House of Commons Hansard Debates for 4 Apr 1989

(i) of effluent taken by the authorities in pursuance of section 19 of the Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) (Scotland) Act 1951 ; (

(ii) of effluent taken by islands councils from discharges made by them in their own areas for the purposes of their functions relating to the pollution of controlled waters ; and

(iii) of water taken by the authorities ;

and information produced by analyses of the samples and the steps taken in consequence of the information ;

(e) certificates issued in pursuance of the following section. (2) It shall be the duty of a river purification authority (

(a) to secure that registers maintained by the authority in pursuance of the preceding subsection are, after such date as is prescribed with respect to the registers, open to inspection by the public free of charge at all reasonable hours ; and

(b) to afford members of the public reasonable facilities for obtaining from the authority, on payment of reasonable charges, copies of entries in the register.

Power of Secretary of State to exempt applications, consents and conditions etc. from publicity. 42.--(1) If a person who proposes to make or has made an application to a river purification authority for any consent in pursuance of section 34 of this Act (hereafter in this subjection refered to as "the relevant application")--

(a) applies to the Secretary of State within a prescribed period for a certificate providing that section 36(1) of this Act and paragraphs (b) to (d) of subsection (1) of the preceding section shall not apply to the relevant application or to any consent given or conditions imposed in consequence of the relevant application or to any sample of effluent taken from a discharge for which consent is given in consequence of the relevant application or to information produced by analysis of such a sample ; and

(b) satisfies the Secretary of State that it would--

(i) prejudice to an unreasonable degree some private interest by disclosing information about a trade secret, or

(ii) be contrary to the public interest,

if a certificate were not issued in pursuance of his application to the Secretary of State.

the Secretary of State may issue a certificate to that person providing that section 36(1) of this Act and those paragraphs shall not apply to such of the things mentioned in paragraph (a) of this subsection as are specified in the certificate.

(2) If a person who is making or propose to make a discharge which is the subject of a consent given in pursuance of the Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) (Scotland) Acts 1951 and 1965--

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(a) applies to the Secretary of State for a certificate providing section shall not apply to the consent or any conditions to which the consent is subject or any sample of effluent taken from a discharge to which the consent relates or any information produced by analysis of such a sample ; and

(b) satisfied the Secretary of State as mentioned in paragraph (c) of the preceding subsection,

the Secretary of State may issue a certificate to that person providing that the said subsection (1)(c) or (d) shall not apply to such of the things mentioned in paragraph (a) of this subsection as are specified in the certificate.".

5. For sections 46 to 51 there shall be substituted the following sections- -

"Operations by water authorities to remedy or forestall pollution of water. 46.--(1) Where it appears to a river purification authority that any poisonous, noxious or polluting matter or any solid waste matter is likely to enter, or is or was present in, any controlled waters in its area, the authority may carry out in its area or elsewhere such operations as it considers appropriate

(a) in a case where the matter appears likely to enter such waters, for the purpose of preventing it from doing so ; and

(b) in a case where the matter appears to be or to have been present in such waters, for the purpose of removing or disposing of the matter or of remedying or mitigating any pollution caused by its presence in the waters or of restoring the waters (including the fauna and flora dependent on the aquatic environment of the waters), so far as it is reasonably practicable to do so, to the state in which they were immediately before the matter became present in the waters ;

but nothing in this subsection empowers a river purification authority to impede or prevent the making of any discharge in pursuance of a consent given by any authority by virtue of section 34 of this Act.

(2) Where a river purification authority carries out any operations in pursuance of this section the authority shall, subject to the following subsection, be entitled to recover the costs of doing so from any persons who caused or knowingly permitted the matter in question to be present at the place from which it was likely in the opinion of the authority to enter the controlled waters or, as the case may be, to be present in the controlled waters. (3) No such costs shall be payable by a person--

(a) in so far as he satisfies the court in which it is sought to recover the costs that the costs were incurred unnecessarily ; or (

(b) for any operations in respect of water from an abandoned mine which that person permitted to reach such a place as is mentioned in the preceding subsection or to enter the controlled waters. (4) In determining the damage which a person has suffered in consequence of pollution in respect of which operations have been or may be carried out in pursuance of this section, account shall be taken of the extent to which it is shown that the damage has been reduced by operations in pursuance of this section and of the extent to which it is shown that the damage is likely to be so reduced. Duty of authorities to deal with waste from vessels etc. 47.--(1) It shall be the duty of each river purification authority-- (

(a) to arrange for the collection and disposal of waste from vessels in its area which appears to the authority to need collection in consequence of section 33 of this Act ; and

(b) to arrange for the provision of facilities for the washing out of prescribed appliances from vessels in its area.

