Commentary on Sections Part 1 – Air quality Chapter 1 – National targets Section 8 – Maintaining air quality standards
41.Section 87(1) of the Environment Act 1995 (c. 25) (referred to as “the 1995 Act” in these Explanatory Notes) gives the Welsh Ministers a power to make regulations with respect to the assessment or management of the quality of air.
42.Section 8 of the Act requires this power to be exercised when the specified date for a target set under section 1 or 2 of this Act has been reached and the specified standard for the target has been achieved (whether by the specified date or by a later date).
43.Section 8(2) requires the Welsh Ministers, in these circumstances, to exercise their regulation-making power under section 87(1) of the 1995 Act to ensure that they are placed under a duty to maintain the standard that has been achieved and that they are required to report on compliance with that duty.
44.Under section 8(3), the Welsh Ministers can use their regulation-making powers under section 87(1) of the 1995 Act to lower the standard that must be maintained, or to revoke that standard. However, they can only do so if they are satisfied that one of the conditions in section 8(3)(a) or (b) is met.
45.Before making regulations under section 87(1) of the 1995 Act to lower the standard that must be maintained, or to revoke that standard, the Welsh Ministers must comply with the requirements in section 8(4)(a) to (d). These requirements are in addition to the consultation requirement under section 87(7B) of the 1995 Act.