Office of Public Sector Information
SCHEDULE 22 continued
45 (1) Section 1 of the [1990 c. 43.] Environmental Protection Act 1990 (interpretation of Part I) shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of this paragraph.
(2) In subsection (7) (definition of “enforcing authority” in relation to England and Wales), for the words “the chief inspector or the local authority by whom” there shall be substituted the words “the Environment Agency or the local authority by which”.
(3) For subsection (8) (definition of “enforcing authority” in relation to Scotland) there shall be substituted—
“(8) In relation to Scotland, references to the “enforcing authority” and a “local enforcing authority” are references to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (in this Part referred to as “SEPA”).”
(4) After subsection (13) there shall be added—
“(14) In this Part “the appropriate Agency” means—
(a) in relation to England and Wales, the Environment Agency; and
(b) in relation to Scotland, SEPA.”
46 (1) Section 4 of that Act (determination of authority by whom functions are exercisable) shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of this paragraph.
(2) In subsection (2) (functions of the chief inspector etc in relation to prescribed processes designated for central control) for the words “the chief inspector appointed for England and Wales by the Secretary of State under section 16 below and, in relation to Scotland, of the chief inspector so appointed for Scotland or of the river purification authority, as determined under regulations made under section 5(1) below” there shall be substituted the words “the appropriate Agency”.
(3) In subsection (3) (discharge of functions designated for local control) for paragraphs (a) and (b) there shall be substituted—
“(a) in the case of a prescribed process carried on (or to be carried on) by means of a mobile plant, where the person carrying on the process has his principal place of business—
(i) in England and Wales, the local authority in whose area that place of business is;
(ii) in Scotland, SEPA;
(b) in any other cases, where the prescribed processes are (or are to be) carried on—
(i) in England and Wales, the local authority in whose area they are (or are to be) carried on;
(ii) in Scotland, SEPA;”.
(4) In subsection (4) (directions transferring functions to the chief inspector) for the words “the chief inspector” there shall be substituted the words “the Environment Agency”.
(5) After that subsection there shall be inserted—
“(4A) In England and Wales, a local authority, in exercising the functions conferred or imposed on it under this Part by virtue of subsection (3) above, shall have regard to the strategy for the time being published pursuant to section 80 of the Environment Act 1995.”
(6) In subsection (5) (effect of such a transfer)—
(a) for the words “the chief inspector” there shall be substituted the words “the Environment Agency”; and
(b) for the word “him” there shall be substituted the words “that Agency”.
(7) In subsection (8) (giving or withdrawal of directions)—
(a) for the words “the chief inspector” in each place where they occur there shall be substituted the words “the Environment Agency”; and
(b) the words “or, as the case may be, in the Edinburgh Gazette”, in each place where they occur, shall be omitted.
(8) After subsection (8) there shall be inserted—
“(8A) The requirements of sub-paragraph (ii) of paragraph (a) or, as the case may be, of paragraph (b) of subsection (8) above shall not apply in any case where, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, the publication of notice in accordance with that sub-paragraph would be contrary to the interests of national security.
(8B) Subsections (4) to (8A) above shall not apply to Scotland.”
(9) For subsection (9) (which, among other things, imposed a duty on the chief inspector etc to follow developments in technology etc and which is partly superseded by this Act) there shall be substituted—
“(9) It shall be the duty of local authorities to follow such developments in technology and techniques for preventing or reducing pollution of the environment due to releases of substances from prescribed processes as concern releases into the air of substances from prescribed processes designated for local control.”
(10) In subsection (10) (duty of chief inspector etc to give effect to directions) for the words “the chief inspector, river purification authorities” there shall be substituted the words “the Environment Agency, SEPA”.
(11) In subsection (11) (meaning of “local authority”)—
(a) at the beginning of paragraph (b) there shall be inserted the words “in England and Wales,” and
(b) paragraph (c) and the word “and” immediately preceding it shall cease to have effect.
47 Section 5 of that Act (further provision for Scotland as to discharge and scope of functions) shall cease to have effect.
48 In section 6 of that Act, in subsection (2) (fee payable on application for authorisation) after the words “shall be accompanied by” there shall be inserted—
“(a) in a case where, by virtue of section 41 of the Environment Act 1995, a charge prescribed by a charging scheme under that section is required to be paid to the appropriate Agency in respect of the application, the charge so prescribed; or
(b) in any other case,”.
