligations arising under Articles 48 and 53 of Council Directive 1996/29/Euratom laying down basic safety standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionizing radiation.

The full text of the Regulations is available via the link.

SCOTLAND

Conservation

The Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003 (Conservation Bodies) Amendment Order 2007, S.S.I. No. 533, comes into force on 1st January 2008.

This Order amends the Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003 (Conservation Bodies) Order 2003 by adding Glasgow City Heritage Trust and Stirling City Heritage Trust to the list of prescribed conservation bodies.

Conservation bodies are bodies in favour of whom it is competent to create a conservation burden under section 38(1) of the Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003.

Details can be found by following the link.

Water

The Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 (Commencement No. 6) Order 2007, S.S.I. No. 512, brings into force further provisions of the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 on 30th November 2007.

Article 2(a) commences, so far as not already in force, section 33(1) of the 2003 Act, which inserts a definition of “private SUD system” into section 59(1) of the Sewerage (Scotland) Act 1968. A “SUD system” means a sustainable urban drainage system as defined in section 59(1) of the 1968 Act.

Articles 2(b) and (c) commence section 33(2) of and schedule 3 to the 2003 Act. Schedule 3 makes further amendments to the 1968 Act and to the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002 in connection with SUD systems.

The full text of the Order is available via the link.

The Water Environment (Drinking Water Protected Areas) (Scotland) Order 2007, S.S.I. No. 529, comes into force on 31st December 2007.

This Order identifies those bodies of water used for the abstraction of drinking water, as required by section 6(1) of the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 and implement the obligation set out in paragraph 1 of Article 7 of Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for community action in the field of water policy.

This Order revokes the Water Environment (Drinking Water Protected Areas) (Scotland) Order 2005.

See the link for details.

Contaminated Land

The Radioactive Contaminated Land (Scotland) (Amendment) Regulations 2007, S.I. No. 3240, came into force on 10th December 2007.

In Scotland the Radioactive Contaminated Land (Scotland) Regulations 2007 (S.S.I. 2007/179) make provision for the identification and remediation of radioactive contaminated land; but, exclude circumstances where civil liability for damage to the land is regulated, for the purposes of the Paris Convention on third party liability in the field of nuclear energy, by the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 or foreign law.

These Regulations amend the 2007 Regulations so as to apply to all radioactivity. They also modify the Contaminated Land (Scotland) Regulations 2000 (S.S.I. 2000/178) to include all radioactivity and provide a new ground of appeal against a remediation notice.

These Regulations also implement obligations arising under Articles 48 and 53 of Council Directive 1996/29/Euratom laying down basic safety standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionizing radiation.

The full text of the Regulations is available via the link.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Contaminated Land

The Radioactive Contaminated Land Regulations (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) Regulations 2007, S.I. No. 3236, came into force on 10th December 2007.

These Regulations amend the Radioactive Contaminated Land Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 (S.R. (NI) 2006 No 345), extending their application to all radioactivity including situations where civil liability for damage to land is regulated, for the purposes of the Paris Convention on third party liability in the field of nuclear energy, by the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 or foreign law.

They also exclude from the regime situations where the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 (S.R. (NI) 2001 No 436) apply in so far as any action that could have been required be taken under these Regulations, if they applied, would have already been required to be taken under those Regulations.

These Regulations also implement obligations arising under Articles 48 and 53 of Council Directive 1996/29/Euratom laying down basic safety standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionizing radiation.

The full text of the Regulations is available via the link.

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