Citation, commencement, extent and interpretation

1. —(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Storage of Carbon Dioxide (Amendment of the Energy Act 2008 etc.) Regulations 2011 and come into force on 16th November 2011.

(2) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), these Regulations extend to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

(3) Paragraphs (b)(ii) and (c)(iii) of regulation 3(1) extend to England and Wales and Northern Ireland only.

(4) Regulation 14 extends to England and Wales and Scotland only.

(5) Regulations 2 to 13 amend the Energy Act 2008( 3 ) and a reference in those regulations to a numbered section is to that section of the Energy Act 2008.

Amendment of section 17

2. In section 17 (prohibition on unlicensed activities)( 4 ), after subsection (3) insert—

“ (3A) In this section, “controlled place” also includes a place—

(a) in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, or

(b) in, under or over so much of the internal waters of the United Kingdom as are adjacent to England, Wales or Northern Ireland. ” .

Amendment of section 18

3. —(1) In subsection (2) of section 18( 5 ) (licences)—

(a) in paragraph (a)—

(i) for “a controlled place which is not” substitute “an offshore controlled place which is not”;

(ii) before “, the Secretary of State” insert “(an “offshore UK-controlled place”)”;

(b) in paragraph (b)—

(i) for “such activities”, substitute “activities within section 17(2)(a) to (c)”;

(ii) for “that territorial sea”, substitute “the territorial sea adjacent to Scotland”;

(c) in paragraph (c)—

(i) for “such activities”, substitute “activities within section 17(2)(a) to (c)”;

(ii) for “a controlled place”, substitute “an offshore controlled place”;

(iii) for “that territorial sea”, substitute “the territorial sea adjacent to Scotland”;

(d) after paragraph (c), omit “and” and insert—

“ (ca) in the case of a licence in respect of activities within section 17(2)(a) to (c) and an English controlled place, the Secretary of State,

(cb) in the case of a licence in respect of activities within section 17(2)(a) to (c) and a Welsh controlled place, the Welsh Ministers,

(cc) in the case of a licence in respect of activities within section 17(2)(a) to (c) and a Northern Ireland controlled place, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland,

(cd) in the case of a licence in respect of activities within section 17(2)(a) to (c) and a controlled place part of which is a Welsh controlled place and the rest of which is an English controlled place or an offshore UK-controlled place (or a combination of such places), either the Welsh Ministers or the Secretary of State,

(ce) in the case of a licence in respect of activities within section 17(2)(a) to (c) and a controlled place part of which is a Northern Ireland controlled place and the rest of which is an offshore UK-controlled place, either the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland or the Secretary of State, and ” ;

(e) in paragraph (d), after “the Secretary of State”, insert “, the Welsh Ministers, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland”;

(f) after “a licence falling within paragraph (c)”, insert “, (cd) or (ce)”.

(2) After subsection (4) of section 18, insert—

“ (4A) In this section—

“ English controlled place ” means a controlled place in England or in, under or over so much of the internal waters of the United Kingdom as are adjacent to England;

“ Northern Ireland controlled place ” means a controlled place in Northern Ireland or in, under or over so much of the internal waters of the United Kingdom as are adjacent to Northern Ireland;

“ Welsh controlled place ” means a controlled place in Wales or in, under or over so much of the internal waters of the United Kingdom as are adjacent to Wales. ” .

Amendment of section 19

4. In section 19 (requirements relating to grant of licences), after subsection (2) insert—

“ (3) In subsection (1) “ licensing authority ” does not include the Welsh Ministers or the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland. ” .

Amendment of section 21

5. In section 21 (content of licences: regulations), after subsection (2) insert—

“ (3) In subsection (1) “ licensing authority ” does not include the Welsh Ministers or the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland. ” .

Amendment of section 22

6. In section 22 (offence to carry on unlicensed activities)( 6 ), after subsection (4) insert—

“ (4A) If the activity constituting the offence is carried on at an English controlled place, a Welsh controlled place or a Northern Ireland controlled place, subsection (3) has effect as if the reference to £50,000 were a reference to the statutory maximum. ” .

Amendment of section 23

7. In section 23 (offences relating to licences), after subsection (7) insert—

“ (8) In subsection (1)(d) “ licensing authority ” does not include the Welsh Ministers or the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland. ” .

Amendment of section 26

8. In section 26( 7 ) (injunctions restraining breaches of section 17(1))—

(a) before subsection (1) insert—

“ (A1) Where the Secretary of State considers it necessary or expedient to restrain any actual or apprehended breach of section 17(1) in relation to an English controlled place, the Secretary of State may apply to the High Court for an injunction.

