The Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997

Supervision of licensed activities

16.—(1) While a licence is in force the Department shall ensure—

(a) that the activities authorised by the licence do not cause pollution of the environment or harm to human health or become seriously detrimental to the amenities of the locality affected by the activities; and

(b) that the conditions of the licence are complied with.

(2) For the purpose of paragraph (1), an officer of the Department who is authorised in writing may, if it appears to him that by reason of an emergency it is necessary to do so, carry out work on the land or in relation to plant or equipment on the land to which the licence relates or, as the case may be, in relation to the mobile plant to which the licence relates.

(3) Where the Department incurs any expenditure under paragraph (2), the Department may recover the amount of the expenditure from the holder or, as the case may be, the former holder of the licence, except where the holder or former holder of the licence shows that there was no emergency requiring any work or except such of the expenditure as he shows was unnecessary.

(4) Where it appears to the Department that a condition of a licence is not being complied with or is likely not to be complied with, then, without prejudice to any proceedings under Article 4(6), the Department may—

(a) serve on the holder of the licence a notice—

(i) stating that the Department is of the opinion that a condition of the licence is not being complied with or, as the case may be, is likely not to be complied with;

(ii) specifying the matters which constitute the non-compliance or, as the case may be, which make the anticipated non-compliance likely;

(iii) specifying the steps which must be taken to remedy the non-compliance or, as the case may be, to prevent the anticipated non-compliance from occurring; and

(iv) specifying the period within which those steps must be taken; and

(b) if in the opinion of the Department the licence holder has not taken the steps specified in the notice within the period so specified, exercise any of the powers specified in paragraph (5).

(5) The powers referred to in paragraph (4)(b) are the following—

(a) to revoke the licence so far as it authorises the carrying on of the activities specified in the licence or such of them as the Department specifies in revoking the licence;

(b) to revoke the licence entirely; and

(c) to suspend the licence so far as it authorises the carrying on of the activities specified in the licence or, as the case may be, the activities specified by the Department in suspending the licence.

(6) If the Department is of the opinion that revocation or suspension of the licence, whether entirely or to any extent, under paragraph (5) would afford an ineffectual remedy against a person who has failed to comply with any requirement imposed under paragraph (4)(a), the Department may take proceedings in the High Court for the purpose of securing compliance with the requirement.

(7) Where a licence is revoked or suspended under paragraph (5), paragraphs (5) and (14) or, as the case may be, paragraphs (7) to (14) of Article 12 shall apply with the necessary modifications as they respectively apply to revocations or suspensions of licences under that Article.