§ Mrs. ShephardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he plans to publish the guidance to the Groundwater Regulations 1998. [70422]
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 11 February 1999]: Draft guidance on the Groundwater Regulations 1998 will be published for consultation as soon as possible, and I will inform the House when it is available. Subject to resolving points which arise in consultation, a final version of the guidance is expected to be published in July. Later this month the Environment Agency will issue interim guidance dealing with making applications for authorisations under the Regulations. This will cover transitional arrangements which allow applications to be made prior to 1 April (when the main provisions come into force) and, in the case of activities conducted by the same person which are substantially the same as those previously undertaken, deemed approved until otherwise disposed of by the Agency.