Office of Public Sector Information
SCHEDULE 23 continued
(4) Before submitting a scheme under this section to the Secretary of State for his approval an authority shall, in such manner as it considers appropriate for bringing it to the attention of persons likely to be affected by it, publish a notice setting out its proposals and specifying the period within which representations with respect to the proposals may be made to the Secretary of State.
(5) Where any proposed scheme has been submitted to the Secretary of State for his approval, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of State, in determining whether or not to approve the scheme or to approve it subject to modifications—
(a) to consider any representations duly made to him; and
(b) to have regard to the matters specified in subsection (6) below.
(6) The matters mentioned in subsection (5)(b) above are—
(a) the desirability of ensuring that the amount recovered by the authority by way of charges fixed by or under schemes under this section does not exceed, taking one year with another, such amount as appears to the Secretary of State to be reasonably attributable to the expenses incurred by the authority in carrying out its functions under sections 34 to 38 and 49 of this Act and otherwise in relation to discharges into controlled waters; and
(b) the need to ensure that no undue preference is shown, and that there is no undue discrimination, in the fixing of charges by or under the scheme.
(7) A scheme under this section may—
(a) make provision with respect to the times and methods of payment of the charges which are required to be paid by virtue of the scheme;
(b) make different provision for different cases, including different provision in relation to different persons, circumstances or localities; and
(c) contain supplemental, consequential and transitional provision for the purposes of the scheme;
and such a scheme may revoke or amend a previous scheme under this section.
(8) It shall be the duty of a river purification authority to take such steps as it considers appropriate for bringing the provisions of any scheme under this section which is for the time being in force to the attention of persons likely to be affected by them.
(1) Directions of a general or specific character may be given to each river purification authority by the Secretary of State with respect to the carrying out of its functions and it shall be the duty of each river purification authority to comply with any such direction.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the power conferred by subsection (1) of this section, directions under that subsection may include such directions as the Secretary of State considers appropriate in order to enable Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom to give effect to—
(a) any Community obligations; or
(b) any international agreement to which the United Kingdom is for the time being a party.
(3) Any power of the Secretary of State otherwise than by virtue of this section to give direction to a river purification authority shall be without prejudice to the power conferred by this section.
(1) This part of this Act shall have effect with prescribed modifications in relation to discharges by an islands council in its area.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the power to make regulations conferred by the preceding subsection, any regulations made in pursuance of that subsection may provide for consents required by islands councils for the purposes of this Part of this Act as modified by virtue of that subsection to be or be deemed to be given by the Secretary of State.
(1) Except where the context otherwise requires, in this Part of this Act—
“agriculture” and “agricultural” have the same meanings as in the [1948 c. 45.] Agriculture (Scotland) Act 1948;
“coastal waters”, “controlled waters”, “ground waters”, “inland waters” and “relevant territorial waters” have the meanings given by section 30A(1) above;
“effluent” means any liquid, including particles of matter and other substances in suspension in the liquid;
“micro-organism” includes any microscopic biological entity which is capable of replication;
“sewage effluent” includes any effluent from the sewage disposal or sewerage works of a local authority within the meaning of the [1968 c. 47.] Sewerage (Scotland) Act 1968;
“substance” includes micro-organisms and any natural or artificial substance or other matter, whether it is in solid or liquid form or in the form of a gas or vapour;
“trade effluent” includes any effluent which is discharged from premises used for carrying on any trade or industry, other than surface water and domestic sewage;
“underground strata” means strata subjacent to the surface of any land;
“water authority” means an authority established in accordance with section 3 of the [1980 c. 45.] Water (Scotland) Act 1980;
“watercourse” includes all rivers, streams, ditches, drains, cuts, culverts, dykes, sluices, sewers, and passages through which water flows except mains and other pipes which belong to the water authority or are used by a water authority or any other person for the purposes only of providing a supply of water to any premises.
(2) In this Part of this Act—
(a) any reference to the waters of any loch or pond or of any river or watercourse includes a reference to the bottom, channel or bed of any loch, pond, river or, as the case may be, watercourse which is for the time being dry; and
(b) any reference to water contained in underground strata is a reference to water so contained otherwise than in a sewer, pipe, reservoir, tank or other underground works constructed in any such strata.
(3) For the purposes of the definition of “trade effluent” in subsection (1) above any premises (whether on land or not) wholly or mainly used (whether for profit or not) for agricultural purposes or for the purposes of fish farming or for scientific research or experiment shall be deemed to be (and in the case of fish farms, always to have been) premises used for carrying on a trade.
(4) For the purposes of this Part of this Act the area of a river purification authority shall include all controlled waters off the coast of the area which is the authority’s area apart from this subsection; and any question as to whether any place is included in the area of a river purification authority by virtue of this subsection shall be determined by the Secretary of State.
(5) For the purposes of this Part of this Act a notice imposing conditions with respect to discharges which was given by a river purification authority in pursuance of—
(a) section 28(4) of the Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) (Scotland) Act 1951; or
(b) section 1(5) of the Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) (Scotland) Act 1965,
shall be treated as having given the authority’s consent in pursuance of the Act in question for those discharges subject to those conditions.
(6) Section 30(5) of this Act shall have effect in relation to this Part of this Act as if for any reference to Part I of this Act there were substituted a reference to this Part of this Act.”
