Groundwater Authorisations in Northern Ireland

The Groundwater Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 and amendment legislates on the discharge of hazardous substances and non-hazardous pollutants to the environment in line with the Groundwater Directive (2006/118/EC). in Northern Ireland.

The Directive updates the previous Directive 76/464/EEC and Ground Water (Northern Ireland) 1998 regulations that aimed to limit the direct or indirect discharging of List I substances into groundwater and to control the effects of discharging List II substances. List I and List II substances have been replaced by hazardous substances and non-hazardous pollutants in the 2009 regulations.

Hazardous substances and Non-hazardous Polutants

'Hazardous substance', is defined in Article 2(29) of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). Article 6.1 of the 2006 Groundwater Directive adds an indicative list to the WFD description. 'Non-hazardous pollutant', is potentially any substance that is not a hazardous substance. Articles 3 and 4 of the Groundwater Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 cover hazardous substances and non-hazardous pollutants.

Groundwater Authorisation

The discharging of hazardous substances and non-hazardous pollutants to land is subject to authorisation from NIEA. For the majority of farms, in practical terms, this means an authorisation for the disposal of;

• waste sheep dip, including cosmetic dips and shampoo
• waste pesticides, including tank washings not sprayed back over the target crop

Groundwater authorisation conditions include

• The identification of the area(s) of land to be used for disposal
• The method of disposal used
• Essential precautions to be taken and/or conditions under which disposal is to take place (e.g. the buffer distance from waterways)
• The maximum quantity of hazardous substances and non-hazardous pollutants to be disposed of during specified periods of time
• precautions to be implemented to prevent any pollution of groundwater
• If necessary, measures for monitoring the groundwater
• A requirement to maintain records of chemicals used, how much and when

A public register of authorisations is held by the NIEA.

Applying for a groundwater authorisation

• Complete an application form and send it to NIEA along with the required land maps
• On receipt of a completed application an acknowledgment letter will be returned within ten working days
• The target for date for assessment of applications is four months. More complex applications may take longer than 4 months, in these
  cases the Department will agree an extension to the assessment period with the applicant
• If authorisation is refused the applicant may appeal, within 3 months of the decision, to the Water Appeals Commission against the refusal of authorisation to dispose waste chemical to the selected area(s) of land
• Further information is available by telephoning 028 9262 3278

Cross Compliance Regulations

Authorised disposal of hazardous substances and non-hazardous pollutants is a single farm payment,cross-compliance, statuatory management requirement (SMR) and subject to inspection by NIEA.

Where applicable cross compliance assessment will be in line with the groundwater regulations

• Has an authorisation been applied for
• Have the conditions of the authorisation been met
• Have records of the disposal of dip been kept
• Is there risk of groundwater polution due to siting, maintenance or operation of a sheep dipper

Sheep dipper condition

Sheep dippers require to be maintained regardless of whether they are currently in use or not. If a dipper is unlikely to be used and in a poor state of repair consideration should be given to infilling the bath.

Dippers should

• be leak proof
• have an impervious floor (not cracked)
• be free from cracks and holes in walls that would allow dip to escape
• have a post dip draining pen, sloped to allow excess dip to flow back to the bath
• existing baths with drain plugs should have the plug permantly sealed unless it leads to an impermeable tank

Please note that due to a change in office location the contact details for NIEA Agricultural Regulations team are

NIEA
Groundwater Authorisations
Agricultural Regulations Team
17 Antrim Road
Lisburn
BT28 3AL

Tel. 028 9262 3278
Fax. 028 9262 3011

Please note the postal address in the download documents is incorrect and the above address should be used.

Useful downloads include

• Groundwater Application form (.PDF 65 Kb )
• Groundwater Guidance notes for farmers and growers (.PDF 40 Kb )
• Groundwater General Guidance notes (.PDF 30 Kb )
• Groundwater Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009

It is illegal to dispose of hazardous substances and non-hazardous pollutants to groundwater without an authorisation, the penalties being defined in the Groundwater (amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 .
Discharges to surface waterways are regulated under the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999.

Pollution prevention

Pollution prevention advice regarding pesticides and sheep dip in Northern Ireland is addressed in Chapter 6 of DARD's Code of Good Agricultral Practice