(2) A river purification authority may arrange for the provision of facilities by way of water closets, urinals and wash basins for the use of persons from vessels in the authority's area.

(3) A port local authority constituted under Part X of the Public Health (Scotland) Act 1897 shall have power to make arrangements with a river purification authority for the purposes of any of the preceding provisions of this section.

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Power of river purification authorities to exclude unregistered vessels from rivers etc. 48.--(1) Where it appears to a river purification authority to be appropriate to do so for the purpose of preventing the pollution of inland waters in its area, the authority may make byelaws providing that vessels shall not be on any such waters which are specified in the byelaws unless the vessels are registered by the authority in accordance with the byelaws or are exempted by the byelaws from registration ; and a person who causes or knowingly permits a vessel to be on inland waters in contravention of byelaws made by virtue of this subsection shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or such smaller sum as may be specified in the byelaws.

(2) Byelaws made by a river purification authority in pursuance of the preceding subsection may authorise the authority to make reasonable charges in respect of the registration of vessels in pursuance of the byelaws ; and no charges shall be payable, by persons in or from vessels registered by the authority in pursuance of the byelaws, in respect of the use by those persons of facilities provided in pursuance of the preceding section by or by arrangement with the authority.

Deposits and vegetation in rivers etc.

49.--(1) If without the consent of the relevant river purification authority, which shall not be unreasonably withheld,--

(a) a person removes from any part of the bottom, channel or bed of any inland waters a deposit accumulated by reason of any dam, weir or sluice holding back the waters and does so by causing the deposit to be carried away in suspension in the waters ; or

(b) any substantial amount of vegetation cut or uprooted in any inland waters, or so near to any such waters that it falls into it, is allowed to remain in the waters by the wilful default of any person,

then, subject to the following subsection, that person shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.

(2) Nothing in paragraph (a) of the preceding subsection applies to anything done in the exercise of statutory powers conferred by or under any enactment relating to land drainage, flood prevention or navigation.

(3) Regulations may provide that any reference to inland waters in subsection (1) of this section shall be construed as including a reference to such coastal waters as are prescribed for the purposes of that subsection.

(4) Any question as to whether the consent of a river purification authority in pursuance of subsection (1) of this section is unreasonably withheld shall be determined by the Secretary of State ; and any consent given in pursuance of section 24 of the Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) (Scotland) Act 1951 (which is superseded by this section) shall be treated for the purposes of this section as given in pursuance of this section.

Investigation of water pollution problems arising from closure of mines 50. Each river purification authority shall have power to carry out studies for the purposes of ascertaining--

(a) what problems relating to the pollution of controlled waters may arise or have arisen in consequence of the abandonment of any mine in its area or might arise if any such mine were abandoned ; and

(b) what steps are likely to be appropriate for the purpose of dealing with the problems and what the cost of taking those steps would be.

Codes of good agricultural practice 51.--(1) The Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument approve any code of practice issued (whether by him or by another person) for the purpose of

(a) giving practical guidance to persons engaged in agriculture with respect to activities that may affect controlled waters ; and (

(b) promoting what appear to him to be desirable practices by such persons for avoiding or minimising the pollution of any such waters,

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and may at any time by such an order approve a modification of such a code or withdraw his approval of such a code or modification. (2) A contravention of a code of practice for the time being approved under this section shall not of itself give rise to any criminal or civil liability, but a river purification authority shall take into account whether there has been or is likely to be any such contravention in determining when and how it should exercise any powers conferred on it by regulations under section 31A of this Act. (3) The Secretary of State shall not make an order under this section unless he has first consulted the river purification authorities.".

6. For sections 53 to 56 there shall be substituted the following sections- -

"Charges in respect of certain discharges 53.--(1) Where-- (

(a) an application is made to a river purification authority for a consent for the purposes of sections 31(3), 32 or 49 of this Act of for the modification of, or of the conditions of, any such consent ; (

(b) the authority gives a consent under section 34(3) of this Act or a consent for the purposes of section 31(3) or 49 of this Act ; or

the authority may require the payment to it of such charges as may be specified in or determined under a scheme made by it under this section.