49 (1) In section 7 of that Act (conditions of authorisations) in subsection (9) the words from “and, in relation to Scotland,” to the end of the subsection shall be omitted.
(2) At the end of subsection (12) of that section (definition of “relevant enactments” for the purposes of subsection (2)) there shall be added “; and
(g) section 87 of the Environment Act 1995.”.
50 (1) Section 8 of that Act (fees and charges for authorisations) shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of this paragraph.
(2) In subsection (1) (payments to be charged by, or paid to, the enforcing authority in accordance with schemes), for the words “enforcing authority” there shall be substituted the words “local enforcing authority”.
(3) Subsection (4) (separate schemes for different descriptions of enforcing authority) shall cease to have effect.
(4) In subsection (7) (meaning of “relevant expenditure attributable to authorisations”)—
(a) for the words “enforcing authorities” there shall be substituted the words “local enforcing authorities”; and
(b) the words from “together with the expenditure incurred by the National Rivers Authority” onwards shall be omitted.
(5) In subsection (8) (power to revoke authorisation for non-payment of charge), for the words “enforcing authority” there shall be substituted the words “local enforcing authority”.
(6) Subsection (9) (payments by the Secretary of State to the National Rivers Authority) shall cease to have effect.
(7) For subsections (10) and (11) (special provision as respects Scotland) there shall be substituted—
“(10) The foregoing provisions of this section shall not apply to Scotland.”
51 (1) Section 10 of that Act (variation of authorisations by enforcing authority) shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of this paragraph.
(2) In subsection (3) (which provides for the variation specified in a variation notice to take effect on the date so specified unless the notice is withdrawn) after the words “unless the notice is withdrawn” there shall be inserted the words “or is varied under subsection (3A) below”.
(3) After that subsection there shall be inserted—
“(3A) An enforcing authority which has served a variation notice may vary that notice by serving on the holder of the authorisation in question a further notice—
(a) specifying the variations which the enforcing authority has decided to make to the variation notice; and
(b) specifying the date or dates on which the variations specified in the variation notice, as varied by the further notice, are to take effect;
and any reference in this Part to a variation notice, or to a variation notice served under subsection (2) above, includes a reference to such a notice as varied by a further notice served under this subsection.”
(4) In subsection (4) of that section, for paragraph (b) (requirement to pay the fee prescribed under section 8 of that Act) there shall be substituted—
“(b) require the holder to pay, within such period as may be specified in the notice,—
(i) in a case where the enforcing authority is the Environment Agency or SEPA, the charge (if any) prescribed for the purpose by a charging scheme under section 41 of the Environment Act 1995; or
(ii) in any other case, the fee (if any) prescribed by a scheme under section 8 above.”
(5) In subsection (8) of that section, in the definition of “vary”, after the word ““vary”” there shall be inserted “(a)” and after the words “any of them;” there shall be added the words “and
(b) in relation to a variation notice, means adding to, or varying or rescinding the notice or any of its contents;”.
52 In section 11 of that Act (application by holders of authorisations for variation of conditions etc) for subsection (9) (fees) there shall be substituted—
“(9) Any application to the enforcing authority under this section shall be accompanied—
(a) in a case where the enforcing authority is the Environment Agency or SEPA, by the charge (if any) prescribed for the purpose by a charging scheme under section 41 of the Environment Act 1995; or
(b) in any other case, by the fee (if any) prescribed by a scheme under section 8 above.”
53 At the end of section 13 of that Act (enforcement notices) there shall be added—
“(4) The enforcing authority may, as respects any enforcement notice it has issued to any person, by notice in writing served on that person, withdraw the notice.”
54 (1) Section 15 of that Act (appeals against certain authorisations and notices) shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of this paragraph.
(2) In subsection (2) (appeals against variation notices, enforcement notices or prohibition notices to the Secretary of State) after the words “to the Secretary of State” there shall be added the words “(except where the notice implements a direction of his).”
(3) For subsection (3) (reference of matters involved in appeals under that section to, and determination of such appeals by, persons appointed by the Secretary of State) there shall be substituted—
“(3) This section is subject to section 114 of the Environment Act 1995 (delegation or reference of appeals etc).”
(4) For subsection (5) (hearings) there shall be substituted—
“(5) Before determining an appeal under this section, the Secretary of State may, if he thinks fit—
(a) cause the appeal to take or continue in the form of a hearing (which may, if the person hearing the appeal so decides, be held, or held to any extent, in private); or
(b) cause a local inquiry to be held;
and the Secretary of State shall act as mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) above if a request is made by either party to the appeal to be heard with respect to the appeal.”
