Water Industry (Amendment) Bill

House of Commons

Session 1997-98
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Water Industry (Amendment) Bill

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BMake further AD 1998provision with respect to the water industry.E IT ENACTED by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-

Adoption of sewers and sewage disposal works.     1. For section 102 of the Water Industry Act 1991 ("the 1991 Act") there is substituted-

"Adoption of sewers and sewage disposal works.     102. - (1) The owner, or any of the owners, of any sewer or sewage disposal works to which this section applies may make a request to a relevant sewerage undertaker requiring it to make a declaration under this section with respect to the sewer or sewage disposal works.

    (2) Subject to the following provisions of this section and to sections 103, 105 and 146(3) below, if so requested by an owner, or any of the owners, of a sewer or sewage disposal works in accordance with subsection (1) above, a sewerage undertaker shall within four months of such a request declare that-

(a) any sewer which is situated within its area or which serves the whole or any part of that area; or

(b) any sewage disposal works which are so situated or which serve the whole or any part of that area,

shall, as from such date as may be specified in the declaration, and not being a date later than six months from the date of the declaration, become vested in the undertaker.

    (3) A declaration or application under this section may be made with respect to a part only of a sewer.

    (4) Any person who immediately before the making of a declaration under this section was entitled to use the sewer in question shall be so entitled to use it, or any sewer substituted for it, to the same extent as if the declaration had not been made.

    (5) Any sewerage undertaker which, following a request by an owner or owners pursuant to subsection (1) above, fails-

(a) to make a declaration under this section within four months of such a request; or

(b) specifies a date of vesting in the declaration which is more than six months from the date of that declaration

shall be guilty of an offence.

    (6) If a sewerage undertaker fails to make a declaration in accordance with subsection (2) above, the owner or owners of the relevant sewer or works may appeal to the Secretary of State to require that sewerage undertaker to make such a declaration. The grounds and procedure for such an appeal and the Secretary of State's powers shall be prescribed by regulations made under this section.

    (7) An offence committed under this section shall be punishable-

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum.

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

    (8) In any proceedings against any sewerage undertaker for an offence under subsection (6) above, it shall be a defence for that undertaker to show that it took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence."

Recovery of costs and expenses.     2. In the 1991 Act, after section 102 there is inserted-

"Recovery of costs and expenses.     102A. Where a sewerage undertaker makes a declaration under section 102 above in relation to a sewer or sewage disposal works the construction of which was completed after 23rd February 1998 and the sewer or works is, at the time of the declaration, in a state of repair below the standard prescribed by regulations made pursuant to this section, the sewerage undertaker may recover its reasonable costs and expenses incurred in bringing the sewer or work up to such a standard, from the person who originally constructed the sewer or works."

Consequential amendments.     3. Schedule 1 to this Act (Consequential amendments) shall have effect.

Repeals.     4. The enactment mentioned in Schedule 2 to this Act is hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.

Short title.     5. The Act may be cited as the Water Industry (Amendment) Act 1998.

© Parliamentary copyright 1998
Prepared 23 February 1998