Control of Pollution (Applications, Appeals and Registers) Regulations 1996
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1996/2971 |
| Year | 1996 |
1996 No. 2971
WATER RESOURCES, ENGLAND AND WALES
The Control of Pollution (Applications, Appeals and Registers) Regulations 1996
Made 26th November 1996
Laid before Parliament 4th December 1996
Coming into force 31th December 1996
The Secretary of State for the Environment and the Secretary of State for Wales, acting jointly in exercise of the powers conferred on them by sections 90A(1), 91(2K), 91(3) (as originally enacted)1, 99, 190(1), 191B(6) and (9) and 219(2) of, and paragraphs 1(1)(b) and (2), 2(1), (2), (4) and (7), 3(5), 5(3) and (5), 6(4) and (5) and 10(2) of Schedule 10 to, the Water Resources Act 19912and paragraphs 1(7), 3(3) and 4(3), (5) and (9) of that Schedule as originally enacted3, and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, hereby make the following Regulations:
Citation, commencement and interpretation
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Control of Pollution (Applications, Appeals and Registers) Regulations 1996 and shall come into force on 31st December 1996.
(2) In these Regulations—
“discharge consent” has the same meaning as in section 91(8)4of the Water Resources Act 1991;
“register” means a register maintained by the Agency under section 190 of that Act (pollution control registers).
Advertisements
2.—(1) Subject to regulation 4, an application for—
(a)
(a) a discharge consent or the variation of a discharge consent;
(b)
(b) a consent for the purposes of section 89(4)(a) of the Water Resources Act 1991 (consents for the deposit of solid refuse from mines or quarries on land near inland freshwaters); or
(c)
(c) a consent for the purposes of section 90(1) or (2) of that Act (consents for the removal of deposits or for the cutting or uprooting of vegetation in or near inland freshwaters),
shall be advertised in accordance with the following provisions of this regulation and regulation 3.
(2) Notice of the application shall be published—
(a)
(a) in one or more newspapers circulating in—
(i) the locality in which the activities which are the subject matter of the application are proposed to be carried on; and
(ii) the locality in which the controlled waters which may be affected by the proposed activities are situated; and
(b)
(b) in the London Gazette.
(3) Subject to paragraph (4) below, the notice shall—
(a)
(a) state the name of the applicant;
(b)
(b) specify where the activities which are the subject matter of the application are proposed to be carried on;
(c)
(c) describe briefly the nature of the proposed activities;
(d)
(d) state where the register containing information about the application may be inspected, the times at which the register is open for inspection and that the register may be inspected free of charge; and
(e)
(e) explain that any person may make representations in writing to the Agency, specify when the period allowed for making representations ends and give the address of the Agency to which representations are to be sent.
(4) Nothing in paragraph (3) above shall require the disclosure of any information which is not to be included in a register by virtue of section 191A or 191B of the Water Resources Act 199112(exclusion from registers of information affecting national security and of certain confidential information).
Timing of advertisements
3.—(1) An application to which regulation 2 applies shall be advertised in accordance with paragraph (2) of that regulation within the period of 28 days beginning 14 days after the relevant date.
(2) Subject to paragraphs (3) to (5) below, the relevant date in relation to an application shall be the date on which the application is received by the Agency.
(3) In a case where the Agency has notified the applicant within 14 days of the receipt of the application that it refuses to proceed with the application until information required by section 90A(4)13of, or paragraph 1(3) or (4) of Schedule 1014to, the Water Resources Act 1991 (duty to provide Agency with information) is provided, the relevant date shall be the date on which the Agency is finally provided with the information required.
(4) In a case where a matter falls to be determined under section 191A of the Water Resources Act 1991 (exclusion from registers of information affecting national security), the relevant date shall be the date on which the Secretary of State notifies the applicant of his determination.
