Control of Pollution Act 1974

11 Special provisions for land occupied by disposal authorities

(1) Nothing In subsection (1) of section 3 of this Act shall apply to—

(a) the deposit of controlled waste on land in the area of a disposal authority which is occupied by the authority ; or

(b) the use on land so occupied of any plant or equipment for the purpose of disposing of controlled waste or of dealing with controlled waste in a manner prescribed in pursuance of paragraph (b) of that subsection,

if the deposit is made or the plant or equipment is used by the authority or is made or used with the consent of the authority and in accordance with the conditions, if any, to which the consent is subject (other than a condition as to which it is provided by regulations that the condition shall be disregarded for the purposes of this subsection).

(2) If any land occupied by a disposal authority is used by the authority as a site on which to deposit or permit other persons to deposit controlled waste or on which to use or permit other persons to use any plant or equipment for the purpose aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the authority to ensure that the land is used in accordance with conditions which are—

(a) calculated to prevent its use from causing pollution of water, danger to public health and serious detriment to the amenities of the locality in which the land is situated; and

(b) specified in a resolution passed by the authority in accordance with the following provisions of this section.

(3) Where a disposal authority proposes that any land which the authority occupies or intends to occupy should be used by the authority as mentioned in the preceding subsection, it shall be the duty of the authority before it gives effect to the proposal—

(a) to prepare a statement of the conditions which the authority intends to specify in a resolution to be passed by the authority in pursuance of paragraph (e) of this subsection;

(b) to include in or, as the case may be, exclude from the statement any condition which by virtue of section 6(1) of this Act is required to be included in or excluded from a disposal licence ;

(c) to refer the proposal and the statement to each water authority and collection authority of which the area includes any of the land in question and to any other prescribed person;

(d) to consider any representations about the proposal and statement which, during the period of twenty-one days beginning with that on which the proposal and statement are received by a water authority or collection authority or during such longer period as the disposal authority and the other authority agree in writing, the disposal authority receives from the other authority (including in particular any representations about the conditions which the other authority considers should be included in any resolution passed in pursuance of the following paragraph);

(e) subject to subsection (5) of this section, to pass a resolution specifying the conditions in accordance with which the land in question is to be used by the disposal authority as mentioned in the preceding subsection.

(4) In the application of the preceding subsection to Scotland—

(a) for paragraphs (c) and (d) there shall be substituted the following paragraphs—

(c) to refer the proposal and the statement to the river purification authority whose area includes any of the land in question and, where the disposal authority is not also a district planning authority within the meaning of section 172 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, to the general planning authority within the meaning of that section whose area includes any of the land and to any other prescribed person;

(d) to consider any representations about the proposal and statement which, during the period of twenty-one days beginning with that on which the proposal and statement are received by the river purification authority or the general planning authority or during such longer period as the disposal authority and the other authority agree in writing, the disposal authority receives from that authority (including in particular any representations about the conditions which the river purification authority or the general planning authority considers should be included in any resolution passed in pursuance of the following paragraph);

(b) paragraphs (a) to (d), and in paragraph (e) the words " subject to subsection (5) of this section ", shall have effect only in a case where the proposal is made by a disposal authority other than an islands council.

(5) If a water authority or, in Scotland, a river purification authority to which a proposal is referred by a disposal authority in pursuance of paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of this section requests the disposal authority not to proceed with the proposal or disagrees with the disposal authority as to the conditions to be specified in a resolution in pursuance of paragraph (e) of that subsection, either of them may refer the matter to the Secretary of State and it shall be the duty of the disposal authority not to pass a resolution in pursuance of that paragraph except in accordance with his decision.

(6) A disposal authority by which a resolution has been passed in pursuance of paragraph (e) of subsection (3) of this section or this subsection—

(a) may vary or rescind the resolution by a subsequent resolution of the authority ; and

(b) shall so vary the resolution when it is necessary to do so in order to secure that the conditions specified in the resolution include or, as the case may be, exclude a condition which by virtue of section 6(1) of this Act is required to be included in or excluded from a disposal licence.

(7) Paragraphs (a) to (d) of subsection (3) and subsection (5) of this section shall with the necessary modifications apply to a proposal to pass a resolution in pursuance of paragraph (a) of the preceding subsection and to such a resolution as they apply to such a proposal as is mentioned in those provisions and to a resolution in pursuance of the said paragraph (e), except that—

(a) those provisions shall not apply to or to a proposal to pass a resolution which only rescinds a previous resolution ; and

(b) the disposal authority may postpone the reference in pursuance of the said subsection (3) so far as the authority considers that by reason of an emergency it is appropriate to do so ; and

(c) the disposal authority may disregard any other authority for the purposes of the preceding provisions of this subsection in relation to a resolution which, in the opinion of the disposal authority, will not affect the other authority.

(8) If while a resolution is in force in pursuance of the preceding provisions of this section it appears to the authority which passed the resolution—

(a) that the continuation of activities to which the resolution relates would cause pollution of water or danger to public health or would be so seriously detrimental to the amenities of the locality affected by the activities that the activities ought not to continue ; and

(b) that the pollution, danger or detriment cannot be avoided by modifying the conditions relating to the carrying on of the activities,

it shall be the duty of the authority to discontinue the activities and to rescind the resolution.

(9) If it appears to a water authority or, in Scotland, a river purification authority that activities to which a resolution in pursuance of this section relates are causing or likely to cause pollution to relevant waters (within the meaning of Part II of this Act) in the area of the authority the authority may, without prejudice to the provisions of the preceding subsection or the said Part II, request the Secretary of State to direct the disposal authority which passed the resolution to discontinue the activities; and it shall be the duty of a disposal authority to comply with a direction given to it in pursuance of this sub section.

(10) While a resolution passed by a disposal authority in pursuance of subsection (3) or (6) of this section is in force it shall be the duty of the authority to secure that particulars of the resolution are included in the register maintained by the authority in pursuance of section 6(4)(a) of this Act.

(11) References to land in this section include such water as is mentioned in section 4(4) of this Act.