Water Services Act 2007
|
General duties of an owner or occupier. |
70.— (1) The occupier of a premises (or if unoccupied the owner) shall not permit waste water to be discharged from the premises to a sewer in a manner that— | |
(a) causes, or is likely to cause a risk to human health or the environment, including risk to waters, the atmosphere, land, soil, plants or animals, or | ||
(b) creates a nuisance through odours. | ||
(2) The owner of a premises shall ensure that all drains, manholes, gullytraps and storage and treatment systems for waste water, including related accessories, not in the charge of a water services provider, which serve that premises are kept so as not to— | ||
(a) cause, or be likely to cause, a risk to human health or the environment, including to waters, the atmosphere, land, soil, plants or animals, or | ||
(b) create a nuisance through odours. | ||
(3) A person shall not throw or cause to be thrown, pass or cause to be passed any matter or substance into any sewer or drain— | ||
(a) by which the free flow of the contents of such sewer or drain may be interfered with, | ||
(b) by which any such sewer, drain or related waste water works may be damaged, | ||
(c) which would prejudicially affect the treatment, recovery or disposal of the contents of the sewer or drain, whether because of its temperature, chemical composition or otherwise, | ||
(d) which causes, or is likely to cause, a risk to human health or safety or gives rise to, or is likely to give rise to substances which cause such risk, or | ||
(e) which causes or is likely to cause a risk to the environment, including to waters, the atmosphere, land, soil, plants or animals. | ||
(4) A person shall not permit or cause the entry of any polluting matter, including sewage, to any drain or sewer provided or used solely for the reception or disposal of storm water. | ||
(5) The occupier of a premises (or if unoccupied the owner) shall notify the water services authority in whose functional area a leak, accident or other incident occurs concerning waste water discharges from the premises to a drain, sewer or treatment system which is causing or is likely to cause a risk to human health or safety, or the environment, or which prejudicially affects, or is likely so to do, the treatment, recovery or disposal of the contents of the drain, sewer or treatment system, and shall actively co-operate with the water services authority and comply with the instructions of the water services authority in relation to measures necessary to effect remediation. | ||
(6) A water services authority or any person affected by a failure, or alleged failure of a third party to comply with a duty of care provided for under this section may complain to the District Court, and the Court may order the third party to take the measures necessary to effect a cessation of the activity which is the subject of the complaint, or to take specified measures to effect compliance with their obligations under this section. | ||
(7) Before a complaint is made to the District Court under subsection (6), the water services authority or the person concerned, as the case may be, shall serve a notice in the prescribed form of the intention to make such a complaint, within such time as may be specified in the notice, on the said third party. | ||
(8) In a prosecution for a contravention of subsection (1) or (3) or in proceedings under subsection (6) it shall be a defence to prove that the activity concerned was carried out in accordance with a licence or revised licence under Part 4 of the Act of 1992 or a licence under section 16 of the Act of 1977 or section 63 , provided that the licence was not obtained through intentional or negligent misrepresentation in the application. | ||
(9) The Minister may make regulations to prohibit or restrict, or to specify measures (including pre-treatment requirements) to be undertaken prior to, the discharge of specified effluent to a drain or waste water works. | ||
(10) A person who fails to comply with or contravenes subsection (1), (2), (3), (4) or (5) or a regulation under subsection (9) commits an offence. | ||
(11) In this section a reference to a drain shall be construed as a reference to a drain or a service connection. |