The Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (Northumbria River Basin District) Regulations 2003

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"the Directive" means Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23rd October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, as amended[4];

"the principal Regulations" means the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (England and Wales) Regulations 2003[5];

"the Northumbria River Basin District" means the area identified by regulation 3(1);

"relevant functions" means - 

(a) in relation to the Secretary of State and the Agency, functions under regulations 5 to 20 of the principal Regulations and, so far as material, the enactments listed in Parts 1 and 2 of Schedule 2 to those Regulations (which relate to statutes and subordinate instruments respectively); and

(b) in relation to the Scottish Ministers and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, functions under Part 1 of the Scottish Act, as applied by regulation 6;

"the Scottish Act" means the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003[6]; and

"the Scottish Ministers" has the meaning given by section 127 of the Scotland Act 1998[7].

River basin districts
     3.  - (1) The area shown on the deposited map is identified as a river basin district for the purposes of these Regulations and shall be known as the Northumbria River Basin District.

    (2) The Secretary of State, the Scottish Ministers, the Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency must ensure that the deposited map is made available to the public through their respective websites and at the relevant places.

    (3) The relevant places are - 

(a) in the case of the Secretary of State, the principal library of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs;

(b) in the case of the Scottish Ministers, the Information Centre of the Scottish Parliament; and

(c) in the case of the Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, their respective principal offices and principal offices for the regions in which any part of the Northumbria River Basin District lies.

    (4) In this regulation - 

(a) "the deposited map" means the map and related information recorded on the CD-ROM which is - 


(i) entitled "The Northumbria River Basin District 2003"; and

(ii) deposited in the principal library of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; and



(b) "river basin district" means a district which is the main unit for the management of river basins for the purposes of the Directive, being made up of neighbouring river basins together with associated groundwater, transitional waters and coastal water.

The general duties
     4.  - (1) The Secretary of State, the Scottish Ministers, the Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency must exercise their relevant functions so as to secure - 

(a) that the requirements of the Directive for the achievement of its environmental objectives, and in particular the programme of measures, are co-ordinated for the whole of the Northumbria River Basin District; and

(b) compliance in relation to that district with the other requirements of the Directive.

    (2) In this regulation - 

(a) "environmental objectives" means the objectives required to comply with Article 4 of the Directive (environmental objectives) including any objectives required to comply with Article 7(2) and (3) of the Directive (waters used for the abstraction of drinking water); and

(b) "programme of measures" means the programme of measures required to comply with Article 11(2) to (6) of the Directive (programme of measures).

Application of provisions of the principal Regulations to the Northumbria River Basin District
     5.  - (1) Regulations 2 and 5 to 20 of the principal Regulations (river basin management planning) shall apply to the whole of the Northumbria River Basin District as they apply to river basin districts identified by regulation 4(1) of those Regulations (river basin districts), subject to the following modifications.

    (2) Regulation 2 (interpretation) shall have effect as if the definition of "the appropriate authority" were deleted, and regulations 6, 10 to 15, 18 and 20 shall have effect as if for each reference to the appropriate authority there were substituted a reference to the Secretary of State.

    (3) Regulation 12 (river basin management plans: public participation) shall have effect as if - 

(a) after paragraph (2)(a) there were inserted - 


" (aa) send copies of the statement, summary or draft plan to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency which shall make them accessible to the public free of charge through its website, at its principal office and at the principal office for its East Region;";



(b) after paragraph (3)(a) "and" were omitted and there were inserted - 



" (aa) in the Edinburgh Gazette; and";



(c) in paragraph (4) - 



(i) for sub-paragraph (a) there were substituted - 


" (a) the Secretary of State and the Scottish Ministers;

(aa) the Scottish Environment Protection Agency;

(aaa) every responsible authority which has functions exercisable in or in relation to any part of the river basin district;";


(ii) for sub-paragraph (e) there were substituted - 


" (e) every local planning authority in England any part of whose area is within the river basin district;";


(iii) after sub-paragraph (f) there were inserted - 


" (ff) the River Tweed Commissioners;"; and


(iv) after sub-paragraph (i) there were inserted - 


" (ii) Scottish Water;"; and



(d) for paragraph (5) there were substituted - 

    " (5) In this regulation - 


(a) "appropriate nature conservation bodies" means the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, English Nature and Scottish Natural Heritage;

(b) "harbour" and "harbour authority" have the meanings given by section 57 of the Harbours Act 1964[8];

