The Willington C Gas Pipeline Order 2014

PART 4 SUPPLEMENTAL POWERS

Discharge of water

14.—(1) The undertaker may use any watercourse or any public sewer or drain for the drainage of water in connection with the carrying out or maintenance of the authorised development and for that purpose may lay down, take up and alter pipes and may, on any land within the works limits, make openings into, and connections with, that watercourse, public sewer or drain.

(2) Any dispute arising from the making of connections to or the use of a public sewer or drain by the undertaker pursuant to paragraph (1) must be determined as if it were a question arising under section 106 of the Water Industry Act 1991(1) (right to communicate with public sewers).

(3) The undertaker must not discharge any water into any watercourse, public sewer or drain except with the consent of the person to whom it belongs; and such consent may be given subject to such terms and conditions as that person may reasonably impose, but must not be unreasonably withheld.

(4) The undertaker must not make any opening into any public sewer or drain except—

(a) in accordance with plans approved by the person to whom the sewer or drain belongs, but such approval must not be unreasonably withheld; and

(b) where that person has been given the opportunity to observe the making of the opening.

(5) The undertaker must not, in carrying out or maintaining works pursuant to this article, damage or interfere with the bed or banks of any watercourse forming part of a main river.

(6) The undertaker must take such steps as are reasonably practicable to secure that any water discharged into a watercourse or public sewer or drain pursuant to this article is as free as may be practicable from gravel, soil or other solid substance, oil or matter in suspension.

(7) This article does not authorise a groundwater activity or a water discharge activity within the meaning of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010(2).

(8) In this article—

(a) “public sewer or drain” means a sewer or drain which belongs to the Homes and Communities Agency, the Environment Agency, a harbour authority within the meaning of section 57 of the Harbours Act 1964(3) (interpretation), an internal drainage board, a joint planning board, a local authority, a National Park Authority, a sewerage undertaker(4) or an urban development corporation; and

(b) other expressions, excluding watercourse, used both in this article and in the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 have the same meaning as in those Regulations.

Authority to survey and investigate land

15.—(1) The undertaker may for the purposes of this Order enter on any land shown within the Order limits and—

(a) survey or investigate the land;

(b) without limiting sub-paragraph (a), make trial holes in such positions on the land as the undertaker thinks fit to investigate the nature of the surface layer and subsoil and remove soil samples;

(c) without limiting sub-paragraph (a), carry out ecological or archaeological investigations on such land; and

(d) place on, leave on and remove from the land apparatus for use in connection with the survey and investigation of land and making of trial holes.

This is limited to the right to carry out the surveys and investigations specified in column (2) of Schedule 4 (land in which surveys and investigations may be carried out) over the land specified in column (1) of that Schedule.

(2) No land may be entered or equipment placed or left on or removed from the land under sub-paragraph (1) unless at least 14 days’ notice has been served on every owner and occupier of the land.

(3) Any person entering land under this article on behalf of the undertaker—

(a) must, if so required on entering the land, produce written evidence of the person’s authority to do so; and

(b) may take with them such vehicles and equipment as are necessary to carry out the survey or investigation or to make the trial holes.

(4) No trial holes may be made under this article—

(a) in land located within the highway boundary without the consent of the local highway authority; or

(b) in a private street without the consent of the street authority,

but such consent must not be unreasonably withheld.

(5) The undertaker must compensate the owners and occupiers of the land for any loss or damage arising by reason of the exercise of the authority conferred by this article, such compensation to be determined, in case of dispute, under Part 1 (determination of questions of disputed compensation) of the 1961 Act(5).

(1)

1991 c.56. Section 106 was amended by section 35(8)(a) of the Competition and Service (Utilities) Act 1992 (c.43) and by sections 36(2) and 99 of the Water Act 2003 (c.37). There are other amendments to this section which are not relevant to this Order.

(2)

S.I. 2010/675. “Groundwater activity” is defined in paragraph 3 of Schedule 22; and “water discharge activity” in paragraph 3 of Schedule 21.

(3)

1964 c.40.

(4)

“Sewerage undertaker” is defined in Schedule 1 to the Interpretation Act 1978 (c.30).

(5)

Sections 1 and 4 were amended, and sections 2 and 3 repealed, by paragraphs 37 to 39 of S.I. 2009/1307.