The Reservoirs Act 1975 (Capacity, Registration, Prescribed Forms, etc.) (England) Regulations 2013

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

For the purposes of the Reservoirs Act 1975 (c.23) (“the Act”), these Regulations provide for—

(a) the calculation of the capacity of a large raised reservoir (regulation 3);

(b) registration of a large raised reservoir (regulation 4); notification of changes to, and the keeping and inspection of, the English register (regulations 5 and 6), and transitional arrangements in relation to the English register (regulation 7);

(c) the making and content of reports by the Environment Agency (“the Agency”) to the Secretary of State (regulation 8);

(d) the form of record to be kept for a high-risk reservoir and the information to be given in that record (regulation 9);

(e) the form of certificates of engineers (regulation 10); the forms of reports of engineers (regulation 11); and the forms of directions of engineers (regulation 12);

(f) the information to be provided by undertakers when intending to construct or bring back into use a large raised reservoir (regulation 13);

(g) the making of reports by undertakers to the Agency in relation to incidents relating to the uncontrolled release of water from a large raised reservoir and emergency measures (regulation 14); and

(h) a review of the Regulations (regulation 15).

These Regulations also revoke the Reservoirs Act 1975 (Registers, Reports and Records) Regulations 1985 (S.I. 1985/177) and the Reservoirs Act 1975 (Certificates, Reports and Prescribed Information) Regulations 1986 (S.I. 1986/468) (regulation 16). Those Regulations are replaced by the provisions in regulations 4, 6, 8, 9 to 11 and 13.

Section A1(4) of the Act requires regulations to be made about the calculation of the capacity of a large raised reservoir. Regulation 3 makes this provision.

Regulation 4 prescribes the information about large raised reservoirs which is to be registered by the undertaker for the purposes of the English register required to be maintained by the Agency under section 2(2) of the Act. Regulation 5 provides for notification by the undertaker to the Agency of any changes or proposed changes to the English register. Regulation 6 requires that the register and copies of it be kept at the principal office of the Agency’s reservoir safety enforcement team and that the Agency ensure that certain information required to be in the English register is in it. Regulation 7 provides for transitional arrangements in relation to the undertaker’s obligation to register a large raised reservoir under section 2(2B) of the Act. According to these arrangements, information that appears on the English register is taken to have been provided by the undertaker for the purposes of registration.

Regulation 8 specifies the timing of reports to be made by the Agency to the Secretary of State under section 3 of the Act; the information to be given in those reports.

Regulation 9 prescribes certain matters, additional to those specified in section 11 of the Act, about which undertakers of high-risk reservoirs have to provide information in the record to be kept by them. It also specifies the form in which the record is to be kept.

Regulations 10 to 12 prescribe, as required by section 20 of the Act, the forms in which certificates and directions are to be given, and reports made, wherever the Act requires the giving of certificates or directions or the making of a report by a civil engineer engaged in work in connection with a large raised reservoir.

Regulation 13 prescribes the information which must be contained in a notice required under section 21 of the Act which an undertaker who intends to construct or bring back into use a large raised reservoir is required to serve on the Agency.

Regulation 14 prescribes the form of, and specifies the incidents in which, a report made under section 21A of the Act is to be made.

Regulation 15 requires the Secretary of State to review the operation and effect of these Regulations and to publish a report within 5 years after these Regulations come into force.

A full impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs to business and the voluntary sector is available from the Reservoirs Safety Team, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR and is published with the Explanatory Memorandum alongside the instrument on www.legislation.gov.uk.