7 In subsection (1) of section 104 (orders and regulations), for the words “section 33(4), 44(5), 52, 53 or 109(2)” there shall be substituted the words “section 44(5) or 109(2)”.
8 After Schedule 1 there shall be inserted the following Schedule—
1 (1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2) below, the Secretary of State shall not make an order under section 31B of this Act by virtue of which any land is designated as a nitrate sensitive area, except with the consent of the Treasury and on an application which—
(a) has been made by a river purification authority in accordance with paragraph 2 below; and
(b) by virtue of sub-paragraph (2)(a) of that paragraph identifies the controlled waters with respect to which that land is so comprised by the order.
(2) This paragraph shall not apply to an order which reproduces or amends an existing order without adding any land appearing to the Secretary of State to constitute a significant area to the land already comprised in the areas for the time being designated as nitrate sensitive areas.
2 (1) A river purification authority shall not, for the purposes of paragraph 1 above, apply for the making of any order under section 31B of this Act, by which any land would be comprised in the areas for the time being designated as nitrate sensitive areas unless it appears to the authority—
(a) that pollution is or is likely to be caused by the entry of nitrate into controlled waters as a result of, or of anything done in connection with, the use of particular land for agricultural purposes; and
(b) that the provisions for the time being in force in relation to those waters and that land are not sufficient, in the opinion of the authority, for preventing or controlling such an entry of nitrate into those waters.
(2) An application under this paragraph shall identify—
(a) the controlled waters appearing to the authority to be the waters which the nitrate is entering or is likely to enter; and
(b) the land appearing to the authority to be the land the use of which for agricultural purposes, or the doing of anything in connection with whose use for agricultural purposes, is resulting or is likely to result in the entry of nitrate into those waters.
(3) An application under this paragraph shall be made by serving a notice containing the application on the Secretary of State.
3 (1) This paragraph applies where the Secretary of State proposes to make an order under section 31B of this Act which—
(a) makes or modifies any such provision as is authorised by subsection (3)(a) of that section; and
(b) in doing so, contains provision which is not of one of the following descriptions, that is to say—
(i) provision reproducing existing provisions without modification and in relation to substantially the same area; and
(ii) provision modifying any existing provisions so as to make them less onerous.
(2) The Secretary of State shall, before making any such order as is mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) above—
(a) publish a notice with respect to the proposed order at least once in each of two successive weeks, in one or more newspapers circulating in the locality in relation to which the proposed order will have effect;
(b) not later than the date on which that notice is first published, serve a copy of the notice on—
(i) the river purification authority;
(ii) every local authority whose area includes the whole or any part of that locality; and
(iii) in the case of an order containing any such provision as is authorised by section 31B(3)(b) of this Act, such owners and occupiers of agricultural land in that locality as appear to the Secretary of State to be likely to be affected by the obligations in respect of which payments are to made under that provision;
and
(c) publish a notice in the Edinburgh Gazette which—
(i) names every local authority on whom a notice is required to be served under this paragraph;
(ii) specifies a place where a copy of the proposed order and of any relevant map or plan may be inspected; and
(iii) gives the name of every newspaper in which the notice required by virtue of paragraph (a) above was published and the date of an issue containing the notice.
(3) The notice required by virtue of sub-paragraph (2)(a) above to be published with respect to any proposed order shall—
(a) state the general effect of the proposed order;
(b) specify a place where a copy of the proposed order and of any relevant map or plan may be inspected by any person free of charge at all reasonable times during the period of forty-two days beginning with the date of the first publication of the notice; and
(c) state that any person may, within that period, by notice to the Secretary of State object to the making of the order.
4 The Secretary of State shall, at the request of any person and on payment by that person of such charge (if any) as the Secretary of State may reasonably require, furnish that person with a copy of any proposed order of which notice has been published under paragraph 3 above.
5 (1) Where notices with respect to any proposed order have been published and served in accordance with paragraph 3 above and the period of forty-two days mentioned in sub-paragraph (3)(b) of that paragraph has expired, the Secretary of State may make the order either in the proposed terms or, subject to sub-paragraph (2) below (but without any further compliance with paragraph 3 above), in those terms as modified in such manner as he thinks fit, or may decide not to make any order.
(2) The Secretary of State shall not make such a modification of a proposed order of which notice has been so published and served as he considers is likely adversely to affect any persons unless he has given such notices as he considers appropriate for enabling those persons to object to the modification.
(3) Subject to sub-paragraph (2) above and to the service of notices of the proposed modification on such local authorities as appear to him to be likely to be interested in it, the modifications that may be made by the Secretary of State include any modification of the area designated by the proposed order as a nitrate sensitive area.
6 Without prejudice to section 96 of this Act, where notices with respect to any proposed order have been published and served in accordance with paragraph 3 above, the Secretary of State may, if he considers it appropriate to do so, hold a local inquiry before deciding whether or not to make the proposed order or to make it with modifications.
7 The consent of the Treasury shall be required for the making of any order under section 31B of this Act the making of which does not require the consent of the Treasury by virtue of paragraph 1 above but which contains any such provision as is authorised by subsection (3)(b) of that section.
8 In this Part, “local authority” means a regional, islands or district council.”
Water Act 1989