(2) The persons who shall be liable to pay charges which are required to be paid by virtue of a scheme under this section shall be--

(a) in the case of a charge by virtue of subsection (1)(a) above, the person who makes the application ;

(b) in the case of a charge by virtue of subsection (1)(b) above, any person who is authorised to do anything by virtue of the consent and on whom the instrument giving the consent is served ; and (

(c) in the case of a charge by virtue of subsection (1)(c) above, any person who makes a discharge in pursuance of the consent at any time during the period to which, in accordance with the scheme, the charge relates ;

and provision made by a scheme for the purposes of paragraph (c) above may impose a single charge in respect of the whole period for which the consent is in force or separate charges in respect of different parts of that period or both such a single charge and such separate chages.

(3) An authority shall not make a scheme under this section unless its provisions have been approved by the Secretary of State ; and the consent of the Treasury shall be required for the giving of such an approval.

(4) Before submitting a scheme under this section to the Secretary of State for his approval an authority shall, in such manner as it considers appropriate for bringing it to the attention of persons likely to be affected by it, publish a notice setting out its proposals and specifying the period within which representations with respect to the proposals may be made to the Secretary of State. (5) Where any proposed scheme has been submitted to the Secretary of State for his approval, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of State, in determining whether or not to approve the scheme or to approve it subject to modifications--

(a) to consider any representations duly made to him ; and (

(b) to have regard to the matters specified in subsection (6) below.

(6) The matters mentioned in subsection (5)(b) above are (

(a) the need to ensure that the amount recovered by the authority by way of charges fixed by or under schemes under this section does not exceed, taking one year with another, such amount as appears to the Secretary of State to be reasonably attributable to the expenses incurred by the authority in carrying out its functions under sections 34 to 38 and 49 of this Act and otherwise in relation to discharges into controlled waters ; and

(b) the need to ensure that no undue preference is shown, and that there is no undue discrimination, in the fixing of charges by or under the scheme.

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(7) A scheme under this section may--

(a) make provision with respect to the times and methods of payment of the charges which are required to be paid by virtue of the scheme ;

(b) make different provision for different cases, including different provision in relation to different persons, circumstances or localities ; and

and such a scheme may revoke or amend a previous scheme under this section.

(8) It shall be the duty of a river purification authority to take such steps as it considers appropriate for bringing the provisions of any scheme under this section which is for the time being in force to the attention of persons likely to be affected by them.

Directions to the river purification authority 54.--(1) Directions of a general or specific character may be given to each river purification authority by the Secretary of State with respect to the carrying out of its functions and it shall be the duty of each river purification authority to comply with any such direction. (2) Without prejudice to the generality of the power conferred by subsection (1) of this section, directions under that subsection may include such directions as the Secretary of State considers appropriate in order to enable Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom to give effect to--

(a) any Community obligations ; or

(b) any international agreement to which the United Kingdom is for the time being a party.

(3) Any power of the Secretary of State otherwise than by virtue of this section to give direction to a river purification authority shall be without prejudice to the power conferred by this section. Supplemental Discharges by islands councils 55.--(1) This part of this Act shall have effect with prescribed modifications in relation to discharges by an islands council in its area. (2) Without prejudice to the generality of the powers to make regulation conferred by the preceding subsection, any regulations made in pursuance of that subsection may provide for consents required by islands councils for the purposes of this Part of this Act as modified by virtue of that subsection to be or be deemed to be given by the Secretary of State.

Interpretation etc. of Part II 56.--Except where the context otherwise requires, in this Part of this Act--

"agriculture" and "agricultural" have the same meanings as in the Agriculture (Scotland) Act 1948 ;

"coastal waters", "controlled waters", "ground waters", "inland waters" and "relevant territorial waters" have the meanings given by section 30A(1) above ;

"effluent" means any liquid, including particles of matter and other substances in suspension in the liquid ;

"sewage effluent" includes any effluent from the sewage disposal or sewerage works of a local authority within the meaning of the Sewerage (Scotland) Act 1968 ;

"trade effluent" includes any effluent which is discharged from premises used for carrying on any trade or industry, other than surface water and domestic sewage ;

"underground strata" means strata subjacent to the surface of any land ;