(5) In subsection (10) (regulations about appeals) after paragraph (b) there shall be added— “and any such regulations may make different provision for different cases or different circumstances.”
55 Sections 16 to 18 of that Act (appointment of inspectors, powers of inspectors and others and power to deal with cause of imminent danger of serious harm) shall cease to have effect.
56 In section 19 of that Act (obtaining of information from persons and authorities) in subsection (2) (power of specified authorities by notice in writing to require provision of information)—
(a) for paragraphs (c) and (d) (the chief inspector and river purification authorities) there shall be substituted—
“(c) the Environment Agency, and
(d) SEPA,”; and
(b) after the words “service of the notice” there shall be inserted the words “, or at such time,”.
57 (1) Section 20 of that Act (public registers of information) shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of this paragraph.
(2) In subsection (2) (local registers also to contain prescribed particulars of relevance to the area which are contained in central registers) after the word “authority”, where it first occurs, there shall be inserted the words “in England and Wales” and for the words “the chief inspector or river purification authority”, in each place where they occur, there shall be substituted the words “the Environment Agency”.
(3) Subsection (3) (registers in Scotland) shall cease to have effect.
(4) In subsection (4) (port health authorities) after the word “authority” where it first occurs there shall be inserted the words “in England and Wales” and for the words “the chief inspector” there shall be substituted the words “the Environment Agency”.
(5) In subsection (7) (registers to be available for inspection by, and facilities for obtaining copies of entries to be afforded to, the public) after paragraph (b) there shall be added the words— “and, for the purposes of this subsection, places may be prescribed by the Secretary of State at which any such registers or facilities as are mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) above are to be available or afforded to the public in pursuance of the paragraph in question.”
(6) Subsection (9) (duty to furnish the National Rivers Authority with information for purposes of its register) shall cease to have effect.
58 (1) Section 22 of that Act (exclusion from registers of certain confidential information) shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of this paragraph.
(2) In subsection (5) (information not to be entered on the register until expiration of certain time limits)—
(a) in paragraph (a), for the words “on the register” there shall be substituted the words “in the register”; and
(b) in the words following paragraph (b), for the words from “on the register” onwards there shall be substituted the words “in the register until the end of the period of seven days following the day on which the appeal is finally determined or withdrawn”.
(3) For subsection (6) (which applies subsections (3), (5) and (10) of section 15 in relation to appeals to the Secretary of State against decisions that information is not commercially confidential) there shall be substituted—
“(6) Subsections (5) and (10) of section 15 above shall apply in relation to an appeal under subsection (5) above as they apply in relation to an appeal under that section, but—
(a) subsection (5) of that section shall have effect for the purposes of this subsection with the substitution for the words from “(which may” onwards of the words “(which must be held in private)”; and
(b) subsection (5) above is subject to section 114 of the Environment Act 1995 (delegation or reference of appeals etc).”
59 (1) Section 23 of that Act (offences) shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of this paragraph.
(2) In subsection (1) (offences) paragraphs (d) to (f) and (k) shall cease to have effect.
(3) In subsection (2)(a) (which provides for a fine not exceeding £20,000 on summary conviction of any offence under section 23(1)(a), (c) or (l)) after the words “£20,000” there shall be inserted the words “or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or to both”.
(4) Subsection (4) (punishment for offences under paragraph (d), (e), (f) or (k) of subsection (1)) shall cease to have effect.
(5) Subsection (5) (right of inspector to prosecute before a magistrates' court if authorised to do so by the Secretary of State) shall cease to have effect.
60 (1) In section 27 of that Act (power of chief inspector etc to remedy harm) in subsection (1), for the words “the chief inspector or, in Scotland, a river purification authority” there shall be substituted the words “the appropriate Agency”.
(2) In subsection (2) of that section (powers not to be exercised without the Secretary of State’s written approval) for the words from “The chief inspector” to “their” there shall be substituted the words “The Environment Agency or SEPA, as the case may be, shall not exercise its”.
61 (1) In section 28 of that Act, in subsection (1) (which includes provision that the enforcing authority shall notify the waste regulation authority if a process involves final disposal of controlled waste by deposit in or on land) the words from “but the enforcing authority shall notify” onwards shall cease to have effect.
