Water Industry Act 1991

132 Powers and procedure on references and reviews

(1) This section applies to—

(a) any reference to the Secretary of State under section 120, 123 or 130 above; and

(b) any review by the Secretary of State under section 127 or 131 above.

(2) On a reference or review to which this section applies, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of State, before determining the questions which are the subject-matter of the reference or review—

(a) to give an opportunity of making representations or objections to the Secretary of State—

(i) to the sewerage undertaker in question; and

(ii) to the following person, that is to say, the owner or the occupier of the trade premises in question, according to whether it is the owner or the occupier of those premises who is proposing to be, or is, the person making the discharges or, as the case may be, a party to the agreement;

and

(b) to consider any representations or objections which are duly made to him with respect to those questions by a person to whom he is required to give such an opportunity and which are not withdrawn.

(3) On determining any question on a reference or review to which this section applies, the Secretary of State shall serve notice on the sewerage undertaker in question and on the person specified in subsection (2)(a)(ii) above.

(4) A notice under this section shall state, according to what has been determined–

(a) that the discharges or operations to which, or to the proposals for which, the reference or review relates, or such of them as are specified in the notice, are to be prohibited; or

(b) that those discharges or operations, or such of them as are so specified, are to be prohibited except in so far as they are made or carried out in accordance with conditions which consist in or include conditions so specified; or

(c) that the Secretary of State has no objection to those discharges or operations and does not intend to impose any requirements as to the conditions on which they are made or carried out.

(5) Without prejudice to section 133 below, a notice under this section, in addition to containing such provision as is specified in sub-paragraph (4) above, may do one or both of the following, that is to say—

(a) vary or revoke the provisions of a previous notice with respect to the discharges or operations in question; and

(b) for the purpose of giving effect to any prohibition or other requirement contained in the notice, vary or revoke any consent under this Chapter or any agreement under section 129 above.

(6) Nothing in subsection (1) or (2) of section 121 above shall be construed as restricting the power of the Secretary of State, by virtue of subsection (4)(b) above, to specify such conditions as he considers appropriate in a notice under this section.

(7) The Secretary of State shall have the same right of entry and other powers for the purposes of this section and any provision under which any reference or review to which this section applies is made as are conferred on a sewerage undertaker by section 171 below in relation to any other provision of this Chapter; and the provisions of that section accordingly have effect with the necessary modifications in relation to the power conferred by this subsection.

(8) The Secretary of State shall send a copy of every notice served under this section to the Director.