Control of Pollution Act 1974

45 Early variation of conditions of discharges

(1) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (2) of section 60 of the [1961 c. 64.] Public Health Act 1961 (under which a water authority may not, except with the written consent of the owner and occupier of the relevant trade premises, give a direction under subsection (1) of that section varying the conditions of its consent to the discharge of trade effluent into a public sewer within two years from the date of the consent or of notice of a previous direction), a water authority may give such a direction within the period mentioned in the said subsection (2) without such written consent as aforesaid if the authority considers it necessary to do so in order to provide proper protection for persons likely to be affected by discharges which could lawfully be made apart from the direction.

(2) Where a water authority gives such a direction by virtue of the preceding subsection, the authority shall be liable to Day compensation to the owner and occupier of the trade premises to which the direction relates unless the authority is of opinion that the direction is required—

(a) in consequence of a change of circumstances (which may include a change in the information available as to the discharges to which the consent in question relates or as to the interaction of those discharges with other discharges or matter) which has occurred since the beginning of the period of two years in question and could not reasonably have been foreseen at the beginning of that period ; and

(b) otherwise than in consequence of consents for discharges given after the beginning of that period;

and where the authority is of such an opinion it shall be the duty of the authority to give to the owner and occupier of the said premises notice of its reasons for the opinion.

(3) Subsection (5) of section 38 of- this Act shall have effect as if the reference to that section included a reference to this section.

(4) A person to whom notice is given in pursuance of subsection (2) of this section may, in accordance with regulations, appeal to the Secretary of State against the notice on the ground that compensation should be paid in consequence of the direction to which the notice relates; and on any such appeal the Secretary of State may direct that that subsection shall have effect as if the authority had not been of the opinion to which the notice relates.

(5) This section does not apply to Scotland.