182A.—(1) F1028[Subject to subsection (1B) and section 182AA, where] a person (hereafter referred to in this section as the "undertaker") intends to carry out development comprising or for the purposes of electricity transmission, (hereafter referred to in this section and section 182B as "proposed development"), the undertaker shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, an application for approval of the development under section 182B and shall apply to the Board for such approval accordingly.

F1029[(1A) An undertaker shall not be eligible to apply for approval referred to in subsection (1) for development in a maritime site and no such approval shall be given to him or her, unless he or she—

(a) is the holder of a maritime area consent granted for the occupation of a maritime site for the purposes of the proposed development,

(b) is the owner of land F1030[in the maritime area] on which it is proposed to carry out the development concerned, or

(c) makes the application with the consent, or on behalf, of the owner of land F1030[in the maritime area] on which it is proposed to carry out the development concerned.]

F1030[(1B) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), the proposed development shall not include any development (which may be all or part of such proposed development and which is referred to in this subsection as the "development concerned") in the maritime area where a licence (referred to in this subsection as the "licence concerned") under section 3 of the Act of 1933 has been granted, on or before the commencement of section 246 of the Historic and Archaeological Heritage and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023, in respect of the development concerned.

(b) Where the proposed development required, as appropriate—

(i) an environmental impact assessment,

(ii) an appropriate assessment, or

(iii) both an environmental impact assessment and an appropriate assessment,

to be carried out, paragraph (a) shall not apply to the development concerned unless that assessment was, or those assessments were, as the case may be, carried out before the grant of the licence concerned.

(c) Where paragraph (a) applies to the development concerned, the provisions of section 3 of the Act of 1933 relevant to the licence concerned shall be deemed to apply to the carrying out of the proposed development.]

(2) In the case of development referred to in subsection (1) which belongs to a class of development identified for the purposes of section 176, the undertaker shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, an F1031[F1032[environmental impact assessment report or Natura impact statement or both that report and that statement], as the case may be,] in respect of the development.

(3) The proposed development shall not be carried out unless the Board has approved it with or without modifications.

(4) Before an undertaker makes an application under subsection (1) for approval, it shall—

(a) publish in one or more newspapers circulating in the area or areas in which it is proposed to carry out the development a notice indicating the nature and location of the proposed development and—

(i) stating that—

(I) it proposes to seek the approval of the Board for the proposed development,

(II) in the case of an application referred to in subsection (1)(a), an F1031[F1033[environmental impact assessment report or Natura impact statement or both that report and that statement], as the case may be,] has been prepared in respect of the proposed development, and

(III) where relevant, the proposed development is likely to have significant effects on the environment of a Member State of the European Communities or other party to the Transboundary Convention,

(ii) specifying the times and places at which, and the period (not being less than 6 weeks) during which, a copy of the application and any F1031[F1034[environmental impact assessment report or Natura impact statement or both that report and that statement], as the case may be,] may be inspected free of charge or purchased on payment of a specified fee (which fee shall not exceed the reasonable cost of making such copy),

(iii) inviting the making, during such period, of submissions and observations to the Board relating to—

(I) the implications of the proposed development for proper planning and sustainable development in the area or areas concerned, and

(II) the likely F1031[effects on the environment or adverse effects on the integrity of a European site, as the case may be,] of the proposed development,

if carried out, and

(iv) specifying the types of decision the Board may make, under section 182B, in relation to the application,

F1035[(v) stating that a person may question the validity of a decision of the Board by way of an application for judicial review, under Order 84 of the Rules of the Superior Courts (S.I. No. 15 of 1986) and

(vi) stating where practical information on the review mechanism can be found.]

F1036[(aa) comply with section 172B,]

(b) send a copy of the application and any F1031[F1037[environmental impact assessment report or Natura impact statement or both that report and that statement], as the case may be,] to the local authority or each local authority in whose functional area the proposed development would be situate and to the prescribed authorities together with a notice stating that submissions or observations may, during the period referred to in paragraph (a)(ii), be made in writing to the Board in relation to—

(i) the implications of the proposed development for proper planning and sustainable development in the area or areas concerned, and

(ii) the likely F1031[effects on the environment or adverse effects on the integrity of a European site, as the case may be,] of the proposed development,

if carried out, and

(c) where the proposed development is likely to have significant effects on the environment of a Member State of the European Communities or a state which is a party to the Transboundary Convention, send a prescribed number of copies of the application and the F1038[environmental impact assessment report] to the prescribed authority of the relevant state or states together with a notice stating that submissions or observations may, during the period referred to in paragraph (a)(ii), be made in writing to the Board.