(5) In a case where a matter falls to be determined under section 191B of the Water Resources Act 1991 (exclusion from registers of certain confidential information), the relevant date shall be—
(a)
(a) if the Agency is treated by virtue of section 191B(3) of that Act as having determined that the information in question is commercially confidential, the date on which the period of 14 days mentioned in section 191B(3) expires;
(b)
(b) if the Agency determines under section 191B(2) or (4) of that Act that the information in question is commercially confidential, the date on which the Agency notifies the applicant of its determination;
(c)
(c) if the Agency determines under section 191B(2) or (4) of that Act that the information in question is not commercially confidential—
(i) the date on which the period for appealing expires without an appeal having been made;
(ii) the date on which the Secretary of State notifies the applicant of his final determination of the appeal; or
(iii) the date on which the appeal is withdrawn.
(6) Where the relevant date for the purposes of this regulation in relation to an application is later than the date on which the application is received, a period of four months beginning with the relevant date shall be substituted for the period of four months specified in paragraph 3(2) of Schedule 10 to the Water Resources Act 1991 (failure to determine application within four months or longer period agreed with applicant).
Exemption from advertising requirements
4. The Agency may determine that an application is not required to be advertised if it appears to the Agency that it is appropriate to dispense with advertising the application because—
(a) section 191A of the Water Resources Act 1991 (exclusion from registers of information affecting national security) applies; or
(b) the Agency considers that the activities which are the subject matter of the application are unlikely to have an appreciable effect on controlled waters in the locality in which those activities are proposed to be carried on; or
(c) the application is made before 1st April 1997 and it relates to discharges of a kind which the applicant, or a predecessor of his, was authorised to make by virtue of a consent to which paragraph 21 of Schedule 23 to the Environment Act 1995 applied but notice in accordance with sub-paragraph (2)(b)(ii) of that paragraph was not given by him or his predecessor,
and, in any case where the Agency so determines, the application shall be exempt from the requirements of section 90A(1)(b) of, or, as the case may be, paragraph 1(1)(b) of Schedule 10 to, the Water Resources Act 1991 (requirement to advertise applications).
Consultation
5.—(1) Subject to paragraph (3) below, the persons to be consulted under paragraph 2 of Schedule 10 to the Water Resources Act 1991 (consultation in connection with applications) in relation to an application for, or for the variation of, a discharge consent are—
(a)
(a) every local authority or water undertaker within whose area any of the proposed discharges are to be made;
(b)
(b) each of the Ministers if any of the proposed discharges are to be made into coastal waters, relevant territorial waters or waters outside the seaward limits of relevant territorial waters;
(c)
(c) the harbour authority within the meaning of section 57(1) of the Harbours Act 19645if any of the proposed discharges are to be made into a harbour managed by the authority; and
(d)
(d) the local fisheries committee, if any of the proposed discharges are to be made into relevant territorial waters or coastal waters within the sea fisheries district of that committee.
(2) The specified period for notification of those persons under paragraph 2 of Schedule 10 to the Water Resources Act 1991 (consultation in connection with applications) is the period of 14 days beginning with the relevant date and, for this purpose, “relevant date” has the same meaning as in regulation 3.
(3) The requirements of paragraph 2 of Schedule 10 to the Water Resources Act 1991 (consultation in connection with applications) shall not apply in relation to any of the bodies mentioned in paragraph (1)(a), (c) or (d) above—
(a)
(a) in so far as they would require the disclosure of any information which is not to be included in a register by virtue of section 191A or 191B of the Water Resources Act 1991 (exclusion from registers of information affecting national security and of certain confidential information);
(b)
(b) in relation to an application for, or for the variation of, a discharge consent which need not be advertised as a result of an exemption under regulation 4.
(4) A period of six weeks beginning with the last date on which the making of the application was advertised in pursuance of paragraph 1(1)(b) of Schedule 10 to the Water Resources Act 1991 shall be substituted for the period specified in paragraph 2(6)(b) of that Schedule (period allowed for making representations).
Transmitted applications
6.—(1) The following provisions of this regulation shall apply where an application for, or for the variation of, a discharge consent is transmitted to the Secretary of State under paragraph 5(1) of Schedule 10 to the Water Resources Act 1991 (reference to the Secretary of State of certain applications for consent).
(2) Paragraph 2 of Schedule 10 to the Water Resources Act 1991 (consultation in connection with applications) shall apply subject to...
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