Control of Pollution Act 1974

34 Consents for discharges of trade and sewage effluent etc.

(1) An application to a water authority for consent in pursuance of this section for discharges of any effluent or other matter shall state—

(a) the place at which it is proposed to make the discharges to which the application relates ;

(b) the nature and composition of the matter proposed to be discharged and the maximum temperature of it at the time when it is proposed to be discharged ;

(c) the maximum quantity of the matter which it is proposed to discharge on any one day and the highest rate at which it is proposed to discharge it;

and a water authority may if it thinks fit treat an application for consent for discharges at two or more places as separate applications for consent for discharges at each of those places.

(2) Subject to the following section, it shall be the duty of a water authority to which an application for consent is made in pursuance of this section—

(a) to give the consent either unconditionally or subject to conditions or to refuse it; and

(b) not to withhold the consent unreasonably ;

and if within the period of three months beginning with the date when an application for consent is received by a water authority, or within such longer period as may at any time be agreed upon in writing between the authority and the applicant, the authority has neither given nor refused the consent nor informed the applicant that the application has been transmitted to the Secretary of State in pursuance of the following section, the authority shall be deemed to have refused the consent.

(3) If it appears to a water authority that a person has, without the authority's consent, caused or permitted matter to be discharged in its area in contravention of section 32(1) of this Act and that a similar contravention by that person is likely, the authority may if it thinks fit serve on him an instrument in writing giving its consent, subject to conditions specified in the instrument, for discharges of a kind so specified; but consent given in pursuance of this subsection shall not relate to any discharge which occurred before the instrument giving the consent was served on the recipient of the instrument.

(4) The conditions subject to which a water authority may give its consent in pursuance of this section shall be such reasonable conditions as the authority thinks fit; and without prejudice to the generality of the preceding provisions of this subsection those conditions may include reasonable conditions—

(a) as to the places at which the discharges to which the consent relates may be made and as to the design and construction of any outlets for the discharges;

(b) as to the nature, composition, temperature, volume and rate of the discharges and as to the periods during which the discharges may be made ;

(c) as to the provision of facilities for taking samples of the matter discharged and in particular as to the provision, maintenance and use of manholes, inspection chambers, observation wells and boreholes in connection with the discharges;

(d) as to the provision, maintenance and testing of meters for measuring the volume and rate of the discharges and apparatus for determining the nature, composition and temperature of the discharges;

(e) as to the keeping of records of the nature, composition, temperature, volume and rate of the discharges and in particular of records of readings of meters and other recording apparatus provided in accordance with any other condition attached to the consent;

(f) as to the making of returns and the giving of other information to the water authority about file nature, composition, temperature, volume and rate of the discharges; and

(g) as to the steps to be taken for preventing the discharges from coming into contact with any specified underground water;

and it is hereby declared that consent may be given in pursuance of this section subject to different conditions in respect of different periods.

(5) A person who, in an application for consent in pursuance of this section, makes any statement which he knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly makes any statement which is false in a material particular shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £400 or on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine or both.