11.—(1) In this article, “the 1930 Act” means
(a)any reference to a river authority includes a reference to the Conservators of the River Thames, the Lee Conservancy Catchment Board and the Isle of Wight River and Water Authority; and
(b)any reference to the area of a river authority includes a reference to the Thames catchment area, the Lee catchment area and the area of the Isle of Wight River and Water Authority.
(2) Any petition under section 11 of the 1930 Act or section 18 or section 36 of the 1961 Act made by, to or in relation to a river authority before 1st April 1974 shall as from that date be treated as having been made by, to or in relation to the water authority in whose area the land in relation to which that petition was made becomes comprised, and any such petition shall as from that date have effect as if any reference therein to a specified river authority or to the area thereof were a reference to such a water authority as aforesaid or to the area thereof.
(3) Any request made under subsection (3) of section 20 of the 1961 Act to a river authority for the submission to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for confirmation of a scheme under section 8 of the 1930 Act for the revocation, variation or amendment of any provisions affecting or relating to land drainage contained in any award specified in the request which is not complied with by the river authority before 1st April 1974 shall as from that date be treated as a request made to the water authority in whose area the land affected by such a scheme becomes comprised, and in relation to such a request, for the purpose of the said section 20—
(a)the period of six months specified in the said subsection (3) shall be calculated from the date of the making of the request to the river authority.
(b)the refusal of the river authority to submit the scheme shall be treated as a refusal by the water authority, and
(c)if a scheme different from the scheme so requested is submitted by the river authority, it shall be treated as having been submitted by the water authority.
(4) Where before 1st April 1974 the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has, in accordance with Part I of Schedule 2 to the 1930 Act, caused notice of the intention to make any order to which the provisions of that Schedule apply to be published and sent to the councils and authorities mentioned in paragraph 1 of that Schedule, and that order has not been made before that date—
(a)any reference to a specified river authority in the draft order prepared for the purpose of the said Part I, and in any objection to the draft order, and in any document relating to an inquiry with respect to any objection so made, shall have effect from that date as if it were a reference to the water authority in whose area the river authority area becomes comprised or, if the river authority area becomes comprised partly in the area of one water authority and partly in the area of another water authority, as if it were a reference to the water authority in whose area becomes comprised the lands or the greater part of the land, to which the draft order, or any scheme in respect of which the order is intended to be made, refers, and
(b)in making such an order as aforesaid, the Minister may modify the draft order by substituting for references to any enactment amended or repealed by the 1972 Act or the 1973 Act references to that enactment as so amended or to any other enactment.
(5) Any application which has been made after 1st February 1974 but before 1st April 1974 to a river authority by the council of a county, county borough or county district, or by the Greater London Council or the council of a London borough, under section 34(6) of the 1961 Act for consent to the execution of drainage works, being an application to which consent is neither given nor refused before 1st April 1974, shall be treated and have effect as an application made to the water authority in whose area becomes comprised the land in which those drainage works are intended to be executed; and if the consent of the water authority is neither given nor refused during such period from 1st April 1974 as constitutes the remainder of the period of two months from the date of the making of the application to the river authority, the consent of that water authority shall be deemed to have been given—
(a)in the case of an application made by the council of a county, county borough or county district, to the council established under the 1972 Act to which the relevant functions of the council which made the application have been transferred, and
(b)in the case of an application made by the Greater London Council or a London borough council, to the council which made the application.