Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) Act 1961

9 Estuaries and tidal waters

(1) Sections one to three of this Act shall apply to any tidal waters or parts of the sea to which any of the provisions of sections two to five of the principal Act for the time being apply (with or without modifications)—

(a) by virtue of an order made under section six of that Act, or

(b) by virtue of an order having effect as if made under that section by virtue of paragraph 9 of the Second Schedule to that Act (which relates to similar orders made under previous Acts)

as they apply to a stream, but as if, in relation to any tidal waters or parts of the sea to which the provisions of the said sections two to five, or any of them, are first applied at a time after the commencement of this Act, for references to the date appointed under section one of this Act there were substituted references to a date twelve months after that time or such earlier or later date as may be specified in the order applying the said provisions.

(2) In subsection (1) of section one of the Clean Rivers (Estuaries and Tidal Waters) Act, 1960 (which applies subsections (1) to (15) of section seven of the principal Act to controlled waters as defined in that Act), the reference to those subsections of the said section seven shall include a reference to this Act, other than sections one to three; and the said Act of 1960 shall apply to any such tidal waters or parts of the sea as are not controlled waters but are waters to which, at the commencement of this Act, any of the provisions of sections two to five of the principal Act apply by virtue of an order made, or having effect as if made, under section six of that Act as it applies to controlled waters.

(3) For the purposes of the application of this Act and section seven of the principal Act to any tidal waters or parts of the sea (including all controlled waters) the river board shall be the one whose area includes the land or premises from which the discharge in question is or is to be made, or, as the case may be, from which the effluent is or is to be discharged by means of the new or altered outlet in question.

(4) In performing any functions under this Act or the said section seven in relation to tidal waters or parts of the sea (including all controlled waters), a river board shall have special regard—

(a) to the interests of sea fisheries, and

(b) to the factors arising from the tidal nature of the waters and, in particular, to additional dilution due to dispersal of the effluent by tidal action, and the varying direction of flow and salinity and any other special properties of those waters.

(5) Any tidal waters or parts of the sea adjoining the coast of a river board area shall be deemed to be included in the expression " river, stream or inland water" for the purposes of the river board's power under subsection (8) of section nine of the River Boards Act, 1948, to obtain information as to the discharge of effluents; and in subsection (5) of section one of the said Act of 1960 (under which controlled waters adjoining a river board area are to be treated as if they were included in that area for the purpose of the river board's power under section fifteen of the said Act of 1948 to take samples of effluents) the reference to the said section fifteen shall include a reference to subsection (8) of the said section nine.

(6) The Minister may by order direct that the said Act of 1960 shall apply to any tidal waters or parts of the sea specified in the order (not being controlled waters) as it applies to controlled waters:

Provided that, in the application of that Act by virtue of an order under this subsection, (for the reference in subsection (4) of section one of that Act to its coming into force there shall be substituted a reference to the coming into force of the order.

(7) Subsections (2) to (6) of section six of the principal Act shall apply to any order under the last foregoing subsection.

(8) Subsection (17). of section-seven of the principal Act shall cease to have effect; and for the reference to the last two subsections of the said section seven in sub-paragraph (2) of paragraph 5 of the Second Schedule to that Act (which applies sections two to eight of that Act, other than those subsections, to the Thames, Lee and London areas) there shall be substituted a reference to subsection (16) of the said section seven.