Water Industry Act 1991

References and reviews relating to special category effluent

132 Powers and procedure on references and reviews

(1) This section applies to—

(a) any reference to the Secretary of State under section 120, 123 or 130 above; and

(b) any review by the Secretary of State under section 127 or 131 above.

(2) On a reference or review to which this section applies, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of State, before determining the questions which are the subject-matter of the reference or review—

(a) to give an opportunity of making representations or objections to the Secretary of State—

(i) to the sewerage undertaker in question; and

(ii) to the following person, that is to say, the owner or the occupier of the trade premises in question, according to whether it is the owner or the occupier of those premises who is proposing to be, or is, the person making the discharges or, as the case may be, a party to the agreement;

and

(b) to consider any representations or objections which are duly made to him with respect to those questions by a person to whom he is required to give such an opportunity and which are not withdrawn.

(3) On determining any question on a reference or review to which this section applies, the Secretary of State shall serve notice on the sewerage undertaker in question and on the person specified in subsection (2)(a)(ii) above.

(4) A notice under this section shall state, according to what has been determined–

(a) that the discharges or operations to which, or to the proposals for which, the reference or review relates, or such of them as are specified in the notice, are to be prohibited; or

(b) that those discharges or operations, or such of them as are so specified, are to be prohibited except in so far as they are made or carried out in accordance with conditions which consist in or include conditions so specified; or

(c) that the Secretary of State has no objection to those discharges or operations and does not intend to impose any requirements as to the conditions on which they are made or carried out.

(5) Without prejudice to section 133 below, a notice under this section, in addition to containing such provision as is specified in sub-paragraph (4) above, may do one or both of the following, that is to say—

(a) vary or revoke the provisions of a previous notice with respect to the discharges or operations in question; and

(b) for the purpose of giving effect to any prohibition or other requirement contained in the notice, vary or revoke any consent under this Chapter or any agreement under section 129 above.

(6) Nothing in subsection (1) or (2) of section 121 above shall be construed as restricting the power of the Secretary of State, by virtue of subsection (4)(b) above, to specify such conditions as he considers appropriate in a notice under this section.

(7) The Secretary of State shall have the same right of entry and other powers for the purposes of this section and any provision under which any reference or review to which this section applies is made as are conferred on a sewerage undertaker by section 171 below in relation to any other provision of this Chapter; and the provisions of that section accordingly have effect with the necessary modifications in relation to the power conferred by this subsection.

(8) The Secretary of State shall send a copy of every notice served under this section to the Director.

133 Effect of determination on reference or review

(1) Where a notice under section 132 above has been served on a sewerage undertaker, it shall be the duty—

(a) of the undertaker; and

(b) in relation to that undertaker, of the Director,

so to exercise the powers to which this section applies as to secure compliance with the provisions of the notice.

(2) This paragraph applies to the following powers, that is to say–

(a) in relation to a sewerage undertaker, its power to give a consent under this Chapter, any of its powers under section 121 or 124 above and any power to enter into or vary an agreement under section 129 above; and

(b) in relation to the Director, any of his powers under this Chapter.

(3) Nothing in subsection (1) or (2) of section 121 above shall be construed as restricting the power of a sewerage undertaker, for the purpose of complying with this section, to impose any condition specified in a notice under section 132 above.

(4) The duties of a sewerage undertaker under this section shall be enforceable under section 18 above by the Secretary of State.

134 Compensation in respect of determinations made for the protection of public health etc

(1) Subject to subsection (2) below, the Secretary of State shall be liable to pay compensation to the relevant person in respect of any loss or damage sustained by that person as a result of any notice under section 132 above containing the Secretary of State’s determination on a review which—

(a) has been carried out for the protection of public health or of flora and fauna dependent on an aquatic environment; and

(b) but for being so carried out would have been prohibited by virtue of section 127(2) or 131(2) above.

(2) The Secretary of State shall not be required to pay any compensation under this section if the determination in question is shown to have been given in consequence of—

(a) a change of circumstances which could not reasonably have been foreseen at the time when the period of two years mentioned in section 127(2) or, as the case may be, section 131(2) above began to run; or

(b) consideration by the Secretary of State of material information which was not reasonably available to him at that time.

(3) No person shall be entitled to any compensation under section 125 above in respect of anything done in pursuance of section 133 above.

(4) In this section “the relevant person”, in relation to a review, means the owner or the occupier of the trade premises in question, according to whether it is the owner or the occupier who makes the discharges to which the review relates or, as the case may be, is a party to the agreement to which it relates.