The Planning System and Flood Risk Management - Offaly County ...

(iii)Where a more detailed flood risk assessment is required, ensure thatthe flood risk assessment, including the use of the sequential approachand any Justification Tests, is applied in identifying any lands fordevelopment through the zoning process, when adopting draftdevelopment plans for public display, when deciding to modify draftdevelopment plans and in making development plans.4.11 The OPW is a statutory consultee for development plans and is the lead agencyfor implementing flood risk management policy in Ireland. As such, planningauthorities should have particular regard to observations made by the OPWon flood-related matters.Getting the draft plan right4.12 Taking account of the points raised above, planning authorities should makeadequate provision in their programming of work to support the necessaryscreening and flood risk assessment work in the early stages of preparingdraft development plans. The aim should be to ensure that the elected membershave the information with regard to flood risk assessment, the application ofthe sequential approach and, if necessary, the Justification Test in coming todecisions about the draft development plan and all subsequent stages. Moredetailed information about how to go about a screening exercise and what isinvolved in carrying out a flood risk assessment is contained in Appendix A.Flood risk assessment and SEA4.13 The SEA process addresses any effects from development plans on theenvironment and their amelioration, through all stages of the plan-makingprocess. Screening exercises to identify whether full flood risk assessment isrequired should ideally be carried out in a manner that is integrated with theSEA process rather than constituting another and separate process. Anysubsequent stages of flood risk assessment should also be carried out in away that is integrated with the SEA process. Within the process of preparingthe draft development plan, the draft SEA environmental report will considerthe environmental effects of the draft plan against environmental criteria forthe plan area, including mitigation measures and future monitoring of effects.4.14 As with SEA, it will be important to knit flood risk assessment into thedevelopment plan structure, and provide a coherent and transparent approachas to how it has been considered in making spatial planning decisions.4.15 A summary of the likely effects of the plan on the environment, includingflooding, will be addressed in the SEA process and summarised in theenvironmental report element of the overall development plan. The SEA ofthe plan should have regard to the SEA of the FRMP covering the area of theplan.29Planning Guidelines