73.—(1) The following provisions of this Part of this Schedule have effect unless otherwise agreed in writing between the Council and the Agency.
(2) In this Part of this Schedule—
“the Agency” means the Environment Agency;
“construction” includes execution, placing, altering, replacing, relaying and removal and “construct” and “constructed” are construed accordingly;
“drainage work” means any watercourse and includes any land which provides or is expected to provide flood storage capacity for any watercourse and any bank, wall, embankment or other structure, or any appliance, constructed or used for land drainage, flood defence or tidal monitoring;
“the fishery” means any waters containing fish and the spawn, habitat or food of such fish;
“plans” includes sections, drawings, specifications and method statements; and
“specified work” means so much of any work or operation authorised by this Order as is in, on, under, over or within 16 metres of a drainage work or is otherwise likely to—
affect any drainage work or the volumetric rate of flow of water in or flowing to or from any drainage work;
affect the flow, purity or quality of water in any watercourse or other surface waters or ground water;
cause obstruction to the free passage of fish or damage to any fishery; or
affect the conservation, distribution or use of water resources.
74.—(1) Before beginning to construct any specified work, the Council must submit to the Agency plans of the specified work and such further particulars available to it as the Agency may within 28 days of the submission of the plans reasonably require.
(2) Any such specified work must not be constructed except in accordance with such plans as may be approved in writing by the Agency, or determined under paragraph 85.
(3) Any approval of the Agency required under this paragraph—
(a)must not be unreasonably withheld;
(b)is deemed to have been given if it is neither given nor refused within 2 months of the submission of the plans for approval and, in the case of a refusal, accompanied by a statement of the grounds of refusal; and
(c)may be given subject to such reasonable requirements as the Agency may make for the protection of any drainage work or the fishery or for the protection of water resources, or for the prevention of flooding or pollution or in the discharge of its environmental duties.
(4) The Agency must use its reasonable endeavours to respond to the submission of any plans before the expiration of the period mentioned in sub-paragraph (3)(b).
75. Without limitation on the scope of paragraph 74, the requirements which the Agency may make under that paragraph include conditions requiring the Council at its own expense to construct such protective works, whether temporary or permanent, during the construction of the specified works (including the provision of flood banks, walls or embankments or other new works and the strengthening, repair or renewal of existing banks, walls or embankments) as are reasonably necessary—
(a)to safeguard any drainage work against damage; or
(b)to secure that its efficiency for flood defence purposes is not impaired and that the risk of flooding is not otherwise increased,
by reason of any specified work.
76.—(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), any specified work, and all protective works required by the Agency under paragraph 75, must be constructed—
(a)without unreasonable delay in accordance with the plans approved or deemed to have been approved or settled under this Part of this Schedule; and
(b)to the reasonable satisfaction of the Agency,
and an officer of the Agency is entitled to watch and inspect the construction of such works.
(2) The Council must give to the Agency not less than 14 days’ notice in writing of its intention to commence construction of any specified work and notice in writing of its completion not later than 7 days after the date on which it is brought into use.
(3) If any part of a specified work or any protective work required by the Agency is constructed otherwise than in accordance with the requirements of this Part of this Schedule, the Agency may by notice in writing require the Council at the Council’s own expense to comply with the requirements of this Part of this Schedule or (if the Council elects and the Agency in writing consents, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) to remove, alter or pull down the work and, where removal is required, to restore the site to its former condition to such extent and within such limits as the Agency reasonably requires.
(4) Subject to sub-paragraph (5) and paragraph 80, if within a reasonable period, being not less than 28 days from the date when a notice under sub-paragraph (3) is served upon the Council, it has failed to begin taking steps to comply with the requirements of the notice and subsequently to make reasonably expeditious progress towards their implementation, the Agency may execute the works specified in the notice and any expenditure incurred by it in so doing is recoverable from the Council.
(5) In the event of any dispute as to whether sub-paragraph (3) is properly applicable to any work in respect of which notice has been served under that sub-paragraph, or as to the reasonableness of any requirement of such a notice, the Agency must not except in emergency exercise the powers conferred by sub-paragraph (4) until the dispute has been finally determined.
77.—(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (5) the Council must from the commencement of the construction of the specified works maintain in good repair and condition and free from obstruction any drainage work which is situated within the limits of deviation or on land held by the Council for the purposes of, or in connection with the specified works, whether or not the drainage work is constructed under the powers conferred by this Order or is already in existence.
(2) If any such drainage work which the Council is liable to maintain is not maintained to the reasonable satisfaction of the Agency, the Agency may by notice in writing require the Council to repair and restore the work, or any part of such work, or (if the Council elects and the Agency in writing consents, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed), to remove the work and restore the site to its former condition, to such extent and within such limits as the Agency reasonably requires.
