Full Description
The Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive (Directive 2001/42/EC) (SEA Directive) has been a lurking legal presence in EU and UK environmental law. Now, just over a decade since its implementation, the impacts of the SEA Directive are beginning to be felt throughout the UK, and more broadly throughout the European Union as a whole. These developments have been driven both by the expansive interpretation of the Directive's scope by the Court of Justice of the European Union and by a slow learning process about how this new type of regulation should be legally interpreted and applied. This edited collection is the first volume to reflect comprehensively on the emerging legal identity of SEA in the EU and UK. With contributions addressing the impact of the SEA Directive on the fields of town and country planning and European environmental law, the book is a comprehensive analysis of all aspects of the Directive, from its history and scope, to its impact on governmental policy and its implications in practice. The volume both reflects on key cases such as Case C-567/10 Inter-Environnement Bruxelles and HS2, and looks forward, as it considers and projects future legal implications of the SEA Directive. Written by a blend of distinguished academics and leading practitioners, it provides an in-depth critique and rounded appreciation of both the immediate practical effects of SEA and its wider impact on European and UK environmental law.
Contents
Part I: Understanding the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Directive
1. The History and Context of the SEA Directive
Robert McCracken QC and Ned Westaway
2. The Transposition of the SEA Directive
Gregory Jones QC
3. Plans and Programmes Under the SEA Directive
Valerie Fogleman
4. The Meaning of 'Required by Legislative, Regulatory or Administrative Provisions'
Simon Ricketts and Juliet Munn
5. The Meaning of 'Early and Effective Opportunity' for Consultation
Stephen Ashworth and Rachael Herbert
6. The Role of Alternatives in the SEA Directive
David Elvin QC
7. From SA to SEA: Sustainability Appraisals and Strategic Environmental Assessment
Jack Connah and Stephanie Hall
Part II: Examining the Purpose and Impact of the SEA Directive
8. Blazing Upstream? Strategic Environmental Assessment as 'Hot' Law
Elizabeth Fisher
9. 'Streamlining' the SEA Process
William R Sheate
10. SEA and the Control of Government Environmental Policy
Eloise Scotford
Part III: SEA Beyond Town and Country Planning
11. SEA of Non-Town and Country Planning Plans or Programmes
Gregory Jones QC and David Graham
12. The Strategic Environmental Assessment and Water Framework Directives
William Howarth
13. Uncharted Waters: SEA in the UK Offshore Area
Richard Caddell
Part IV: The SEA Experience in Neighbouring Jurisdictions
14. Strategic Environmental Assessment in a Cold Climate: The Scottish Experience
Colin Reid and Denis Edwards
15. Any Seaport in a Storm: The Northern Ireland SEA Experience 3
William Orbinson QC
16. Strategic Environmental Assessment: The Irish Experience
Áine Ryall
17. Afterword: Aarhus and HS2
Richard Macrory and Gregory Jones QC
