The Water Resources (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005

Projects in another Member State likely to have significant transboundary effects

15.—(1) Where the Department receives from another Member State pursuant to Article 7.2 of the Directive information which the Member State has gathered from the applicant of a proposed project in that Member State which is likely to have significant effects on the environment in Northern Ireland, the Department shall, in accordance with Article 7.4 of the Directive –

(a)enter into consultations with that Member State regarding, inter alia, the potential significant effects of the proposed project on the environment in Northern Ireland and the measures envisaged to reduce or eliminate such effects; and

(b)determine in agreement with that Member State a reasonable period, before consent for the project is granted, during which members of the public in Northern Ireland may submit to the competent authority in that Member State representations pursuant to Article 7.3(b) of the Directive.

(2) The Department, in so far as it is concerned, shall also –

(a)arrange for the information referred to in paragraph (1) to be made available, within a reasonable time, both to the authorities in Northern Ireland which it considers are likely to be concerned by the project by reason of their specific environmental responsibilities, and to the public concerned in Northern Ireland; and

(b)ensure that those authorities and the public concerned in Northern Ireland are given an opportunity before consent for the project is granted, to forward to the competent authority in the relevant Member State, within a reasonable time, their opinion on the information supplied.