(3) Subject to paragraph 80, if, within a reasonable period being not less than 28 days beginning with the date on which a notice in respect of any drainage work is served under sub-paragraph (2) on the Council, the Council has failed to begin taking steps to comply with the reasonable requirements of the notice and has not subsequently made reasonably expeditious progress towards their implementation, the Agency may do what is necessary for such compliance and may recover any expenditure reasonably incurred by it in so doing from the Council.
(4) In the event of any dispute as to the reasonableness of any requirement of a notice served under sub-paragraph (2), the Agency must not except in a case of emergency exercise the powers conferred by sub-paragraph (3) until the dispute has been finally determined.
(5) This paragraph does not apply to—
(a)drainage works which are vested in the Agency, or which the Agency or another person is liable to maintain and is not prescribed by the powers of the Order from doing so; and
(b)any obstruction of a drainage work for the purpose of a work or operation authorised by this Order and carried out in accordance with the provisions of this Part of this Schedule.
78. Subject to paragraph 80, if by reason of the construction of any specified work or of the failure of any such work the efficiency of any drainage work for flood defence purposes is impaired, or that drainage work is otherwise damaged, such impairment or damage must be made good by the Council to the reasonable satisfaction of the Agency and if the Council fails to do so, the Agency may make good the impairment or damage and recover from the Council the expense reasonably incurred by it in doing so.
79.—(1) The Council must take all such measures as may be reasonably practicable to prevent any interruption of the free passage of fish in the fishery during the construction of any specified work.
(2) If by reason of—
(a)the construction of any specified work; or
(b)the failure of any such work,
damage to the fishery is caused, or the Agency has reason to expect that such damage may be caused, the Agency may serve notice on the Council requiring it to take such steps as may be reasonably practicable to make good the damage, or, as the case may be, to protect the fishery against such damage.
(3) Subject to paragraph 80, if within such time as may be reasonably practicable for that purpose after the receipt of written notice from the Agency of any damage or expected damage to a fishery, the Council fails to take such steps as are described in sub-paragraph (2), the Agency may take those steps and may recover from the Council the expense reasonably incurred by it in doing so.
(4) Subject to paragraph 80, in any case where immediate action by the Agency is reasonably required in order to secure that the risk of damage to the fishery is avoided or reduced, the Agency may take such steps as are reasonable for the purpose, and may recover from the Council the reasonable cost of so doing provided that notice specifying those steps is served on the Council as soon as reasonably practicable after the Agency has taken, or commenced to take, the steps specified in the notice.
80. Nothing in paragraphs 76(4), 77(3), 78, 79(3) and (4) authorises the Agency to execute works on or affecting a railway forming part of the authorised works without the prior consent in writing of the Council such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed.
81. The Council must indemnify the Agency in respect of all costs, charges and expenses which the Agency may reasonably incur or have to pay or which it may sustain—
(a)in the examination or approval of plans under this Part of this Schedule; and
(b)in the inspection of the construction of the specified works or any protective works required by the Agency under this Part of this Schedule.
82.—(1) Without affecting the other provisions of this Part of this Schedule, the Council must indemnify the Agency from all claims, demands, proceedings, costs, damages, expenses or loss, which may be made or taken against, recovered from, or incurred by, the Agency by reason of—
(a)any damage to any drainage work so as to impair its efficiency for the purposes of flood defence;
(b)any damage to the fishery;
(c)any raising or lowering of the water table in land adjoining the authorised works or any sewers, drains and watercourses;
(d)any flooding or increased flooding of any such lands; or
(e)inadequate water quality in any watercourse or other surface waters or in any groundwater,
which is caused by the construction of any of the specified works or any act or omission of the Council, its contractors, agents or employees whilst engaged upon the work.
(2) The Agency must give to the Council reasonable notice of any such claim or demand and no settlement or compromise may be made without the agreement of the Council which agreement must not be unreasonably withheld or delayed.
83. The fact that any work or thing has been executed or done by the Council in accordance with a plan approved or deemed to be approved by the Agency, or to its satisfaction, or in accordance with any directions or award of an arbitrator, does not relieve the Council from any liability under the provisions of this Part of this Schedule.
84. For the purposes of section 109 of the Water Resources Act 1991(1) (as to structures in, over or under a main river) as applying to the construction of any specified work, any consent or approval given or deemed to be given by the Agency under this Part of this Schedule with respect to such construction is deemed also to constitute a consent or approval under that section.
85. Any dispute arising between the Council and the Agency under this Part of this Schedule, if the parties agree, is to be determined by arbitration under article 47 (arbitration), but otherwise is to be determined by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Secretary of State for Transport acting jointly on a reference to them by the Council or the Agency, after notice in writing by one to the other.