Control of Pollution Act 1974

43 Control of discharges into sewers

(1) No discharge of trade effluent from any trade premises into a sewer of a water authority shall after the appointed day be authorised by virtue of—

(a) section 4 of the [1937 c. 40.] Public Health (Drainage of Trade Premises) Act 1937 (which relates to certain cases in which discharges were lawfully made before the passing of that Act or before the alteration of the relevant sewerage system); or

(b) any agreement which is mentioned in section 7(4) of that Act (under which any agreement with respect to any trade effluent which was duly made between a local authority and the owner or occupier of any trade premises before the commencement of that Act is not affected by that Act) and which does not contain express provision enabling the authority to terminate the agreement, so far as it relates to discharges of trade effluent into the sewer of the authority, whether or not there is a breach of the agreement by a person other than the authority ;

and accordingly subsections (1) to (3) of the said section 4 shall cease to have effect at the end of the appointed day.

(2) Where any discharges of trade effluent from any premises in the area of a water authority into a sewer were authorised by virtue of the said section 4 or such an agreement immediately before the date of the passing of this Act and the owner or occupier of the premises gives notice to the authority within the period of six months beginning with that date stating that such discharges from the premises were so authorised, consent shall be deemed to be duly given on the appointed day by the authority for such discharges from the premises into the sewer after that day as were authorised by virtue of the said section 4 or the agreement immediately before the date aforesaid and shall be deemed to be so given subject to the same conditions (if any) as to charges or otherwise as—

(a) in the case of discharges authorised by virtue of the said section 4, the conditions to which by virtue of an agreement (whether subsisting or not) or of a direction given in pursuance of section 55 or 57 of the [1961 c. 64.] Public Health Act 1961 (which relate to charges and to conditions dealing with other matters) the discharges were subject immediately before the appointed day ; and

(b) in the case of discharges authorised by an agreement mentioned in the said section 7(4), the conditions to which the discharges were subject immediately before the appointed day.

(3) The water authority whose consent for any discharge is deemed to be given by virtue of the preceding subsection may at any time after the appointed day, and shall if the authority is requested after the appointed day to do so by any person entitled to make a discharge in pursuance of the consent, by a notice served on the owner and any occupier of the premises in question cancel the deemed consent and, subject to the following subsection, give its actual consent for such discharges as were authorised by the deemed consent.

(4) An actual consent given in pursuance of the preceding subsection shall be so given either unconditionally or subject to any conditions which under section 2(3) of the said Act of 1937 (including section 59 of the said Act of 1961) may be attached to consents, any reference to a trade effluent notice in paragraphs (a) and (d) of the said section 2(3) being construed for the purposes of this subsection as a reference to the actual consent; and the notice signifying the actual consent shall indicate that a right of appeal is conferred by virtue of the following subsection in respect of the notice.

(5) A person on whom notice is served in pursuance of subsection (3) of this section may, in accordance with regulations, appeal to the Secretary of State against the notice; and on any such appeal the Secretary of State may give to the water authority in question such a direction as he thinks fit with respect to the notice and it shall be the duty of the authority to comply with the direction.

(6) Provision may be made by regulations with respect to consents and the conditions of consents for discharges of trade effluent into a sewer of a water authority through a drain or sewer provided after the appointed day by the authority in pursuance of section 42 of the [1936 c. 49.] Public Health Act 1936 (which enables a water authority to close certain drains and sewers if it provides alternative drains or sewers which are equally convenient).

(7) This section does not apply to Scotland.