(2) Subsections (3) and (4) of that section (which involve liaison between the enforcing authority and the National Rivers Authority) shall cease to have effect.
62 (1) Section 30 of that Act (authorities for purposes of Part II) shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of this paragraph.
(2) For subsection (1) (waste regulation authorities) there shall be substituted—
“(1) Any reference in this Part to a waste regulation authority—
(a) in relation to England and Wales, is a reference to the Environment Agency; and
(b) in relation to Scotland, is a reference to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency;
and any reference in this Part to the area of a waste regulation authority shall accordingly be taken as a reference to the area over which the Environment Agency or the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, as the case may be, exercises its functions or, in the case of any particular function, the function in question.”
(3) In subsection (4) of that section (construction of references to authorities constituted as particular descriptions of authority and provision for the section to be subject to orders under section 10 of the [1985 c. 51.] Local Government Act 1985 establishing authorities for certain purposes)—
(a) the words “or regulation”, and
(b) the words from “establishing authorities” onwards,
shall cease to have effect.
(4) Subsections (6) (definition of “river purification authority”), (7) and (8) (which relate to authorities which are both waste disposal and waste regulation authorities) shall cease to have effect.
63 Section 31 of that Act (power to create regional authorities for purposes of waste regulation) shall cease to have effect.
64 In section 33 of that Act (prohibition on unauthorised or harmful deposit, treatment or disposal etc of waste) in subsection (7) (defences) for paragraph (c) there shall be substituted—
“(c) that the acts alleged to constitute the contravention were done in an emergency in order to avoid danger to human health in a case where—
(i) he took all such steps as were reasonably practicable in the circumstances for minimising pollution of the environment and harm to human health; and
(ii) particulars of the acts were furnished to the waste regulation authority as soon as reasonably practicable after they were done.”
65 In section 34 of that Act (duty of care etc as respects waste), after subsection (3) (which specifies the persons who are authorised persons for the purposes of subsection (1)(c)) there shall be inserted—
“(3A) The Secretary of State may by regulations amend subsection (3) above so as to add, whether generally or in such circumstances as may be prescribed in the regulations, any person specified in the regulations, or any description of person so specified, to the persons who are authorised persons for the purposes of subsection (1)(c) above.”
66 (1) Section 35 of that Act (waste management licences: general) shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of this paragraph.
(2) After subsection (7) there shall be inserted—
“(7A) In any case where—
(a) an entry is required under this section to be made in any record as to the observance of any condition of a licence, and
(b) the entry has not been made,
that fact shall be admissible as evidence that that condition has not been observed.
(7B) Any person who—
(a) intentionally makes a false entry in any record required to be kept under any condition of a licence, or
(b) with intent to deceive, forges or uses a licence or makes or has in his possession a document so closely resembling a licence as to be likely to deceive,
shall be guilty of an offence.
(7C) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (7B) above shall be liable—
(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both.”
67 After section 35 of that Act there shall be inserted—
(1) This section applies in any case where—
(a) the holder of a licence is required—
(i) by the conditions of the licence; or
(ii) by a requirement imposed under section 38(9) below,
to carry out any works or do any other thing which he is not entitled to carry out or do;
(b) a person whose consent would be required has, pursuant to the requirements of section 35(4) above or 38(9A) below, granted, or joined in granting, to the holder of the licence any rights in relation to any land; and
(c) those rights, or those rights together with other rights, are such as will enable the holder of the licence to comply with any requirements imposed on him by the licence or, as the case may be, under section 38(9) below.
(2) In a case where this section applies, any person who has granted, or joined in granting, the rights in question shall be entitled to be paid compensation under this section by the holder of the licence.
(3) The Secretary of State shall by regulations provide for the descriptions of loss and damage for which compensation is payable under this section.
(4) The Secretary of State may by regulations—
(a) provide for the basis on which any amount to be paid by way of compensation under this section is to be assessed;
(b) without prejudice to the generality of subsection (3) and paragraph (a) above, provide for compensation under this section to be payable in respect of—
(i) any effect of any rights being granted, or
(ii) any consequence of the exercise of any rights which have been granted;
(c) provide for the times at which any entitlement to compensation under this section is to arise or at which any such compensation is to become payable;
(d) provide for the persons or bodies by whom, and the manner in which, any dispute—
(i) as to whether any, and (if so) how much and when, compensation under this section is payable; or
(ii) as to the person to or by whom it shall be paid,
is to be determined;
(e) provide for when or how applications may be made for compensation under this section;
(f) without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (d) above, provide for when or how applications may be made for the determination of any such disputes as are mentioned in that paragraph;
(g) without prejudice to the generality of paragraphs (e) and (f) above, prescribe the form in which any such applications as are mentioned in those paragraphs are to be made;
(h) make provision similar to any provision made by paragraph 8 of Schedule 19 to the [1991 c. 28.] Water Resources Act 1991;
(j) make different provision for different cases, including different provision in relation to different persons or circumstances;
(k) include such incidental, supplemental, consequential or transitional provision as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.”.
