Article 6 Environmental statements: provision of information and directions given by the Secretary of State
An applicant may submit a request in writing to the Secretary of State for a direction (herein referred to as a “waiver direction”) that a proposed application need not be accompanied by an environmental statement or by such part of the environmental statement as is specified in the request.
Such a request shall be accompanied by—
a plan sufficient to identify the land affected (if any);
a brief description of the nature and purposes of the proposed order to be sought by the applicant and of its possible effects on the environment;
a statement of the reasons for making the request; and
such other information and representations as the applicant wishes to provide or make.
The Secretary of State shall, not later than 28 days after receiving such a request, notify an applicant in writing of any matters on which he considers that the information provided pursuant to paragraph (2) above is insufficient to enable him to determine whether to give or refuse to give a waiver direction and the applicant shall provide such further information on these matters as the applicant is reasonably able to.
The Secretary of State shall determine whether to give or refuse to give a waiver direction not later than 42 days after either the date of the request or (if applicable) the date when the further information requested by the Secretary of State has been provided and any direction given may be either—
absolute; or
conditional, in accordance with paragraphs (7) and (8) below.
The Secretary of State may give an absolute waiver direction in respect of a class of applications for orders which provide only for matters specified in such direction where it appears to him that it is impossible or unnecessary for the applicant to submit an environmental statement with applications of that class.
The Secretary of State shall not give an absolute waiver direction if the proposed order would, if made, authorise a works or other project falling within either—
one of the classes listed in Annex I to the Directive; or
one of the classes listed in Annex II to the Directive where the project, by virtue of its nature, size or location, is likely to have significant effects on the environment.
If the Secretary of State is satisfied that it is impossible or impracticable for the applicant to provide the information specified in Schedule 1 below (hereinafter in this rule referred to as the “prescribed information”), or a part thereof, at the date of the application, he may give a waiver direction upon the following conditions, namely that—
the application is accompanied by such part of the prescribed information as the Secretary of State is satisfied can be provided at that time, and
the remainder of the prescribed information is submitted to him not later than a date specified in the direction and being not more than 42 days after the date of the application.
A conditional waiver direction shall include such of the further conditions specified in paragraph (13) below as appear to the Secretary of State to be appropriate.
Where, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, the applicant has failed to provide any part of the prescribed information, the Secretary of State shall direct the applicant (who shall comply with such direction as soon as reasonably practicable) to supply that part and such direction shall—
specify the form in which the said information is to be supplied, and
include such of the conditions specified in paragraph (13) below as appear to the Secretary of State to be appropriate.
Subject to paragraph (11) below, where an applicant has, pursuant to paragraph (2) or (3) of rule 3 above, served notice upon a person named in rule 3(3) or in column (2) of Schedule 2 below—
that person shall, if requested in writing by the applicant and subject to his being reimbursed the reasonable cost of so doing, provide to the applicant any information which that person has and which either he or the applicant considers relevant to the preparation of the environmental statement; and
in the event of that person failing to provide such information within 28 days of such request the Secretary of State may (upon being requested to do so by the applicant) direct that person to provide the information and he shall upon receipt of such a direction provide it forthwith.
Paragraph (10) above shall not require the disclosure by any person of confidential information.
The applicant may submit to the Secretary of State a document containing new information which is additional to, or which corrects or clarifies, the environmental statement or any part thereof but in any such case the applicant shall comply with rule 8 below as if it applied to that document and as if a reference to the submission of the document were substituted for the reference therein to the making of the application, provided that, where the Secretary of State has given notice of his intention to hold a public inquiry, no such information may be submitted to the Secretary of State under the provisions of this paragraph after the date upon which the applicant is obliged, by rules made under section 9 of the Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1992f1, to serve upon the Secretary of State a full statement of the case he intends to put to the inquiry.
The conditions referred to in paragraphs (8) and (9) above are conditions as to—
the service upon other persons of any document containing any part of the prescribed information (including such service as would otherwise have been required under rule 8 below), and
the publication or service of notices as to the submission of any part of the prescribed information (including notices in the London Gazette and local newspapers).
Where an applicant requests the Secretary of State to give a waiver or other direction under the provisions of this rule and the proposed order would, if made, authorise 2 or more projects which are not interdependent, the Secretary of State may, if he considers it expedient, treat each such project separately for the purposes of paragraphs (3) to (13) above and the references above to an application or proposed application shall be construed as relating to such an individual project rather than to the application as a whole.
Annotations
Footnotes
- f1