Committee Reports > List of Committees > Joint > 1986 > Committee on the Secondary Legislation of the European Communities (4th Committee) > Report No. 32 - Statutory Instruments [21]

APPENDIX 6

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (WASTE) REGULATIONS, 1984.

[S.I. NO. 108 OF 1984]

Ref: EC4/113

Secretary

Department of the Environment

I am directed by Mr. Gerard Collins, T.D., Chairman of the Joint Committee on the Secondary Legislation of the European Communities to refer to the European Communities (Waste) Regulations, 1984.

It is noted that these regulations replace the European Communities (Waste) (No. 2) Regulations, 1979. I am to request you to explain for the information of the Joint Committee why this has been found necessary and to comment on the absence from the explanatory note appended to the 1984 Regulations of any explanation as to why it was necessary to replace the 1979 No. 2 Regulations.

Seamus Phelan

Principal Committee Clerk

8 January, 1986.

12 February, 1986.

Mr. S. Phelan

Principal Committee Clerk

Joint Committee on the Secondary
Legislation of the European Communities

I am directed by the Minister for the Environment to refer to your minute of 8 January, 1986, concerning the European Communities (Waste) Regulations, 1984, [S.I. No. 108 of 1984] and to inform you that under the European Communities (Waste) (No. 2) Regulations, 1979, the Electricity Supply Board was the “designated authority” for the purpose of disposal of PCB. The reason for the initial assignment of this role to the ESB was that they were believed to be the largest users of PCB in this country and could be expected to possess the expertise necessary to secure the safe disposal of any PCB waste. In the event the ESB accepted responsibility for the oversight of PCB disposal only as a short-term measure, and following requests that they be relieved of this responsibility the Minister made the amending Regulations of 1984 centralising control of PCB disposal in his Department. The Minister appointed an Inspector of his Department as an authorised person for the purposes of the Regulations.

With regard to the explanatory note appended to the Regulations it was not considered necessary or appropriate to set out the background to the amendment. This would have involved a fairly lengthy statement on the lines of the first paragraph above. A note simply stating that the Regulations implemented the relevant EEC Directive and that they replaced earlier Regulations on the subject was considered adequate.

_________________________

G. Doherty

Environmental Control Section