In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

• F1“the Agency” means the Environment Agency;

• “agricultural buildings” has the meaning provided by paragraphs 2 to 8 of Schedule 5 to the M1Local Government Finance Act 1988;

• “agricultural land” has the meaning provided by paragraphs 2 and 4 to 8 of that Schedule;

• F8“the appropriate agency” means—

  1. a

     in relation to England, the Agency;

  2. b

     in relation to Wales, the Natural Resources Body for Wales;

• F8“the appropriate supervisory body” means—

  1. a

     in relation to internal drainage districts which are wholly or mainly in England, the Agency;

  2. b

     in relation to internal drainage districts which are wholly or mainly in Wales, the Natural Resources Body for Wales.

• “banks” means banks, walls or embankments adjoining or confining, or constructed for the purposes of or in connection with, any channel or sea front, and includes all land between the bank and low-watermark;

• “chargeable property” means a hereditament comprising agricultural land or agricultural buildings in respect of which drainage rates may be assessed under Chapter II of Part IV of this Act;

• “charging authority” has the same meaning as in the Local Government Finance Act 1988;

• “conservancy authority” means any person who has a duty or power under any enactment to conserve, maintain or improve the navigation of a tidal water and is not a navigation authority or a harbour authority within the meaning of F2Chapter II of Part VI of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995;

• F7“culvert” means a covered channel or pipe which prevents the obstruction of a watercourse or drainage path by an artificial construction.

• F3“drainage” includes—

  1. a

     defence against water (including sea water);

  2. b

     irrigation, other than spray irrigation;

  3. c

     warping; and

  4. d

     the carrying on, for any purpose, of any other practice which involves management of the level of water in a watercourse;

• “drainage body” means the F4AgencyF9the Natural Resources Body for Wales, an internal drainage board or any other body having power to make or maintain works for the drainage of land;

• F12“enactment” includes an enactment comprised in subordinate legislation within the meaning of the Interpretation Act 1978;

• F12“English drainage board” means a drainage board for an English internal drainage district;

• F12“English internal drainage district” means an internal drainage district which is wholly or mainly in England;

• “financial year” means the twelve months ending with 31st March;

• “harbour” and “harbour authority” have the same meanings as in the F2Merchant Shipping Act 1995;

• “land” includes water and any interests in land or water and any easement or right in, to or over land or water;

• “local authority” means the council of a county, F5county borough, district or London borough or the Common Council of the City of London;

• “main river” has the same meaning as in the M2Water Resources Act 1991;

• “the Minister” means the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food;

• “the Ministers” means the Minister and the Secretary of State, and in relation to anything which falls to be done by the Ministers, means those Ministers acting jointly;

• F6 . . .

• “navigation authority” means any person who has a duty or power under any enactment to work, maintain, conserve, improve or control any canal or other inland navigation, navigable river, estuary, harbour or dock;

• “ordinary watercourse” means a watercourse that does not form part of a main river;

• “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations under section 65 above;

• “qualified authority”, in relation to an internal drainage district, means a charging authority for an area wholly or partly included in that district;

• “qualified persons” shall be construed in accordance with subsection (2) below;

• “the relevant Minister”—

  1. (a)

     in relation to internal drainage districts which are neither wholly nor partly in Wales or to the boards for such districts, means the Minister;

  2. (b)

     in relation to internal drainage districts which are partly in Wales or to the boards for such districts, means the Ministers; and

  3. (c)

     in relation to internal drainage districts which are wholly in Wales or to the boards for such districts, means the Secretary of State;

• “watercourse” includes all rivers and streams and all ditches, drains, cuts, culverts, dikes, sluices, sewers (other than public sewers within the meaning of the M3Water Industry Act 1991) and passages, through which water flows.

• F12“Welsh drainage board” means a drainage board for a Welsh internal drainage district;

• F12“Welsh internal drainage district” means an internal drainage district which is wholly or mainly in Wales.

In relation to a district divided into sub-districts the persons qualified to make a petition under section 39 above as being the occupiers of land in one of the sub-districts shall also be sufficient in any case where the condition in subsection (2)(b)(ii) or (iii) above would be satisfied if the sub-district were an internal drainage district.

The references to the assessable value of any land in paragraph (b) of subsection (2) above are references to the amount which for the purposes of the drainage rate mentioned in that paragraph would be the annual value of the land.

References in this Act to the carrying out of drainage works include references to the improvement of drainage works.

Nothing in this Act shall operate to release any person from an obligation to which section 21 above applies; and the functions of the F4AgencyF10, the Natural Resources Body for Wales or any internal drainage board as respects the doing of any work under this Act are not to be treated as in any way limited by the fact that some other person is under an obligation, by reason of tenure, custom, prescription or otherwise, to do that work.

Where by virtue of any provision of this Act any function of a Minister of the Crown is exercisable concurrently by different Ministers, that function shall also be exercisable jointly by any two or more of those Ministers.

This Act so far as it confers any powers on the F4AgencyF11or the Natural Resources Body for Wales shall have effect subject to the provisions of the M5Water Resources Act 1991.

The powers conferred by this Act on the Common Council of the City of London shall be exercisable as respects that City.

Sub-paragraph (1) of paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 to the M6Water Consolidation (Consequential Provisions) Act 1991 has effect (by virtue of sub-paragraph (2)(b) of that paragraph) so that references in this Act to things done under or for the purposes of provisions of this Act or the Water Resources Act 1991 include references to things done, or treated as done, under or for the purposes of the corresponding provisions of the law in force before the commencement of this Act.