12.—(1) The Secretary of State may make, and from time to time revise, a scheme for the charging by the Environment Agency of fees or other charges for the carrying out of functions conferred on it by these Regulations (“an EPS charging scheme”).
(2) An EPS charging scheme may, in particular—
(a)make different provision for different cases, including different provision in relation to different persons in different circumstances or localities,
(b)provide for the times at which and the manner in which the payments required by the scheme are to be made, and
(c)make such incidental, supplementary and transitional provisions as appear to the Secretary of State to be appropriate.
(3) The Environment Agency may charge for the carrying out of functions conferred on it by these Regulations only as provided by an EPS charging scheme.
(4) An operator must pay a charge imposed under an EPS charging scheme on the operator and where there is a failure to do so—
(a)the notification to which the charge relates is to be treated as not having been made; and
(b)the amount of the charge an operator fails to pay may be recovered from the operator by the Environment Agency as a civil debt.
(5) An EPS charging scheme must be made publically available by the Secretary of State before it has effect.