Hazardous Substances Standards for Groundwater
Introduction
The Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) (WFD) and Groundwater Daughter Directive (2006/118/EC) (GDD) require Member States to prevent inputs of hazardous substances into groundwater and to limit the input of non-hazardous pollutants. A joint Project Board has been set up to deliver this requirement. The Project Board is made up of representatives from:
· Environment Agency England and Wales (EA)
· Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)
· Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) (Not directly involved)
· Republic of Ireland Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The Project Board also includes a representative from both the Groundwater Task Team (GTT) and Joint Agencies Groundwater Directive Advisory Group (JAGDAG). The Project was set up in July 2012 and will run until September 2014.
The vision for this project is:
Determination: we will have an efficient and effective way of working for identifying hazardous substances as defined in the Groundwater Daughter Directive (GWDD). This will include co-operating with other environment agencies, scientists, business and industry, where appropriate, and producing determinations that are accepted as reliable. See the consultation page for the list of substances.
‘MRVs’ (Minimum Recording Values): We will have a common approach for UK and Ireland on how we comply with the ‘prevent’ requirements of the GWD and to take account of any environmental and business implications. This means a common approach on how we use environmental standards to identify the need for preventative and restorative work, and how we identify what action is proportionate. This includes how the numerical values are derived and applied for both local-scale and water body-scale impacts.
The Determination section is dealt with on our JAGDAG work area pages. This page is dedicated to the MRV section of the project and will be updated as the project moves forward.
Project Updates
Below are our regular updates which gives you more information about the project. Further updates will be added as and when produced.
April 2014 Update for external stakeholders on Hazardous Substances
April 2013 Update for external stakeholders on Hazardous Substances
February 2013 Update for external stakeholders on Hazardous Substances
Contact Us
If you would like to be included on our mailing list for consultation and/or you would like to submit data for this project please email us at MRVs_England@environment-agency.gov.uk
