Reservoirs Act (Northern Ireland) 2015

Regulations as to enforcement undertakings: further provision

82.  Regulations under section 81(1) may in particular include provision—

(a) as to the procedure for entering into an undertaking,

(b) as to the terms and conditions of an undertaking,

(c) as to the publication by the Department of an undertaking,

(d) as to the variation of an undertaking,

(e) as to the circumstances in which a reservoir manager may be regarded as having complied with an undertaking,

(f) as to the monitoring by the Department of compliance with an undertaking,

(g) as to the certification by the Department that an undertaking has been complied with,

(h) allowing an application for a review by the Department against refusal by it to give such certification,

(i) as to a right of appeal to the Water Appeals Commission against a decision in a review,

(j) for the grounds of any such appeal to include that—

(i) the decision was based on an error of fact,

(ii) the decision was wrong in law,

(iii) the decision was unreasonable,

(k) for the Commission to have power to confirm or quash the decision,

(l) conferring powers of entry on any person duly authorised in writing by the Department in connection with its functions under the regulations,

(m) in a case where a reservoir manager has given inaccurate, misleading or incomplete information in relation to the undertaking, for the manager to be regarded as not having complied with it,

(n) in a case where a reservoir manager has complied partly but not fully with an undertaking, for the part-compliance to be taken into account in the imposition on the manager of any criminal or other sanction,

(o) extending any period within which criminal proceedings may be instituted against a reservoir manager in respect of the offence in the event of breach of an undertaking or any part of it,

(p) as to the creation of offences,

(q) for any offence created to be triable only summarily,

(r) for any offence created—

(i) which is committed in relation to a controlled reservoir which is, at the time the offence is committed, a high-consequence reservoir to be punishable on conviction by a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale,

(ii) which is committed in relation to any other controlled reservoir to be punishable on conviction by a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale,

(s) for any defences to a charge in proceedings for such an offence to include in particular a defence for the person to show both—

(i) that the failure to comply with the requirement concerned was as a result of either an accident which could not reasonably have been foreseen or natural cause or force majeure which was exceptional and could not reasonably have been foreseen, and

(ii) that the person took all practicable steps to prevent an uncontrolled release of water from the reservoir, took all practicable steps as soon as was reasonably practicable to rectify the failure and provided particulars of the failure to the Department as soon as practicable after the failure arose.