The Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 2015

Provision of information to the public

17.—(1) The competent authority must make the following information available to the public, including by electronic means, in relation to every establishment—

(a)the name of the operator and the address of the establishment;

(b)confirmation that these Regulations apply to the establishment and that the notification required by regulation 6, and the safety report required by regulation 9, has been sent to the competent authority;

(c)an explanation in simple terms of the activity or activities undertaken at the establishment;

(d)the hazard classification of the relevant dangerous substances involved at the establishment which could give rise to a major accident, with an indication of their principal dangerous characteristics in simple terms;

(e)general information about how the public will be warned, if necessary, and adequate information about the appropriate behaviour in the event of a major accident or an indication of where that information can be accessed electronically;

(f)the date of the last site visit carried out further to a programme for routine inspections under regulation 25(5), and where more detailed information about the inspection and the related inspection plan can be obtained upon request;

(g)details of where further relevant information can be obtained.

(2) In addition to the information in paragraph (1), the competent authority must make the following information available to the public, including by electronic means, in relation to every upper tier establishment—

(a)general information relating to the nature of the major accident hazards, including their potential consequences on human health and the environment, summary details of the main types of major accident scenarios and the control measures to address them;

(b)confirmation that the operator is required to make adequate arrangements within the establishment, in particular liaison with the emergency services, to deal with major accidents and to minimise their consequences;

(c)appropriate information from the external emergency plan in relation to dealing with any consequences outside the establishment from a major accident, which must include advice about co-operating with any instructions or requests from the emergency services at the time of an accident;

(d)where applicable, an indication as to whether the establishment is close to the territory of another Member State with the possibility of a major accident with trans-boundary consequences under the Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents(1).

(3) The competent authority must ensure that the information in paragraph (1)—

(a)is made available to the public within a reasonable period of time from the date on which the establishment becomes subject to these Regulations; and

(b)is kept updated.

(4) The competent authority must ensure that the information in paragraph (2)—

(a)is made available to the public within a reasonable period of time from the date on which the establishment becomes an upper tier establishment; and

(b)is kept updated.

(5) The operator of an establishment must—

(a)provide the competent authority with—

(i)the information specified at paragraph (1)(a) to (e) and, in the case of an upper tier establishment, the information specified at paragraph (2); and

(ii)revisions to that information when it becomes necessary to update it;

(b)comply with any reasonable request for information from the competent authority, within such period specified in the request, in connection with the preparation of information by the competent authority under paragraph (1) or (2).

(6) The competent authority must specify in advance in writing—

(a)the means by which operators must provide information under paragraph (5); and

(b)the format in which it must be provided.

(7) The Environment and Safety Information Act 1988(2) applies to a notice served under—

(a)regulation 23 (prohibition of operation) as it applies to a notice served under section 22 of the 1974 Act; or

(b)section 21 of the 1974 Act in respect of a contravention of these Regulations,

as if the reference in the third column of the Schedule to the 1988 Act to an enforcing authority as defined in section 18(7)(a) of the 1974 Act were a reference to the competent authority.