Programmes of Measures

1
Programmes of Measures Standards Co-ordination
Group Outcomes Workshop

• SERBD Management Group
• April 2008

2
POMS CG Workshop

• Technical POMS Studies
• Nine technical POMS studies,
• On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems
• Forest and Water
• Freshwater Morphology
• Municipal Industrial Regulation
• Dangerous Substances
• Marine Morphology
• Abstraction Pressures
• Groundwater Risk from Diffuse Mobile Organics
• Urban Pressures.

3
POMS CG Workshop

• Pro Forma
• Monitoring of water bodies e.g. criteria used
  in RAT for freshwater morphological impacts.
• Classification of water body status and
  establishing default objectives e.g.
  environmental standards for river flow to
  maintain sustainable abstractions, environmental
  quality standards for relevant substances.
• Setting objectives
• What are the risks to achieving the default
  objective by 2015?
• What will relevant basic measures contribute to
  objective?
• How should relevant basic measures be
  modified/optimised?
• With regard to new obligatory regulations/controls
  what is the required scope? What thresholds
  are needed?
• What types of additional supplementary measures
  are judged necessary for each pressure type to
  achieve the default objectives?
• What is the technical feasibility of putting
  technical solutions in place to meet default
  objectives by 2015? If not by 2015, when will
  achievement be feasible?
• What are the rough costs of putting the various
  technical solutions in place?
• What is the combined impact of all identified
  measures likely to be on achieving objectives?

4
POMS CG Workshop

• On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems
• Amend Building Regulations
• Implement targeted programme of inspection and
  enforcement
• (applying codes of practice and other
  legislation) for both existing and new systems,
• supported by risk mapping,
• registration system and certification by
  qualified assessors.
• Use the GIS risk mapping /decision support system
  to prioritise the locations to be targeted for
  work on inspections and maintenance and on
  assessment of new planning applications
• Prepare a register of OSWTS and apply a database
  and action tracking system, with quality
  controlled certification of septic tank system
  functionality
• Establish certified panel of experts for site
  investigation and certification of installed
  system
• Grants for system upgrades.

5
POMS CG Workshop

• Forest and Water
• Forestry Act requirement to replant should be
  altered
• Aerial Fertilisation regulations needs to be
  referenced into Forestry and Aerial Fertilisation
  Guidelines
• Updating acid sensitive areas map and boundary
  conditions
• Existing forestry- new Guidance for Harvesting of
  older forestry
• Coup felling size
• Timing of operations
• Establishment of buffer zones
• Guidance document for sensitive areas
• Suite of 38 measures to be used for existing
  forested catchments will form basis of new
  guidance document

6
POMS CG Workshop

• Freshwater Morphology
• Licensing/authorisation system necessary
• Morphology measures tool kit
• Enhancement schemes for channelisation
• Removal of barriers (identified by expert
  judgement)
• Enhancement schemes for over-grazing (identified
  by expert judgement)
• Voluntary initiatives wetlands projects
• Education campaigns

7
POMS CG Workshop

• Municipal Industrial Regulation
• UWWT Regs and WWTP licensing
• Regulations should be aligned with arrangements
  put in place to implement the requirements of the
  WFD
• i.e. monitoring requirements in the UWWD Regs
  should refer to water bodies at risk
• Management systems should be implemented and
  audited
• The use of decision tools to inform planners and
  regulators i.e. SIMCAT

8
POMS CG Workshop

• Dangerous Substances
• IPPC, PPP and Dangerous Substances Regs
  transposing EC leg
• New EQS
• License review
• National Dangerous Substances Awareness Campaign
  septic tank advise, support for environmentally
  friendly products, better labelling schemes
• Effluent characterisation to investigate the
  treatment of dangerous substances in WWTP
• Further investigations into leachate constitution
  and its treatment
• Further study on background levels is also
  required
• Continued Pesticide usage surveys better access
  to DAFF databases

9
POMS CG Workshop

• Marine Morphology
• Complex legislative framework recent transfers
  of responsibilities between government
  departments
• ICZM
• Good environmental practice guidance containing
  mitigation measures

10
POMS CG Workshop

• Abstraction Pressures
• SW
• Modern abstractions law - comprehensive
  abstraction register/planning structure
  (roles/responsibilities)/licensing
  program/thresholds for registration and
  licensing/thresholds for abstraction volume
• Plumbing code for water conservation
• Water charging?
• Water conservation - residential/commercial/indust
  rial/water re-use
• Reduce unaccounted for water loss (leaks)
• Rainwater harvesting
• Alter abstraction timing
• Conjunctive use of water resources
• New storage tanks/reservoirs
• Alternative sources (and infrastructure)
• Restrict development
• GW
• New legislation (e.g., Water Resources Act)

11
POMS CG Workshop

• Groundwater Risk from Diffuse Mobile Organics
• Registration/surveys/inventories local
  authorities, national institutions, industry,
  golf courses
• Reporting, auditing of sales and usage
• Use and disposal of pesticides within Source
  Protection Zones
• GW monitoring
• Mapping of cropping patterns
• Research
• Degradation rates in Irish soils
• Bypass flow
• Poorly productive aquifers

