(1)The Minister may, at any time, if he considers it necessary so to do in the interests of safety, by notice served on a gas authority impose conditions concerning the manner in which the gas authority develop or operate an underground gas storage; and the Minister may in particular impose—
(a)conditions as to the maximum pressures at which gas may be injected into the underground gas storage,
(b)conditions as to the maximum rates at which gas may be injected into, or withdrawn from the underground gas storage,
(c)conditions as to the provision of boreholes to be used for making observations and measurements,
(d)conditions as to the removal in whole or in part of any ingredient or substance from, or the addition of any ingredient or substance to, gas before it is injected into the underground gas storage,
(e)conditions for securing that operations in connection with the storage of the gas are conducted so as to prevent the leakage of gas,
(f)conditions for securing an efficient system for the testing of water supplies in and adjacent to the storage area and the protective area.
(2)The Minister may at any time, if he considers it necessary so to do in the interests of safety, by notice served on a gas authority require the gas authority to do all or any of the following things, that is,—
(a)to cease injecting gas into an underground gas storage, and
(b)to reduce the quantity of gas in the storage to such quantity as he may specify, and
(c)to take such other measures as respects the storage or any activity or matter connected therewith as appear to the Minister to be expedient in the interests of safety,
and the Minister may include in the requirements terms making the duration of the requirements indefinite or for a definite period variable by a further notice under this subsection.
(3)Any notice under this section shall take effect as from such date as the Minister may specify in the notice, and may at any time be varied or revoked by a subsequent notice under this section.
(4)The gas authority on whom a notice is served under this section may at any time make representations to the Minister as to the date on which the notice is to take effect, or representations as to the variation or revocation of the notice; and the Minister shall take any such representations into account in deciding whether to exercise his powers of variation or revocation under this section.
(5)If a gas authority fail to comply with a condition or requirement imposed in a notice under this section, the gas authority shall be guilty of an offence under this Part of this Act and shall be liable—
(a)on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, and
(b)on conviction on indictment to a fine of any amount.
(6)In this section references to action necessary in the interests of safety include references to action necessary to protect water resources.