(5) The Board may—

(a) if it considers it necessary to do so, require an undertaker that has applied for approval for a proposed development to furnish to the Board such further information in relation to—

(i) the F1031[effects on the environment or adverse effects on the integrity of a European site, as the case may be,] of the proposed development, or

(ii) the consequences for proper planning and sustainable development in the area or areas in which it is proposed to situate the said development of such development,

as the Board may specify, or

(b) if it is provisionally of the view that it would be appropriate to approve the proposed development were certain alterations (specified in the notification referred to in this paragraph) to be made to the terms of it, notify the statutory undertaker that it is of that view and invite the undertaker to make to the terms of the proposed development alterations specified in the notification and, if the undertaker makes those alterations, to furnish to it such information (if any) as it may specify in relation to the development, in the terms as so altered, or, where necessary, a F1031[F1039[revised environmental impact assessment report or revised Natura impact statement or both that report and that statement], as the case may be,] in respect of it.

(6) If an undertaker makes the alterations to the terms of the proposed development specified in a notification given to it under subsection (5), the terms of the development as so altered shall be deemed to be the proposed development for the purposes of this section and section 182B.

(7) The Board shall—

(a) where it considers that any further information received pursuant to a requirement made under subsection (5)(a) contains significant additional data relating to—

(i) the likely F1031[effects on the environment or adverse effects on the integrity of a European site, as the case may be,] of the proposed development, and

(ii) the likely consequences for proper planning and sustainable development in the area or areas in which it is proposed to situate the said development of such development,

or

(b) where the undertaker has made the alterations to the terms of the proposed development specified in a notification given to it under subsection (5)(b),

require the undertaker to do the things referred to in subsection (8).

(8) The things which an undertaker shall be required to do as aforesaid are—

(a) to publish in one or more newspapers circulating in the area or areas in which the proposed development would be situate a notice stating that, as appropriate—

(i) further information in relation to the proposed development has been furnished to the Board, or

(ii) the undertaker has, pursuant to an invitation of the Board, made alterations to the terms of the proposed development (and the nature of those alterations shall be indicated) and, if it be the case, that information in relation to the terms of the development as so altered or a F1031[F1040[revised environmental impact assessment report or revised Natura impact statement or both that report and that statement], as the case may be,] in respect of the development has been furnished to the Board,

indicating the times at which, the period F1041[(which shall not be less than 3 weeks in a case other than a case relating to a revised environmental impact assessment report)] during which and the place, or places, where a copy of the information or the F1031[F1042[information or the revised environmental impact assessment report or revised Natura impact statement or both that report and that statement], as the case may be,] referred to in subparagraph (i) or (ii) may be inspected free of charge or purchased on payment of a specified fee (which fee shall not exceed the reasonable cost of making such copy) and that submissions or observations in relation to that F1043[information, report or statement] may be made to the Board before the expiration of the indicated period, and

(b) to send to each prescribed authority to which a notice was given pursuant to subsection (4)(b) or (c)—

(i) a notice of the furnishing to the Board of, as appropriate, the further information referred to in paragraph (a)(i) or the F1044[information, report or statement] referred to in paragraph (a)(ii), and

(ii) a copy of that further information, F1045[information, report or statement],

and to indicate to the authority that submissions or observations F1046[in relation to that further information, information, report or statement] may be made to the Board before the expiration of a period F1047[(which shall not be less than 3 weeks in a case other than a case relating to a revised environmental impact assessment report)] beginning on the day on which the notice is sent to the prescribed authority by the undertaker.

F1048[(8A) The period provided for in subsection (8)(a) or (b) shall, in a case relating to an environmental impact assessment report, not be less than—

(a) 30 days where the report has been furnished to the Board, and

(b) 3 weeks where the report has not been furnished to the Board.]

(9) In this section "transmission", in relation to electricity, shall be construed in accordance with section 2(1) of the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 but, for the purposes of this section, the foregoing expression, in relation to electricity, shall also be construed as meaning the transport of electricity by means of—

(a) a high voltage line where the voltage would be 110 kilovolts or more, or

(b) an interconnector, whether ownership of the interconnector will be vested in the undertaker or not.]