Article 5 Amendment of the 1972 Act

(1)

The 1972 Act shall be amended in accordance with the following paragraphs of this article.

(2)

In section 2(1) the definition of “underground strata” shall be deleted.

(3)

In section 9–

(i)

for subsection (2)(a) there shall be substituted the following paragraph:

“(a)

if within the period of three months beginning with the date on which an application is made to the Board for consent under this section or within such extended period as may at any time be agreed upon in writing between the applicant and the Board, the Board do not give notice to the applicant of their decision on the application, the Board’s consent shall be deemed to be granted unconditionally at the expiration of that period,”;

(ii)

for subsection (2)(b) there shall be substituted the following paragraph:–

“(b)

the provisions of sections 39 and 96 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 shall apply (with necessary modifications) to the grant of consents, subject to conditions, or the refusal of consents, under this section as those provisions apply to the questions mentioned in section 39(1) of the said Act.”;

(iii)

after subsection (2) there shall be inserted the following subsection:–

“(2A)

Any person who contravenes subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence, and section 32(7) of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 (which relates to penalties and proceedings for an offence under section 32(1) of that Act) shall apply with respect to any offence under this section as it applies with respect to any offence under section 32(1) of that Act.”.

(4)

In section 16(2) the words “Section 3 (Control of discharges in or to underground strata);” shall be deleted.