§ Mrs. Helen JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment which areas of the North and Irish seas have been designated high natural dispersion areas. [18779]
§ Mr. ClappisonI have placed in the Libraries of the House a table of those areas in England and Wales in the North and Irish seas jointly identified by my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Wales as high natural dispersion areas for the purposes of the EC directive on urban waste water treatment. The areas are identified by their reference number and the names of associated discharges.
A marine water body or area can be identified as a high natural dispersion area if the discharge of waste water does not adversely affect the environment as a result of morphology, hydrology or specific hydraulic conditions which exist in that area.
High natural dispersion areas identified in Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Northern Ireland.