(c) "the River Tweed Commissioners" means the council constituted in accordance with section 6 of the Tweed Fisheries Act 1969[9];

(d) "local authority" means, in relation to England, the council of any county, county borough or district and, in relation to Scotland, any council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994[10];

(e) "local fisheries committee" and "sea fisheries district" mean a local fisheries committee constituted, and a sea fisheries committee created, by an order under section 1 of the Sea Fisheries Regulation Act 1966[11];

(f) "local planning authority" has the meaning given by section 1 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990[12];

(g) "navigation authority" has the meaning given by section 221(1) of the Water Resources Act 1991[13];

(h) "the plan period", in relation to a plan, means the period to which a direction under regulation 11(2)(a) requires it to relate;

(i) "responsible authority" has the meaning given by section 2(8) of the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003; and

(j) "the Scottish Ministers" has the meaning given by section 127 of the Scotland Act 1998.".

    (4) Regulation 13 (river basin management plans: submission for approval) shall have effect as if after paragraph (1)(a) there were inserted - 

" (aa) send a copy of the plan to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency which shall make it accessible to the public free of charge through its website, at its principal office and at the principal office for its East Region;".

    (5) Regulation 14 (river basin management plans: approval) shall have effect as if after sub-paragraph (3)(a) "and" were omitted and there were inserted - 

" (aa) send a copy of the approved plan to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency which shall make it accessible to the public free of charge through its website, at its principal office and at the principal office for its East Region; and".

Application of Part 1 of the Scottish Act to the Northumbria River Basin District
     6.  - (1) Part 1 of the Scottish Act shall apply in relation to so much of the Northumbria River Basin District as lies within Scotland, subject to the following modifications.

    (2) Sections 4 to 15, 17 and 19 (river basin management planning) shall not apply.

    (3) Section 16 (duty to have regard to river basin management plans and sub-basin plans) shall have effect as if - 

(a) references to a river basin district included references to the Northumbria River Basin District; and

(b) in relation to that district - 


(i) in paragraph (a), the reference to the river basin management plan were a reference to the river basin management plan for that district as approved under regulation 14 of the principal Regulations and any supplementary plan prepared under regulation 16 of the principal Regulations; and

(ii) paragraphs (b) and (c) were omitted.

    (4) Section 18 shall apply as if - 

(a) in subsection (1), the reference to "SEPA's functions under this Chapter"; and

(b) in subsection (2), the reference to "any of its functions under this Chapter",

were a reference to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency's relevant functions and its duty under regulation 4.

    (5) Sections 20(2)(b) (regulation of controlled activities) and 22(1) (remedial and restoration measures) and paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 2 (regulators to exercise functions with a view to achieving environmental objectives set out in river basin management plans) shall have effect as if references to environmental objectives set out in river basin management plans included references to environmental objectives set out in any river basin management plan for the Northumbria River Basin District approved under regulation 14 of the principal Regulations.

    (6) Section 26 (annual report on implementation of Directive) shall have effect as if - 

(a) in paragraph (a), the reference to Part 1 (protection of the water environment) included a reference to that Part as applied by these Regulations; and

(b) in paragraph (b), the reference to section 9 (environmental objectives and programmes of measures) included a reference to regulation 10 of the principal Regulations as it applies to the Northumbria River Basin District.

    (7) Section 27 shall have effect as if the reference to Part 1 (protection of the water environment) included a reference to that Part as applied by these Regulations.


Elliot Morley
Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

10th December 2003

[2] 1972 c. 68.back

[3] The power of the Minister to make regulations in relation to matters as regards Scotland is preserved by section 57(1) of the Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46).back

[4] O.J. No. L327, 22.12.2000, p. 1; amended by Decision 2455/2001/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20th November 2001 establishing the list of priority substances in the field of water policy and amending Directive 2000/60/EC (O.J. No. L331, 15.12.2001, p. 1).back

[5] S.I. 2003/3242.back

[6] 2003 asp 3.back

[7] 1998 c. 46.back

[8] 1964 c. 40.back

[9] 1969 c. 24.back

[10] 1994 c. 39.back

[11] 1966 c. 38.back

[12] 1990 c. 8; section 1 was amended by the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (c. 28), section 187(1) and Schedule 24, and the Environment Act 1995 (c. 25), sections 78 and 120 and Schedules 10 and 24.back

[13] 1991 c. 57.back