Protection of Groundwater against Pollution and Deterioration

L.N. 223 of 2015

MALTA RESOURCES AUTHORITY ACT

(CAP. 423)

Protection of Groundwater against Pollution and Deterioration

(Amendment) Regulations, 2015

IN exercise of the powers conferred by article 28(1) of the Malta

Resources Authority Act, the Minister for Energy and Health, after

consultation with the Malta Resources Authority, has made the

following regulations:-

(1)

The title of these regulations is the Protection of Citation and

Groundwater against Pollution and Deterioration (Amendment) scope.

Regulations, 2015 and these regulations shall be read and construed S.L. 423.36

as one with the Protection of Groundwater against Pollution and

Deterioration Regulations, hereinafter referred to as "the principal

regulations".

(2) These regulations transpose Commission Directive 2014/

80/EU of 20 June 2014 amending Annex II to Directive 2006/118/EC

of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of

groundwater against pollution and deterioration.

The Second Schedule to the principal regulations shall be Amends the

Second

amended as follows

Schedule to the

principal

regulations.

(a)

item 3 of Part A thereof shall be substituted by the

following new item

"(3) wherever elevated background levels of

substances or ions or their indicators occur due to natural

hydro-geological reasons, those background levels in the

relevant body of groundwater shall be taken into account

when establishing threshold values. When determining

background levels, the following principles should be

taken into account

(a)

the determination of background levels

should be based on the characterisation of

groundwater bodies in accordance with Schedule II

to the Water Policy Framework Regulations and on S.L. 423.20

the results of groundwater monitoring in

accordance with Schedule V to those regulations.

The monitoring strategy and interpretation of the

data should take account of the fact that flow

conditions and groundwater chemistry vary

laterally and vertically;

(b) where only limited groundwater

monitoring data are available, more data should be

gathered and in the meantime background levels

should be determined based on those limited

monitoring data, where appropriate by a simplified

approach using a subset of samples for which

indicators show no influence of human activity.

Information on geochemical transfers and

processes should also be taken account of, where

available;

(c)

where

insufficient

groundwater

monitoring data are available and the information

on geochemical transfers and processes is poor,

more data and information should be gathered and

in the meantime background levels should be

estimated, where appropriate based on statistical

reference results for the same type of aquifers in

other areas having sufficient monitoring data;";

(b)

in item 1 of Part B thereof, immediately after the

entry "Sulphate" there shall be added the following new entries

"Nitrites

Phosphorus (total)/Phosphates"; and

(c)

Part C thereof shall be substituted by the following

new Part

"Part C

Information with regard to the pollutants and their

indicators for which threshold values have been

established

The Authority shall include in the water catchment

management plan to be submitted in accordance with

regulation 12 of the Water Policy Framework Regulations,

information on the way the procedure set out in Part A of

this Schedule has been followed.

In particular, the Authority shall provide

(a)

information on each of the bodies or

groups of bodies of groundwater characterised as

being at risk, including the following

(i)

the size of the bodies;

(ii) each pollutant or indicator of

pollution which characterises bodies of

groundwater as being at risk;

(iii) the

environmental

quality

objectives to which the risk is related,

including the actual or potential legitimate

uses or functions of the groundwater body,

and the relationship between the bodies of

groundwater and the associated surface

waters and directly dependent terrestrial

ecosystems;

(iv) in the case of naturally-occurring

substances, the natural background levels in

the bodies of groundwater;

(v) information on the exceedances

where threshold values are exceeded;

(b)

the threshold values, whether they

apply at the national level, at the level of the river

basin district or the part of the international river

basin district falling within the territory of Malta,

or at the level of a body or a group of bodies of

groundwater;

(c)

the relationship between the threshold

values and each of the following

(i)

in the case of naturally-occurring

substances, the background levels;

(ii) associated surface waters and

directly dependent terrestrial ecosystems;

(iii) the

environmental

quality

objectives and other standards for water

protection that exist at national, Union or

international level;

(iv)

any

relevant

information

B

concerning the toxicology, eco-toxicology,

persistence, bioaccumulation potential, and

dispersion tendency of the pollutants;

(d)

the methodology for determining

background levels based on the principles set out in

item 3 of Part A;

(e)

the reasons for not having established

threshold values for any of the pollutants and

indicators identified in Part B;

(f)

key elements of the groundwater

chemical status assessment, including the level,

method and period of aggregation of monitoring

results, the definition of the acceptable extent of

exceedance, and the method for calculating it, in

accordance with regulation 5(1)(c)(i) and

paragraph 3 of the Third Schedule. Where any of

the data referred to in paragraphs (a) to (f) are not

included in the water catchment management plan,

the Authority shall provide the reasons for this in

that plan.".

€0.36