16.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4) below, the undertaker may use any watercourse or any public sewer or drain for the drainage of water in connection with the carrying out or maintenance of the authorised project and for that purpose may lay down, take up and alter pipes and may, on any land within the Order limits, make openings into, and connections with, the watercourse, public sewer or drain.
(2) Any dispute arising from the making of connections to or the use of a public sewer or drain by the undertaker pursuant to paragraph (1) is determined as if it were a dispute under section 106 of the Water Industry Act 1991M1 (right to communicate with public sewers).
(3) The undertaker must not discharge any water into any watercourse, public sewer or drain except with the consent of the person to whom it belongs; and such consent may be given subject to such terms and conditions as that person may reasonably impose, but must not be unreasonably withheld.
(4) The undertaker must not make any opening into any public sewer or drain except—
(a)in accordance with plans approved by the person to whom the sewer or drain belongs, but such approval must not be unreasonably withheld; and
(b)where that person has been given the opportunity to supervise the making of the opening.
(5) The undertaker must not, in carrying out or maintaining works pursuant to this article, damage or interfere with the bed or banks of, or construct any works in, under, over or within eight metres of, any watercourse forming part of a main river, or within 16 metres of a tidally influenced main river without the prior written consent of the Environment Agency.
(6) The undertaker must take such steps as are reasonably practicable to secure that any water discharged into a watercourse or public sewer or drain pursuant to this article is as free as may be practicable from gravel, soil or other solid substance, oil or matter in suspension.
(7) Nothing in this article overrides the requirement for an environmental permit under regulation 12(1)(b) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016(1).
(8) In this article—
(a)“public sewer or drain” means a sewer or drain which belongs to a sewerage undertaker, the Environment Agency, an internal drainage board or a local authority; and
(b)other expressions, excluding watercourse, used both in this article and in the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 have the same meaning as in those Regulations.
(9) If a person who receives an application for consent or approval fails to notify the undertaker of a decision within 28 days of receiving an application for consent under paragraphs (3) or (5) or approval under paragraph (4)(a) that person is deemed to have granted consent or given approval, as the case may be.
Commencement Information
I1Art. 16 in force at 22.4.2022, see art. 1(2)
Marginal Citations
M11991 c. 56. Section 106 was amended by section 35(8)(a) [and 43(2)] of the Competition and Service (Utilities) Act 1992 (c. 43) and sections 36(2) and 99 of the Water Act 2003 (c. 37). There are other amendments to this section which are not relevant to this Order. [Editorial note: Words in art. 16(2) footnote inserted (22.12.2022) by virtue of The East Anglia TWO Offshore Wind Farm (Correction) Order 2022 (S.I. 2022/1399), art. 1(2), Sch.]
17.—(1) The undertaker may for the purposes of this Order enter on any land shown within the Order limits or which may be affected by the authorised project and—
(a)survey or investigate the land;
(b)without prejudice to the generality of sub-paragraph (a), make trial holes in such positions on the land as the undertaker thinks fit to investigate the nature of the surface layer, subsoil and groundwater and remove soil and groundwater samples;
(c)without prejudice to the generality of sub-paragraph (a), make trial trenches in such positions on the land as the undertaker thinks fit to carry out archaeological and site investigations;
(d)without prejudice to the generality of sub-paragraph (a), carry out ecological or archaeological investigations or environmental monitoring on such land; and
(e)place on, leave on and remove from the land apparatus and welfare facilities for use in connection with the survey and investigation of land, environmental monitoring and making of trial holes and trial trenches.
(2) No land may be entered or equipment placed or left on or removed from the land under paragraph (1) unless at least 14 days’ notice has been served on every owner and occupier of the land.
(3) Any person entering land under this article on behalf of the undertaker—
(a)must, if so required on entering the land, produce written evidence of their authority to do so; and
(b)may take with them such vehicles and equipment as are necessary to carry out the survey or investigation or to make the trial holes.
(4) No trial holes may be made under this article—
(a)in land located within the highway boundary without the consent of the highway authority; or
(b)in a private street without the consent of the street authority,
but such consent must not be unreasonably withheld.
(5) Following completion of any survey, monitoring or investigation works the undertaker must remove all equipment, apparatus and welfare facilities placed on the land in connection with such survey, monitoring or investigations.
(6) The undertaker must compensate the owners and occupiers of the land for any loss or damage arising by reason of the exercise of the authority conferred by this article, such compensation to be determined, in case of dispute, under Part 1 (determination of questions of disputed compensation) of the 1961 Act.
(7) If either a highway authority or a street authority which receives an application for consent fails to notify the undertaker of its decision within 28 days of receiving the application for consent—
(a)under paragraph (4)(a) in the case of a highway authority; or
(b)under paragraph (4)(b) in the case of a street authority;
that authority is deemed to have granted consent.
Commencement Information
I2Art. 17 in force at 22.4.2022, see art. 1(2)