Petroleum and Submarine Pipe-lines Act 1975

28 Enforcement

(1) Any person who—

(a) contravenes any provision of section 20(1) of this Act; or

(b) contravenes any provision of a notice which, in pursuance of section 22 or 23 of this Act, was served on him in his capacity as the owner of the pipe-line or the proposed owner of the proposed pipe-line to which the notice relates in a case where no authorisation for the use of the pipe-line is required by section 20(1) of this Act; or

(c) makes a statement which he knows is false in a material particular, or recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material particular, for the purpose of inducing the Secretary of State—

(i) to issue any authorisation ; or

(ii) to agree in pursuance of section 24(1)(b) of this Act that an authorisation is to cease to be in force; or

(iii) to specify a period in pursuance of section 24(2)(W of this Act; or

(iv) not to serve a notice in pursuance of section 24(4) of this Act,

shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £400 or on conviction on indictment to a fine.

(2) If a person executes any works in contravention of section 20(1) of this Act the Secretary of State may at any time serve on him a notice requiring him to comply with one or both of the following requirements, namely—

(a) to remove such of the works as are specified in the notice as works to be removed ;

(b) to take, in respect of such of the works as are specified in the notice as works which the Secretary of State considers are unsafe, such steps as are specified in the notice as steps which the Secretary of State considers are needed in order to make the works safe.

(3) It shall be the duty of the recipient of a notice in pursuance of the preceding subsection to comply with the notice within the period specified in that behalf in the notice; and if he fails to perform that duty the Secretary of State may comply with the notice on his behalf and recover from him any expenses reasonably incurred in doing so.

(4) If a person executes any works in contravention of section 20(1) of this Act and the Secretary of State considers that it is urgently necessary to do such things in relation to the works as he could have required that person to do by a notice in pursuance of subsection (2) of this section, the Secretary of State may do those things and recover from that person any expenses reasonably incurred in doing so.

(5) The fact that any thing is done or omitted—

(a) by the recipient of a notice served in pursuance of subsection (2) of this section for the purpose of complying with the notice; or

(b) by the Secretary of State in pursuance of subsection (3) or (4) of this section,

shall not relieve him from liability for any damage which is attributable to the act or omission and for which he would have been liable had the act or omission not been authorised by this section; but the Secretary of State shall be entitled to recover from the person who executed the works in question the amount of any damages which, in consequence of the works, are paid by the Secretary of State by virtue of this subsection.