40.—(1) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under regulation 38(1), (2) or (3) to prove that the acts alleged to constitute the contravention were done in an emergency in order to avoid danger to human health in a case where—
(a)the person took all such steps as were reasonably practicable in the circumstances for minimising pollution, and
(b)particulars of the acts were furnished to the regulator as soon as reasonably practicable after they were done.
(2) A person who knowingly permits a water discharge activity or groundwater activity where the discharge is water from an abandoned mine or an abandoned part of a mine is not guilty of an offence under regulation 38(1) unless—
(a)the person is the owner or former operator of the mine or that part of it, and
(b)the mine or the part of the mine was abandoned after 31st December 1999.
(3) In paragraph (2), “abandoned”, in relation to a mine, and “mine” have the meaning given in section 91A of the 1991 Act M1.
Marginal Citations
M1Section 91A was inserted by section 58 of the 1995 Act.