Workshop on Freshwater Aquaculture “Increasing Irish production in a sustainable manner under emerging environmental constraints” (14 th October 2016 – AIT, Athlone) The WFD and other “recent” EU legislation; a guide for Irish freshwater fish farmers. Neil Bass
The Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC. The WFD came into force across Europe on 22 nd December 2000. Its primary purpose was to establish, for the first time, a legal framework for the protection of all of Europe's waters, including rivers, lakes, estuaries (“transitional waters”), coastal waters and ground waters, and their dependent wildlife and habitats, under a single, coordinated piece of environmental legislation. Again for the first time, the operation of the Directive uses real geographical boundaries , bounding large water catchment areas or River Basin Districts as its administrative units. The WFD ignores traditional, arbitrary boundaries, for example local authority areas and even national boundaries in some instances.
The Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC. The Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) , along with closely associated legislation, the Environmental Quality Standards Directive (2008/105/EC) and the Dangerous Substances Directive (2006/11/EC) were given effect in Irish law, in the main, by:- The European Communities (Water Policy) Regulations; (The 2003 Regulations), SI 722 of 2003 . Under which Ireland's River Basin Districts were first established. The European Communities (Surface Waters) Regulations (The Surface Waters Regulations), SI 272 of 2009 . The European Communities (Groundwater) Regulations (The Groundwater Regulations), SI 9 of 2010 .
The Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC. Under SI 722 of 2003 , eight River Basin Districts were established on the island of Ireland, one of which is only in Northern Ireland and three of which span the north south international border and are termed International River Basin Districts (IRDB’s).
The Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC. The EPA coordinated the compilation of a River Basin District Management Plan (RBDMP) for each River Basin District. The first generation of these were published on 22nd December (6 th Anniversary of SI 722 of 2003 and 9th Anniversary of 2009. the introduction of the WFD, to the day!). From that day forward, the date 22nd December remains the most significant date in the WFD calendar. Reassessment and revision of RBDMP’s is set to take place on a 6-year cycle, from 2009; that is on the 22nd of December 2015, 2021, 202 7 and so on. It is also on that same day, every six years, that the Status Objectives for each individual water body covered by the RBDMP's must be met, but more of that later.
The Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC. Specifically the WFD aims to: • Protect and enhance the status of aquatic ecosystems and dependant terrestrial ecosystems and wetlands. • Prevent further deterioration of those systems. • Achieve Good Environmental Status for all waters or such 22 nd higher status as is required for protected areas by December 2015, or by the subsequent sixth anniversaries of that date if specific exemptions apply (2021, 2027 etc); see later. • Manage water bodies on a River Basin District basis . • Involve the public. • Streamline legislation.
The Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC. There are other, more specific objectives, which show just how wide the intended sweep of the WFD is (involving some other Directives and consequent national legislation:- • Promote sustainable water use , based on long-term protection of available water resources. • Contribute to the provision of sufficient good quality surface water and groundwater , for sustainable, balanced and equitable water use. • Aim at enhanced protection and improvement of the aquatic environment by the reduction or phasing out of discharges, emissions and leakage of priority substances. • Contribute to mitigating the effects of floods and droughts . • Contribute to the protection of territorial and marine waters. • Establish a register of 'protected areas' e.g. areas designated for protection of habitats or species (Tying in with Habitats Directive and Birds Directive)
The Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC. To anyone dependent on access to an adequate source of good quality water for their livelihood or wellbeing, the implications of the objectives of the WFD are pivotal. For one reason or another, that means all of us . The Good News The WFD and its Irish instruments will protect, sustain and enhance Ireland's water resources into the future. We must all be in favour of that. The Bad News? For FW fish farmers, the timetable for the achievement of these objectives and the associated commitment and expenditure may be challenging in many cases, especially for marginal enterprises. The legal implications may be the most challenging aspect. There are new legal limitations on what you can and cannot do with water and new offences to which you may, wittingly or unwittingly, become exposed. Just remember (if it helps) … Every water stakeholder in Europe is in much the same boat!
European Communities Environmental Objectives (Surface Waters) Regulations (The Surface Water Regulations) SI 272 of 2009 . A Short Guided Tour SI 272 is the most relevant SI for Ireland’s freshwater fish farmers. Google “SI 272 2009 ” to get a pdf of the SI! Take the time to read and digest it; your future viability may depend on it! SI 272 applies to all surface waters. It gives effect to all the measures required to achieve the surface water Environmental Quality Objectives established by the EPA, under the WFD. SI 272 also takes account of the Environmental Quality Standards established under the EQS Directive (2008/105/EC) and the requirements of the Dangerous Substances Directive (2006/11/EC). An environmental quality standard is a limit for environmental disturbances, in particular, from ambient concentration of pollutants and wastes, that determines the maximum allowable degradation of environmental media.
The Surface Water Regulations SI 272 of 2009 . Having established the RBD’s, the EPA classified every surface water body in the country, in accordance with SI 722 of 2003 (the 2003 Regulations). Bearing in mind the size of this task, the EPA have done very well to get as far as they have but there are still some gaps. Your local authority now has the primary responsibility for monitoring compliance with the SI, under the supervision of the EPA. This has and may continue to affect the consent limits set in your Section 4 Discharge Licence, with the objective of maintaining or improving the initial Ecological Status of your water resource. To date, discharge licence terms still vary between Local Authorities. However, expect to see standardisation between local authorities, under the eye of the EPA.
The Surface Water Regulations SI 272 of 2009 . From the outset, the EPA assigned an Ecological Status to Ireland’s surface water bodies on this scale: The initial Ecological Status of each water body was established from the results of EPA’s own water body monitoring surveys , under the headings of a series of Quality Elements (QE’s) . These are set out in Table 5 in the SI and differ for each water body type (River, Lake, Estuary etc). For example, for River Water Bodies , the QE’s listed are:-
The Surface Water Regulations SI 272 of 2009 . 1. Biological Quality Elements:- Composition and abundance of aquatic flora (Phyto and Macroflora). Composition and abundance of benthic invertebrate fauna. Composition, abundance and age structure of fish stocks (and FWPM). 2. Hydromorphologial Quality Elements:- Quantity and dynamics of water flow. Connection to groundwater bodies. River depth and width variation. Structure and substrate of the river bed. Structure of the riparian zone. 3. Physicochemical Quality Elements:- Thermal conditions, oxygenation conditions, salinity, acidification status and nutrient conditions. Pollution by synthetic or non-synthetic substances listed in Table 10 of Schedule 5 of these Regulations, which may be discharged in significant quantities into a water body.
The Surface Water Regulations SI 272 of 2009 . Having (theoretically) assessed all these QE’s, the Ecological Status of a surface water body is represented by the lowest of the QE value of all the Biological and Physico- chemical QE’s investigated. The only exception is where High Ecological Status is assigned. Here, the value to the Hydromorphologial QE’s are also considered. Thus, in a nutshell, under the SI, each Surface Water Body has been given an Environmental Objective , to be met by 22 nd December 2015, 2021 or 2027, on the basis of an initial Ecological Status , assigned by the EPA, following their assessment of a series of Quality Elements . Simple!
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