23.—(1) It is an offence for a person—
(a)to contravene Article 6(1);
(b)to fail to give the notice required by Article 9(2);
(c)to contravene any requirement or prohibition imposed by an enforcement notice or a prohibition notice;
(d)without reasonable excuse to fail to comply with any requirement imposed under Article 17;
(e)without reasonable excuse,—
(i)to fail or refuse to provide facilities or assistance or any information or to permit any inspection reasonably required by an inspector in the execution of his powers or duties under Article 17; or
(ii)to prevent any other person from appearing before an inspector, or answering any question to which an inspector may require an answer, pursuant to Article 17(3);
(f)intentionally to obstruct an inspector in the exercise or performance of his powers or duties;
(g)to fail, without reasonable excuse, to comply with any requirement imposed by a notice under Article 19(2);
(h)to make a statement which he knows to be false or misleading in a material particular, or recklessly to make a statement which is false or misleading in a material particular, where the statement is made—
(i)in purported compliance with a requirement to furnish any information imposed by or under any provision of this Order; or
(ii)for the purpose of obtaining the grant of an authorisation to himself or any other person or the variation of an authorisation;
(i)intentionally to make a false entry in any record required to be kept under Article 7;
(j)with intent to deceive, to forge or use a document issued or authorised to be issued under Article 7 or required for any purpose thereunder or to make or have in his possession a document so closely resembling any such document as to be likely to deceive;
(k)falsely to pretend to be an inspector;
(l)to fail to comply with an order made by a court under Article 26.
(2) A person guilty of an offence under sub-paragraph (a), (c) or (l) of paragraph (1) shall be liable—
(a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months, or to both;
(b)on conviction on indictment, to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, or to both.
(3) A person guilty of an offence under sub-paragraph (b), (g), (h), (i) or (j) of paragraph (1) shall be liable—
(a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;
(b)on conviction on indictment, to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, or to both.
(4) A person guilty of an offence under sub-paragraph (d), (e) or (k) of paragraph (1) shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
(5) A person guilty of an offence under sub-paragraph (f) of paragraph (1) shall be liable—
(a)in the case of an offence of obstructing an inspector in the execution of his powers under Article 18—
(i)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;
(ii)on conviction on indictment, to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both;
(b)in any other case, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
(6) An inspector, if authorised to do so by the Department, may, although not of counsel or a solicitor, prosecute before a magistrates' court proceedings for an offence under paragraph (1).
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C1Art. 23 restricted by Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/662 (N.I. 6)), art. 10(d) (as substituted (1.4.2007) by Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/3336 (N.I. 21)), arts. 1(2), 281(1) (with arts. 8(8), 121(3), 307); S.R. 2007/194, art. 2(2), Sch. 1 Pt. II (with art. 3, Sch. 2))
24. If the enforcing authority is of the opinion that proceedings for an offence under Article 23(1)(c) would afford an ineffectual remedy against a person who has failed to comply with the requirements of an enforcement notice or a prohibition notice, the authority may take proceedings in the High Court for the purpose of securing compliance with the notice.
25.—(1) Information provided or obtained pursuant to or under a condition of an authorisation (including information so provided or obtained, or recorded, by means of any apparatus) shall be admissible in evidence in any proceedings, whether against the person subject to the condition or any other person.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), apparatus shall be presumed in any proceedings to register or record accurately, unless the contrary is shown or the authorisation otherwise provides.
(3) Where—
(a)an entry is required under Article 7 to be made in any record as to the observance of any condition of an authorisation; and
(b)the entry has not been made;
that fact shall be admissible in any proceedings as evidence that that condition has not been observed.
(4) In any proceedings for an offence under Article 23(1)(a) consisting in a failure to comply with the general condition implied in every authorisation by Article 7(4), it shall be for the accused to prove that there was no better available technique not entailing excessive cost than was in fact used to satisfy the condition.
(5) In this Article—
“apparatus” includes any meter or other device for measuring, assessing, determining, recording or enabling to be recorded, the volume, temperature, radioactivity, rate, nature, origin, composition or effect of any substance, flow, discharge, emission, deposit or abstraction;
“condition of an authorisation” includes any requirement to which a person is subject under or in consequence of an authorisation.
26.—(1) Where a person is convicted of an offence under Article 23(1)(a) or (c) in respect of any matters which appear to the court to be matters which it is in his power to remedy, the court may, in addition to or instead of imposing any punishment, order him, within such time as may be fixed by the order, to take such steps as may be specified in the order for remedying those matters.
(2) The time fixed by an order under paragraph (1) may be extended or further extended by order of the court on an application made before the end of the time as originally fixed or as extended under this paragraph, as the case may be.
(3) Where a person is ordered under paragraph (1) to remedy any matters, that person shall not be liable under Article 23 in respect of those matters in so far as they continue during the time fixed by the order or any further time allowed under paragraph (2).
27.—(1) Where the commission of an offence under Article 23(1)(a) or (c) causes any harm which it is possible to remedy, the chief inspector may, subject to paragraph (2)—
(a)arrange for any reasonable steps to be taken towards remedying the harm; and
(b)recover the cost of taking those steps from any person convicted of that offence.
(2) The chief inspector shall not exercise his powers under this Article except with the approval in writing of the Department and, where any of the steps are to be taken on or will affect land in the occupation of any person other than the person on whose land the prescribed process is being carried on, with the permission of that person.