Environment Joint Communiqué 1 July 2011

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Environment Joint Communiqué 1 July 2011 (PDF 52Kb)

1. The twelfth meeting of the North South Ministerial Council in Environment sectoral format was held in NSMC Joint Secretariat Offices, Armagh on 1 July 2011. The meeting was attended by Phil Hogan T.D., Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Alex Attwood MLA, Minister of the Environment, and Danny Kennedy MLA, Minister for Regional Development. Minister Hogan chaired the meeting.

2. Ministers noted developments in waste policy and that the revised European Waste Framework Directive has been transposed in both jurisdictions.

3. The Council welcomed the work of the North South Market Development Steering Group including the planned tender for a Feasibility Study on Bulky Waste Reuse Management Best Practice, the All-Island End of Waste/Quality Protocol Gypsum Baseline Survey and work to be taken forward by a sub group on the detail of mutually recognised quality protocols.

4. Ministers noted the publication in the near future of an All Island Recycled Plastic Waste Arisings Study which looks at the generation and fate of recycled plastic waste across the island of Ireland.

5.Ministers noted that the removal of waste from sites at Slattinagh. Co Fermanagh, and near Trillick, Co Tyrone is now complete and that work is expected to commence on a further two sites in Ballymartin near Kilkeel, Co Down in August 2011 and a site north of Newry in early September 2011 and that the Northern Ireland Environment Agency will draw up plans to repatriate waste from the remaining 13 sites thereafter.

6. The Council noted that joint enforcement actions continue to be conducted by the competent authorities.

7. Ministers noted that the joint documents “Working Together, Managing Our Shared Waters” for the North Western and Neagh Bann International River Basin Districts have been completed and published on the Departments’ websites and these documents will complement the river basin management plans for each jurisdiction and the North South Working Group on Water Quality will continue to oversee co-ordinated implementation of these plans.

8. Ministers welcomed progress by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in taking forward actions including joint participation in EU funded programmes and sharing of research projects to support implementation of the Water Framework Directive obligations.

9. The Council welcomed co-operation in accessing funding for priority environmental research under EU FP7, Interreg and LIFE+ programmes including the delivery of two events focusing on information and networking for European Funding leverage and the establishment of an external funding support team within NIEA to assist development of a joint headline project with EPA.

10. In addition, Ministers welcomed ongoing collaborative work to develop a common set of environmental indicators including a web-based approach to presentation and publication of a short statistical bulletin.  

11. The Council agreed to meet again in Environment sectoral format in October 2011.