(A2) Where the Welsh Ministers consider it necessary or expedient to restrain any actual or apprehended breach of section 17(1) in relation to a Welsh controlled place, they may apply to the High Court for an injunction. ” ;

(b) after subsection (1) insert—

“ (1A) Where the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland considers it necessary or expedient to restrain any actual or apprehended breach of section 17(1) in relation to a Northern Ireland controlled place, it may apply to the High Court for an injunction. ” ;

(c) in subsection (2)—

(i) omit “other”;

(ii) after “actual or apprehended breach of section 17(1)”, insert “in relation to an offshore UK-controlled place”.

Amendment of section 27

9. In section 27 (inspectors), after subsection (6) insert—

“ (7) Subsections (1) and (2) apply in relation to the Welsh Ministers and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland and their respective functions under this Chapter as they apply in relation to the Secretary of State and the functions of the Secretary of State under this Chapter. ” .

Amendment of section 28

10. In section 28 (criminal proceedings) in subsections (3), (4) and (5)(a) for “a controlled place” substitute “an offshore controlled place”.

Amendment of section 30

11. In section 30 (abandonment of installations)—

(a) in subsection (5) after “means an installation” insert “falling within subsection (6) that is”; and

(b) after that subsection insert—

“ (6) An installation falls within this subsection if it is established or maintained in the water, or on the foreshore or other land intermittently covered with water, and is not connected with dry land by a permanent structure providing access at all times and for all purposes. ” .

Amendment of section 31

12. After subsection (3) of section 31 (termination of licences: regulations), insert—

“ (4) In subsection (1) “ licensing authority ” does not include the Welsh Ministers or the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland. ” .

Amendment of section 35

13. —(1) In section 35(1) (Chapter 3: interpretation)( 8 )—

(a) in the definition of “controlled place”, after “17(3)” insert “and (3A)”;

(b) in the appropriate place insert—

“ “ English controlled place ” has the meaning given by section 18(4A); ” ;

“ “ Northern Ireland controlled place ” has the meaning given by section 18(4A); ” ;

“ “ offshore controlled place ” means a place that is mentioned in section 17(3); ” ;

“ “ offshore UK-controlled place ” has the meaning given by section 18(2)(a); ” ;

“ “ Welsh controlled place ” has the meaning given by section 18(4A). ” .

(2) After section 35(2), insert—

“ (3) An Order in Council under section 98(8) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 ( 9 ) has effect for the purposes of this Chapter if, or to the extent that, the Order in Council is expressed to apply—

(a) by virtue of this subsection, for the purposes of this Chapter, or

(b) if no provision has been made by virtue of paragraph (a), for the general or residual purposes of that Act.

(4) An order or Order in Council made under or by virtue of section 158(3) or (4) of the Government of Wales Act 2006 ( 10 ) (apportionment of sea areas) has effect for the purposes of this Chapter if, or to the extent that, the order or Order in Council is expressed to apply—

(a) by virtue of this subsection, for the purposes of this Chapter, or

(b) if no provision has been made by virtue of paragraph (a), for the general or residual purposes of that Act. ” .

Amendment of the Pipe-line Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2000

14. —(1)The Pipe-line Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2000( 11 ) are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 2, in the definition of “relevant pipe-line works”, after “any pipe-line which is intended to convey oil or gas”, insert—

“ (aa) any pipe-line which is intended to convey carbon dioxide streams for the purposes of geological storage, including associated booster stations; ” .

Review

15. —(1) Before the end of each review period, the Secretary of State must—

(a) carry out a review of regulations 2 to 14;

(b) set out the conclusions of the review in a report; and

(c) publish the report.

(2) In carrying out the review the Secretary of State must, so far as is reasonable, have regard to how Articles 2(1) and 6(1) of the Directive (which are implemented by means of regulations 2 to 13), and Article 31(1)(a) and (2)(b) of the Directive (which are implemented by means of regulation 14) are implemented in other member States.

(3) The report must in particular—

(a) set out the objectives intended to be achieved by—

(i) the extension of the prohibition on unlicensed activities established by regulations 2 to 13; and

(ii) the regulatory system for environmental impact assessment for certain pipelines established by regulation 14;

(b) assess the extent to which those objectives are achieved; and

(c) assess whether those objectives remain appropriate and, if so, the extent to which they could be achieved with a system that imposes less regulation.

(4) In this regulation—

(a) “ review period ” means—

(i) the period of five years beginning with the day on which these Regulations come into force; and

(ii) subject to paragraph (5), each successive period of five years; and

(b) “the Directive” means DirectiveDirectiveDirectives 12 ).

(5) If a report under this regulation is published before the last day of the review period to which it relates, the following review period is to begin with the day on which that report is published.