Groundwater Regulations and Guidance to Licencing

Due to the comprehensive nature of the European Communities Environmental Objectives (Groundwater) Regulations, 2010 (S.I. No. 9 of 2010) (Groundwater Regulations), and their relation to the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) (WFD) and the Groundwater Directive (2006/118/EC) (GWD), a consistent approach towards technical assessment is needed.

The EPA have published guidance on a framework for the processes, types of information, and criteria that are considered important for granting or refusing an authorisation to discharge, or alternatively, to point to what specific information might be needed to address technical areas of uncertainty.

The guidance aims to provide an overall indication of the assessment process and the underlying principles that should be followed.