Control of Pollution Act 1974

40 Transitional provisions relating to consents

(1) Regulations may provide—

(a) for any consent for discharges which was given in pursuance of the. Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) Acts 1951 to 1961 or the Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) (Scotland) Acts 1951 and 1965 or section 72 of the [1963 c. 38.] Water Resources Act 1963 to have effect for any of the purposes of this Part of this Act as if given in pursuance of prescribed provisions of section 34 of this Act; and

(b) for any conditions to which such a consent was subject in pursuance of any of those enactments to have effect for any of those purposes as if attached to the consent in pursuance of prescribed provisions of this Part of this Act.

(2) Regulations may provide for the terms of a consent for an outlet which was given in pursuance of the [1951 c. 64.] Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) Act 1951 and for conditions to which such a consent was subject in pursuance of that Act or which were imposed with respect to the outlet in pursuance of section 7(4) of that Act—

(a) to have effect, with or without modifications, for any of the purposes of this Part of this Act as if the terms or conditions were conditions attached to a consent given in pursuance of section 34 of this Act for discharges from the outlet; or

(b) to be treated, with or without modifications, for any of those purposes in such other manner as may be prescribed.

In the application of this subsection to Scotland, for the references to the [1951 c. 66.] Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) Act 1951 and to section 7(4) of that Act there shall be substituted respectively references to the Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) (Scotland) Act 1951 and to section 28(4) of that Act.

(3) An application for such a consent as is mentioned in subsection (1) of this section which is pending immediately before the relevant day shall be treated on and after that day as an application for consent in pursuance of section 34 of this Act which was made on the day on which it was actually made.

(4) Where an application for consent in pursuance of section 34 of this Act in respect of any discharge is duly made to a water authority before the relevant day and the discharge in question is not such as is mentioned in section 32(3)(a) of this Act and is substantially a continuation of a previous discharge which during the year ending with the 30th April 1974 was lawfully made without such consent as is so mentioned (any reduction of the temperature, volume or rate of the discharge as compared with that of the previous discharge being disregarded), the authority shall be deemed to have given unconditionally the consent applied for—

(a) until the authority actually gives the consent unconditionally ; or

(b) if the authority decides to refuse consent or to give it subject to conditions, until the expiration of the period of three months beginning with the date when the authority serves on the applicant notice of the decision; or

(c) if during that period the applicant appeals to the Secretary of State against the decision in pursuance of the preceding section, until the determination of the appeal.

(5) Regulations may provide for any appeal which immediately before the relevant day is pending in pursuance of the the Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) Acts 1951 to 1961, the Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) (Scotland) Acts 1951 and 1965 or section 72(3) of the said Act of 1963 to be treated on and after that day as an appeal in pursuance of prescribed provisions of this Part of this Act.

(6) In this section " the relevant day " means the day when section 32(1) of this Act comes into force.