68 (1) Section 36 of that Act (grant of licences) shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of this paragraph.
(2) In subsection (1) (making of applications) for the words following paragraph (b) there shall be substituted— “and shall be made on a form provided for the purpose by the waste regulation authority and accompanied by such information as that authority reasonably requires and the charge prescribed for the purpose by a charging scheme under section 41 of the Environment Act 1995.
(1A) Where an applicant for a licence fails to provide the waste regulation authority with any information required under subsection (1) above, the authority may refuse to proceed with the application, or refuse to proceed with it until the information is provided.”
(3) In subsection (4) (reference of proposals to, and consideration of representations made by, other bodies)—
(a) in paragraph (a), for the words “the National Rivers Authority” there shall be substituted the words “the appropriate planning authority”, and
(b) in paragraph (b), for the word “Authority” there shall be substituted the word “authority”.
(4) Subsections (5) (reference by National Rivers Authority to the Secretary of State) and (6) (which makes provision for Scotland in place of subsection (4)) shall cease to have effect.
(5) After subsection (9) (application deemed to be rejected if not granted or refused within four months from being received) there shall be inserted—
“(9A) Subsection (9) above—
(a) shall not have effect in any case where, by virtue of subsection (1A) above, the waste regulation authority refuses to proceed with the application in question, and
(b) shall have effect in any case where, by virtue of subsection (1A) above, the waste regulation authority refuses to proceed with it until the required information is provided, with the substitution for the period of four months there mentioned of the period of four months beginning with the date on which the authority received the information.”
(6) For subsection (10) (period of 21 days allowed for bodies to make representations) there shall be substituted—
“(10) The period allowed to the appropriate planning authority, the Health and Safety Executive or the appropriate nature conservancy body for the making of representations under subsection (4) or (7) above about a proposal is the period of twenty-eight days beginning with the day on which the proposal is received by the waste regulation authority or such longer period as the waste regulation authority, the appropriate planning authority, the Executive or the body, as the case may be, agree in writing.
(11) In this section—
“the appropriate planning authority” means—
where the relevant land is situated in the area of a London borough council, that London borough council;
where the relevant land is situated in the City of London, the Common Council of the City of London;
where the relevant land is situated in a non-metropolitan county in England, the council of that county;
where the relevant land is situated in a National Park or the Broads, the National Park authority for that National Park or, as the case may be, the Broads Authority;
where the relevant land is situated elsewhere in England or Wales, the council of the district or, in Wales, the county or county borough, in which the land is situated;
where the relevant land is situated in Scotland, the council constituted under section 2 of the [1994 c. 39.] Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 for the area in which the land is situated;
“the Broads” has the same meaning as in the [1988 c. 4.] Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act 1988;
“National Park authority”, subject to subsection (12) below, means a National Park authority established under section 63 of the Environment Act 1995 which has become the local planning authority for the National Park in question;
“the relevant land” means—
in relation to a site licence, the land to which the licence relates; and
in relation to a mobile plant licence, the principal place of business of the operator of the plant to which the licence relates.
(12) As respects any period before a National Park authority established under section 63 of the Environment Act 1995 in relation to a National Park becomes the local planning authority for that National Park, any reference in this section to a National Park authority shall be taken as a reference to the National Park Committee or joint or special planning board for that National Park.
(13) The Secretary of State may by regulations amend the definition of “appropriate planning authority” in subsection (11) above.
(14) This section shall have effect subject to section 36A below.”
69 After section 36 of that Act there shall be inserted—
(1) This section applies where an application for a licence has been duly made to a waste regulation authority, and the authority proposes to issue a licence subject (by virtue of section 35(4) above) to any condition which might require the holder of the licence to—
(a) carry out any works, or
(b) do any other thing,
which he might not be entitled to carry out or do.
Environment Act 1995