"water authority" means an authority established in accordance with section 3 of the Water (Scotland) Act 1980 ;

"watercourse" includes all rivers, streams, ditches, drains, cuts, culverts, dykes, sluices, sewers, and passages through which water flows except mains and other pipes which belong to the water authority or are used by a water authority or any other person for the purposes only of providing a supply of water to any premises. (2) In this Part of this Act--

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(a) any reference to the waters of any loch or pond or of any river or watercourse includes a reference to the bottom, channel or bed of any loch, pond, river or, as the case may be, watercourse which is for the time being dry ; and

(b) any reference to water contained in underground strata is a reference to water so contained otherwise than in a sewer, pipe, reservoir, tank or other underground works constructed in any such strata.

(3) For the purposes of the definition of "trade effluent" in subsection (1) above any premises (whether on land or not) wholly or mainly used (whether for profit or not) for agricultural purposes or for the purposes of fish farming or for scientific research or experiment shall be deemed to be premises used for carrying on a trade.

(4) For the purposes of this Part of this Act the area of a river purification authority shall include all controlled waters off the coast of the area which is the authority's area apart from this subsection ; and any question as to whether any place is included in the area of a river purification authority by virtue of this subsection shall be determined by the Secretary of State. (5) For the purposes of this Part of this Act a notice imposing conditions with respect to discharges which was given by a river purification authority in pursuance of--

(a) section 28(4) of the Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) (Scotland) Act 1951 ; or

(b) section 1(5) of the Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) (Scotland) Act 1965,

shall be treated as having given the authority's consent in pursuance of the Act in question for those discharges subject to those conditions.

(6) Section 30(5) of this Act shall have effect in relation to this Part of this Act as if for any reference to Part I of this Act there were substituted a reference to this Part of this Act. 7. In subsection (1) of section 104 (orders and regulation), for the words "section 33(4), 44(5), 52, 53 or 109(2)" there shall be substituted the words "sections 44(5) and 109(2).". --[Mr. Moynihan.]

Schedule 1

The National Rivers Authority

Mr. Moynihan : I beg to move amendment No. 55, in page 186, line 23, after (1)' insert

The Authority shall be entitled to borrow in accordance with the following provisions of this paragraph but not otherwise. (1A) Subject to sub- paragraph (1C) below'.

Mr. Speaker : With this it will be convenient to take Government amendment No. 56.

Mr. Moynihan : The amendments set out the circumstances in which it is proposed that the National Rivers Authority will be able to undertake borrowing in relation to its functions. Amendment No. 55 provides that the amount borrowed by the NRA under its temporary borrowing powers, for which paragraph 18 of the schedule already provides, will be subject to the authority's overall borrowing requirement. Amendment No. 56, which is the more significant of the amendments, would give the NRA the ability to undertake long-term borrowing to finance its flood defence functions in certain defined circumstances. It describes the mechanism by which loans would be made to the NRA for that purpose and sets out borrowing limits which would apply.

During discussion in Committee of the NRA's finances concern was expressed on both sides about the fact that the Bill did not provide for the NRA to have long-term borrowing powers in relation to flood defence work. In particular, concern was expressed in Committee about the

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funding arrangements for flood defence emergencies. As my hon. Friend the Member for Daventry (Mr. Boswell) said :

"Emergencies may arise which occasion emergency action and it is extremely difficult to budget or save for that in advance." [ Official Report, Standing Committee D, 17 January 1989 ; c. 258.] We have given careful consideration to the arguments that were put in Committee by my hon. Friends and, indeed, to representations received from those concerned with flood defence arrangements and to the views of the Opposition. While we remain firmly of the view, for reasons that I explained at length in Committee, that it is not necessary for the NRA to have long-term borrowing powers to deal with the normal run of flood defence work, we accept the argument that there are some circumstances in which it would be right for the NRA to have such powers.

Accordingly, amendment No. 56 provides the NRA with borrowing powers for use when it is faced with heavy expenditure for which it had been impossible to plan. We therefore do not expect that they will need to be used very often. Long-term borrowing under these powers would require the consent, as appropriate, of my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food or my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales, together with the approval of the Treasury. We intend that the use of these powers shall be limited to circumstances in which works are urgently needed to avoid the risk of serious flooding, and the flood defence committee cannot defer other planned work to provide the necessary finance.

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