Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003

12 River basin management plans: submission for approval

(1) As soon as a river basin management plan is submitted to the Scottish Ministers, SEPA must—

(a) publicise—

(i) that fact, and

(ii) the arrangements for making copies of the plan available for public inspection in pursuance of paragraph (b), and

(b) make copies of the plan available for public inspection free of charge.

(2) A river basin management plan submitted to the Scottish Ministers by SEPA must be accompanied by a statement—

(a) of the action taken by SEPA to comply with subsections (3) and (so far as relating to the draft plan) (4) to (6) of section 11,

(b) containing a summary of the views and representations referred to in subsection (9) of that section and of any adjustments made to the plan in light of those views and representations.

(3) If the Scottish Ministers, having considered the statement, are of the opinion that further action should be taken by SEPA in relation to the plan under subsections (3) to (6) of section 11, they may return the plan to SEPA and direct it—

(a) to take such further action under those subsections as they may specify, and

(b) to resubmit the plan with such modifications, if any, as SEPA considers appropriate by such time (if any) as the direction may specify.

(4) Where the Scottish Ministers return the plan to SEPA under subsection (3), they must state their reasons for doing so.

(5) This section applies, with the necessary modifications, in relation to a river basin management plan resubmitted to the Scottish Ministers in pursuance of subsection (3)(b) as it applies to the plan as originally submitted.