The Public Gas Transporter Pipe-line Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 1999

Offences

18.—(1) Subject to paragraph (3) below, any person who intentionally or recklessly submits to the Secretary of State–

(a) an environmental statement;

(b) appropriate particulars; or

(c) any information required to be submitted by virtue of any provision of these Regulations,

which is false or misleading in a material particular shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3) below, a public gas transporter who–

(a) intentionally acts in breach of the terms of a condition imposed by virtue of regulation 14(1) above; or

(b) carries out any proposed pipe-line works without any necessary consent of the Secretary of State granted in accordance with these Regulations,

shall be guilty of an offence.

(3) It shall be a defence to a charge under paragraph (2)(a) above for the public gas transporter to show–

(a) that he took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence; or

(b) that the acts in question were attributable to anything required to be done as a matter of urgency for the purposes of securing the safety of any person.

(4) A person guilty of an offence under this regulation shall on summary conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum and on conviction on indictment to a fine.

(5) Where an offence under any provision of this regulation committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to have been attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or a person who was purporting to act in such capacity, he as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(6) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, paragraph (5) above shall apply in relation to the acts or defaults of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director of the body corporate.

(7) No proceedings for an offence under this regulation shall be instituted in England and Wales except–

(a) by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions; or

(b) by the Secretary of State or a person authorised by him in that behalf.