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Amendment of section 175 of Principal Act.
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34.— Section 175 of the Principal Act is amended—
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(a) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (5):
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“(5) (a) The Board may—
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(i) if it considers it necessary to do so, require a local authority that has applied for approval for a proposed development to furnish to the Board such further information in relation to—
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(I) the effects on the environment of the proposed development, or
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(II) the consequences for proper planning and sustainable development in the area in which it is proposed to situate the said development of such development,
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as the Board may specify, or
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(ii) if it is provisionally of the view that it would be appropriate to approve the proposed development were certain alterations (specified in the notification referred to in this subparagraph) to be made to the terms of it, notify the local authority that it is of that view and invite the authority to make to the terms of the proposed development alterations specified in the notification and, if the authority makes those alterations, to furnish to it such information (if any) as it may specify in relation to the development, in the terms as so altered, or, where necessary, a revised environmental impact statement in respect of it.
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(b) If a local authority makes the alterations to the terms of the proposed development specified in a notification given to it under paragraph (a), the terms of the development as so altered shall be deemed to be the proposed development for the purposes of this section.
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(c) The Board shall—
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(i) where it considers that any further information received pursuant to a requirement made under paragraph (a)(i) contains significant additional data relating to—
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(I) the likely effects on the environment of the proposed development, and
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(II) the likely consequences for the proper planning and sustainable development in the area in which it is proposed to situate the said development of such development,
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or
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(ii) where the local authority has made the alterations to the terms of the proposed development specified in a notification given to it under paragraph (a)(ii),
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require the local authority to do the things referred to in paragraph (d).
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(d) The things which a local authority shall be required to do as aforesaid are—
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(i) to publish in one or more newspapers circulating in the area in which the proposed development would be situate a notice stating that, as appropriate—
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(I) further information in relation to the proposed development has been furnished to the Board, or
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(II) the local authority has, pursuant to an invitation of the Board, made alterations to the terms of the proposed development (and the nature of those alterations shall be indicated) and, if it be the case, that information in relation to the terms of the development as so altered or a revised environmental impact statement in respect of the development has been furnished to the Board,
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indicating the times at which, the period (which shall not be less than 3 weeks) during which and the place, or places, where a copy of the information or the environmental impact statement referred to in clause (I) or (II) may be inspected free of charge or purchased and that submissions or observations in relation to that information or statement may be made to the Board before the expiration of the indicated period, and
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(ii) to send to each prescribed authority to which notice was given pursuant to subsection (4)(b)—
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(I) a notice of the furnishing to the Board of, as appropriate, the further information referred to in subparagraph (i)(I) or the information or statement referred to in subparagraph (i)(II), and
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(II) a copy of that further information, information or statement,
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and to indicate to the authority that submissions or observations in relation to that further information, information or statement may be made to the Board before the expiration of a period (which shall not be less than 3 weeks) beginning on the day on which the notice is sent to the prescribed authority by the local authority.”,
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(b) in subsection (6)(a), by substituting “the environmental impact statement submitted pursuant to subsection (1) or (5)(a)(ii), any submission or observations made in accordance with subsection (4) or (5)” for “the environmental impact statement submitted pursuant to subsection (1), any submissions or observations made in accordance with subsection (4)”, and
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(c) by substituting the following subsections for subsection (9):
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“(9) (a) The Board may, in respect of an application for approval under this section of proposed development—
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(i) approve the proposed development,
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(ii) make such modifications to the proposed development as it specifies in the approval and approve the proposed development as so modified,
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(iii) approve, in part only, the proposed development (with or without specified modifications of it of the foregoing kind), or
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(iv) refuse to approve the proposed development,
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and may attach to an approval under subparagraph (i), (ii) or (iii) such conditions as it considers appropriate.
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(b) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power to attach conditions, the Board may attach to an approval under paragraph (a)(i), (ii) or (iii) a condition requiring—
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(i) the construction or the financing, in whole or in part, of the construction of a facility, or
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(ii) the provision or the financing, in whole or in part, of the provision of a service,
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in the area in which the proposed development would be situated, being a facility or service that, in the opinion of the Board, would constitute a substantial gain to the community.
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(c) A condition attached pursuant to paragraph (b) shall not require such an amount of financial resources to be committed for the purposes of the condition being complied with as would substantially deprive the person in whose favour the approval operates of the benefits likely to accrue from the grant of the approval.
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(9A) (a) The Board shall direct the payment of such sum as it considers reasonable by the local authority concerned to the Board towards the costs and expenses incurred by the Board in determining an application under this section for approval of a proposed development, including—
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(i) the costs of holding any oral hearing in relation to the application,
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(ii) the fees of any consultants or advisers engaged in the matter, and
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(iii) an amount equal to such portion of the remuneration and any allowances for expenses paid to the members and employees of the Board as the Board determines to be attributable to the performance of duties by the members and employees in relation to the application,
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and the local authority shall pay the sum.
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(b) If a local authority fails to pay a sum directed to be paid under paragraph (a), the Board may recover the sum from the authority as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.”.
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