Supplemental
55Discharges by water authorities
(1)This Part of this Act shall have effect with prescribed modifications in relation to discharges by a water authority in its area.
(2)Without prejudice to the generality of the power to make regulations conferred by the preceding subsection, any regulations made in pursuance of that subsection may provide for consents required by water authorities for the purposes of this Part of this Act as modified by virtue of that subsection to be or be deemed to be given by the Secretary of State.
(3)In the application of this section to Scotland, for the references to a water authority there shall be substituted references to an islands council.
56Interpretation etc of Part II
(1)Except where the context otherwise requires, in this Part of this Act—
" controlled waters " means the sea within three nautical miles from any point on the coast measured from low-water mark of ordinary spring tides, such other parts of the territorial sea adjacent to Great Britain as are prescribed and any other tidal waters in Great Britain ;
" relevant waters " has the meaning assigned to it by section 31(1)(a) of this Act;
" restricted waters " means controlled waters in—
(a)areas designated by regulations as tidal rivers for the purposes of this definition; and
(b)other areas of a kind prescribed for the purposes of this definition as areas in which, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, vessels commonly lie at moorings in close proximity to one another;
" sewage effluent " includes any effluent from the sewage disposal or sewerage works of a water authority ;
" specified underground water " means underground water in the area of a water authority which is specified, as water which is used or is expected by the authority to be used for any purpose, in a document which is in a form prescribed for the purposes of this definition and contains prescribed particulars and of which a copy is kept available, and has for not less than one month been kept available, at the principal office of the authority for inspection by the public free of charge during office hours;
" stream " includes any river, watercourse or inland water, whether the river, watercourse or inland water is natural or artificial or above or below ground, except—
(a)subject to subsection (3) of this section, any lake, loch or pond which does not discharge into a stream;
(b)any sewer vested in a water authority; and
(c)any tidal waters ;
and any reference to a stream includes a reference to the channel or bed of a stream which is for the time being dry; and
" tidal waters " includes the waters of any enclosed dock which adjoins tidal waters.
(2)In the application of the preceding subsection to Scotland—
(a)in the definitions of " sewage effluent" and " stream " the references to a water authority shall be construed as references to a local authority within the meaning of the [1968 c. 47.] Sewerage (Scotland) Act 1968 ;
(b)for the definition of " specified underground water " there shall be substituted the following definition—
" specified underground water " means such underground water as may be prescribed.
(3)Regulations may provide that any prescribed lake, loch or pond which does not discharge into a stream, or that any lake, loch or pond of a prescribed description which does not discharge into a stream, shall be a stream for the purposes of this Part of this Act.
(4)For the purposes of this Part of this Act the area of a water authority shall include all controlled waters off the coast of the area which is the authority's area apart from this subsection ; and any question as to whether any place is included in the area of a water authority by virtue of this subsection shall be determined by the Secretary of State.
(5)For the purposes of this Part of this Act a notice imposing conditions with respect to discharges which was given by an authority in pursuance of—
(a)section 7(4) of the [1951 c. 64.] Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) Act 1951; or
(b)section 28(4) of the [1951 c. 66.] Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) (Scotland) Act 1951 ; or
(c)section 1(5) of the [1961 c. 50.] Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) Act 1961 ; or
(d)section 1(5) of the [1965 c. 13.] Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) (Scotland) Act 1965,
shall be treated as having given the authority's consent in pursuance of the Act in question for those discharges subject to those conditions.
(6)Section 30(5) of this Act shall have effect in relation to this Part of this Act as if for any reference to Part I of this Act there were substituted a reference to this Part of this Act.