Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989

7 Further enforcement provisions

(1) Subject to subsection (2) below, the provisions of sections 91 to 94 of the [1974 c. 40.] Control of Pollution Act 1974 (powers of entry, power to obtain information and duty not to disclose information) shall have effect as if the provisions of this Act were provisions of that Act and as if, in those sections, references to a relevant authority were references to a disposal authority.

(2) Nothing in section 94 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 (prohibition on disclosure of information) shall prohibit the disclosure of information in pursuance of such arrangements for the exchange of information between different disposal authorities or between disposal authorities and the Secretary of State or other local authorities as—

(a) are entered into for the purpose of facilitating the carrying out by disposal authorities of their functions by virtue of this Act or any regulations under this Act; and

(b) are approved by the Secretary of State;

and no person shall be liable to another in respect of any disclosure in pursuance of any such arrangements.

(3) A person shall be guilty of an offence under this subsection if he—

(a) fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with any requirement in pursuance of regulations under this Act to provide information to the Secretary of State or a disposal authority; or

(b) in complying with any such requirement, provides information which he knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly provides information which is false in a material particular;

and in paragraph (a) above the words “without reasonable excuse” shall be construed in their application to Scotland, as in their application to England and Wales, as making it a defence for a person against whom proceedings for the failure are brought to show that there was a reasonable excuse for the failure, rather than as requiring the person bringing the proceedings to show that there was no such excuse.

(4) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (3) above shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

(5) Where the commission by any person of an offence under this Act is due to the act or default of some other person, that other person shall also be guilty of the offence; and a person may be charged with and convicted of an offence by virtue of this subsection whether or not proceedings for the offence are taken against any other person.

(6) Where a body corporate is guilty of an offence under this Act (including where it is so guilty by virtue of subsection (5) above) in respect of any act or omission which is shown to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(7) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (6) above shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director of the body corporate.

(8) Section 97 of the [1974 c. 40.] Control of Pollution Act 1974 (default powers) shall apply in relation to any functions of a disposal authority in England and Wales by virtue of this Act or any regulations under this Act as it applies in relation to the functions of a relevant authority under that Act.