Stop notices and emergency safety notices
Section 55 - Notice to stop activity causing serious harm etc.
84.Section 55 allows the Scottish Ministers to issue a notice to a person prohibiting them from carrying on a licensable marine activity if that activity is causing or will cause serious harm to the environment or human health or is causing or will cause serious interference with legitimate uses of the sea. Such a notice is called a “stop notice”.
85.The Scottish Ministers can issue a stop notice regardless of whether the person has a marine licence or not and (if they have a licence) regardless of whether they are operating in accordance with the licence conditions.
86.A stop notice must state the Scottish Ministers’ reasons for issuing the notice, the date and time that the activity must cease being carried out and any steps required by the Scottish Ministers to ensure safe cessation.
87.An initial stop notice can be in effect for up to seven days. The stop notice may be extended but only up to a combined total period of 35 days.
88.This limit does not apply where an activity is being carried out without a marine licence. In such cases, stop notices can remain in effect until a marine licence is granted for the activity in question.
Section 56 - Further provision as to stop notices
89.Section 56 indicates that stop notices must be served on the person undertaking or in control of the activity in question, and may, if a licence has been granted for that activity and the person is different, also be served on the licensee. A notice can be revoked or varied.
90.It is an offence to fail to comply with a stop notice.
Section 57 - Emergency safety notices
91.Section 57 makes provision relative to navigational safety. The Scottish Ministers can issue a notice to a person if it appears that serious interference with legitimate uses of the sea is occurring, or is likely to occur, as a result of marine works. The notice can require the provision of lights, signals or other aids to navigation or the stationing of guard ships until the serious interference, or threat of interference, is removed. An emergency safety notice must state the Scottish Ministers’ grounds for believing that serious interference with legitimate uses of the sea is occurring or is likely to occur, state the date and time from which the requirements are to take effect and require the person to take such steps as the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate to ensure compliance with the requirements.
Section 58 - Further provision as to emergency safety notices
92.Section 58 indicates that an emergency safety notice must be served on the licensee. Where a stop notice relating to the works is in effect, the emergency notice must also be served on any person on whom the stop notice was served. Section 58(2) allows the Scottish Ministers to revoke or vary an emergency safety notice.
93.It is an offence to fail to comply with an emergency safety notice.