12
POMS CG Workshop

• Urban Pressures
• Soft Measures
• Change design codes design constraints, source
  protection zones, SUDS
• Enforcement (staffing)
• Complete qualitative status assessment
• Work is needed to document and quantify urban
  pollution, involving
• Monitoring (existing, new)
• Targeted studies (e.g., road runoff, SUDS, sewer
  exfiltration)
• Hard Measures
• Change infrastructure - rehabilitation/replacement
  needs are considerable
• Long-term (decades) implementation

13
POMS CG Workshop

• Other Supporting Studies
• High Status Sites
• Water Balance Model Flow Duration Curve Tool
• Setting Chemical Water Quality Standards
• Heavily Modified Water Bodies Artificial Water
  Bodies
• how does the study assist
• the technical work undertaken on pressures by the
  POMS studies
• monitoring / classification / objective-setting

14
POMS CG Workshop Outcomes

• Outcomes report - all POMS studies to populate
  pro forma
• This will feed into the Economics Study
• Presentations circulated
• Measures table - template structure and terms
  agreed and tables to be populated by all POMS
  studies
• Many of the studies are recommending follow-up
  actions as well as measures
• Risk assessment updates of Art 5 tests - table
  circulated, to be populated and decisions to be
  agreed at next POMS CG meeting
• A database needs to be populated to assist with
  the plan development

15
Draft RBMP Template

• Draft template of (I)RBMP
• Tier 1 - IRBDs dealing with NS co-operation
• Tier 2 - Summary (I)RBMP built around EU 2010
  reporting sheets
• Tier 3 - Detailed database at water body level
  for each RBD
• Tier 4 - Background information and documents
• The overall template has been presented to
  DEHLG/EHS, NTCG and UK TAG in late 2007

16
Draft RBMP Tier 1

• Tier 1 - Working Together
• This high level document will pick up on the
  co-operation elements set out in the 2003
  Managing Our Shared Waters consultation
  document.
• Progress (with North South co-operation
  highlighted) will be set out by WFD timelines
  regulations, characterisation, monitoring,
  classifications systems, public participation,
  plans etc.
• This may be a consultation doc.
• The NS WFD Co-ordination group with EPD/EHS
  DEHLG/EPA representatives will be responsible for
  technical document sign off. A political sign off
  process may follow.
• The document will be around 15 pages long and
  will be professionally edited to ensure it is
  easy to read.
• This document was presented to the NS
  Co-ordination group in November 2007 the group
  is commenting on the document

17
Draft RBMP Tier 2

• Tier 2 - Draft Plan Template
• The style of the draft plan will follow from the
  SWMI booklet Water Matters Have your Say.
• The template for the draft plan set out the
  proposed contents of the published draft plan
  The main focus of the draft plan will be on
  objective setting and the programme of measures
  to address water management issues how these
  programmes have been prioritised and where
  exemptions have been made.
• The published draft plan will be supported by an
  electronic webtool that allows the public to
  visualise a waterbody and see which measures
  apply, what its status and objectives are, etc
  (Tier 3).
• The draft plan will also have a series of
  supporting background documents which will be
  available electronically fulfilling the Annex 7
  and 2010 reporting sheet requirements (Tier 4).
• The template for tier 2 was presented and agreed
  by the NS group in October 2007 EHS are
  developing a mock-up plan for the NB iRBD at
  present

18
Draft RBMP Tier 2

• Tier 2 - Draft Plan Mock-up Text
• Ideally, professionally edited, generic text for
  an international basin would be provided (around
  60 pages in length) which would be available for
  other basins to customise.
• The NS WFD Co-ordination group will be
  responsible for technical document sign off. NI
  ministerial and advisory council sign off
  processes will follow (publication December
  2008).
• In March NS Share agreed to fund additional work
  to develop a plan mock-up for the NW iRBD
• The text for Ireland's status, objective setting
  and programme of measures will be progressed and
  illustrations developed.
• The scope of background documents is being teased
  out.
• This will help harmonisation with EHS RBMP plans
  and allow decisions on how to produce a single
  plan.
• Briefings to DEHLG are progressing key decisions.
• A first draft of text will be ready in June
  text further developed by NS 2.

19
Tier 3 - Plan Reporting Tool
Tier 3 - Database To be developed by NS
2. Possible links to RBMS
20
Tier 4 - Background Document Inputs
21
Draft RBMP Progress

• Tier 4
• Status workshops with the EPA, data collation
  and input from guidance document (SERBD)
• Risk assessment updates replace/update or
  remove Art 5 tests, decisions to be agreed
  (SERBD)
• Programme of Measures POMS workshop, output pro
  forma, template measures table (WRBD)
• Plans and programmes scoping and information
  requests commencing (ShiRBD)
• Objectives and exemptions scoping commencing
  (SWRBD)
• Tier 2
• Status, objectives (and exemptions) and
  programmes of measures key decisions and text
  progressing through NS Share
• Further plans inputs through NS2.