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STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS


2001 No. 1091

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

The Offshore Combustion Installations (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Regulations 2001

  Made 18th March 2001 
  Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1


ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS

1. Citation and commencement
2. Interpretation
3. Requirement for permit to operate combustion installation
4. Grant of permit; contents of permit; publication of grant of permit
5. Contents of application for permit
6. Fees
7. Publicity regarding application for permit
8. Variation of conditions of permit on application of operator
9. Reconsideration and updating of permit conditions
10. Revocation, surrender and assignment of permit
11. Register to be kept by Secretary of State
12. Provision of information to Secretary of State
13. Appointment of inspectors
14. Enforcement notices
15. Prohibition notices
16. Power of Secretary of State to take action
17. Appeal to High Court, Court of Session or High Court in Northern Ireland
18. Offences
19. Service of notices

SCHEDULES

  Schedule 1 Matters to be taken into account when determining best available techniques bearing in mind the likely costs and benefits of a measure and the principles of precaution and prevention

  Schedule 2 Main polluting substances

Whereas the Secretary of State has consulted the persons required to be consulted by section 2(4) of the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999[
1];

     And whereas a draft of these Regulations has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament pursuant to sections 2(8) and 2(9) of that Act;

     Now, therefore, the Secretary of State in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 2 and 7(9) of that Act hereby makes the following Regulations: - 

Citation and commencement
     1. These Regulations may be cited as the Offshore Combustion Installations (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Regulations 2001 and shall come into force on the day after the day on which they are made.

Interpretation
    
2. In these Regulations - 

but does not include any structure where the principal purpose of the use of the structure is the establishment of the existence of petroleum or the appraisal of its characteristics, quality or quantity or the characteristics or extent of any reservoir in which it occurs;

as the case may be;

Requirement for permit to operate combustion installation
     3.  - (1) Subject to paragraph (2) below, no person shall operate a qualifying offshore combustion installation after the prescribed date otherwise than in accordance with the terms of, and conditions attached to, a permit granted in accordance with these Regulations.

    (2) Paragraph (1) above shall not apply to the operation of an existing qualifying offshore combustion installation before 30th October 2007 except where that installation is the subject of a change which in the opinion of the Secretary of State is a substantial change.

Grant of permit; contents of permit; publication of grant of permit
    
4.  - (1) Subject to paragraph (3) below, where the Secretary of State receives an application for a permit in accordance with regulation 5 below, he may grant that application provided that he - 

    (2) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4) below, the Secretary of State shall attach to every permit granted by him pursuant to paragraph (1) above conditions which in his opinion are framed in such a way as to ensure that - 

    (3) Paragraph (2) above shall not apply to the extent that the Secretary of State is satisfied that the matters referred to in it are adequately dealt with by or under the provisions of any other enactment.

    (4) Where an application for a permit includes details of any plan designed to reduce pollution from the combustion installation in question, the Secretary of State may include derogations from any condition imposed in compliance with paragraph (2)(c) above provided that such derogations are limited to the period of six months following the grant of the permit.

    (5) In addition to any conditions required to be attached to any permit by virtue of paragraph (2) above, the Secretary of State may attach to a permit such other conditions as he thinks fit.

    (6) Where the Secretary of State grants a permit he shall send it to the applicant.

    (7) Where the Secretary of State refuses an application for the grant of a permit he shall give notice of such refusal to the applicant.

    (8) The Secretary of State shall publish in the Gazettes notice of the granting of any permit.

Contents of application for permit
    
5.  - (1) An application for the grant of a permit under regulation 4 above shall be in writing and shall contain a description of - 

    (2) An application for a permit shall also include a non-technical summary of the details referred to in paragraph (1) above.

    (3) Where any of the information referred to in paragraph (1) above is contained in a relevant environmental statement an application for a permit need not specify that information provided that it is accompanied by a copy of the environmental statement.

Fees
    
6. Every application for a permit shall be accompanied by a fee of £2,000.

Publicity regarding application for permit
    
7.  - (1) Where the Secretary of State receives an application for a permit accompanied by the fee prescribed by regulation 6 above he shall publish a notice in the Gazettes which - 

    (2) Subject to paragraph (5) below, where the Secretary of State receives a request pursuant to paragraph (1) above in relation to an application for a permit prior to the granting of that permit, he shall forthwith supply to the person requesting it a copy of the application in question.

    (3) Subject to paragraph (5) below, where the Secretary of State is aware that the operation of an offshore combustion installation is likely to have a significant effect on the environment of an EEA State, or where that State so requests, the Secretary of State shall forward a copy of the application to the State in question as soon as possible and no later than the date it is made available to the public (except in a case where a request is made by the EEA State after that date).

    (4) Where the Secretary of State has supplied a copy of an application for a permit pursuant to paragraph (3) above, he shall indicate to the EEA State in question the date on which the decision in relation to the granting of the permit is likely to be made and an address to which any representations should be sent.

    (5) Subject to paragraph (6) below, nothing in this regulation shall require the disclosure of any information which is by virtue of the law of any part of the United Kingdom subject to an obligation of confidentiality and - 

    (6) Nothing in paragraph (5) above shall prevent the disclosure of other information included with information to which that paragraph applies where that other information can be separated from the information to which that paragraph applies.

Variation of conditions of permit on application of operator
    
8.  - (1) An operator shall apply in writing for a variation of the terms and conditions relating to a qualifying offshore combustion installation where he proposes to make a change in the operation of that installation and the operation of the installation after the making of that change would no longer be in accordance with the terms and conditions relating to that permit.

    (2) Where the Secretary of State determines that the change planned by the operator would not be a substantial change he may grant the application and vary the terms and conditions of the permit accordingly.

    (3) Where the Secretary of State grants an application pursuant to paragraph (2) above he may make the granting of the application subject to such further conditions as he shall think fit.

    (4) Where the Secretary of State determines that the change would be a substantial change he shall refuse the application and serve a notice in writing on the applicant which states that - 

    (5) Where an application made pursuant to paragraph (1) above is granted, the Secretary of State shall issue to the applicant a revised permit.

Reconsideration and updating of permit conditions
    
9.  - (1) The Secretary of State shall at such intervals as he shall think fit review the conditions attached to every permit granted under these Regulations.

    (2) The Secretary of State shall review the conditions of a permit where in his opinion - 

    (3) Where the Secretary of State considers that the conditions of a permit should be revised, he shall not less than 14 days prior to the day on which such notice states that the revised permit will have effect ("the relevant day"), give notice to the operator of the installation concerned of his intention to issue the operator with a revised permit and of its terms.

    (4) The operator shall be entitled to make representations, either in writing or by such electronic means as the Secretary of State may determine, as to whether such a revised permit should be issued and as to its terms.

    (5) If no representations are received prior to the relevant day, the revised permit shall be issued and shall come into effect on that day.

    (6) If representations are received prior to the relevant day the Secretary of State shall consider them in determining whether the revised notice should be amended, withdrawn or issued as originally notified under paragraph (3) above and may determine that the revised notice should come into effect on a later day than the relevant day.

Revocation, surrender and assignment of permit
    
10.  - (1) The Secretary of State may by notice revoke a permit granted pursuant to these Regulations where he is of the opinion that the application for the permit in question contained any information or statement which was false or misleading in a material particular or where the operator in question has been guilty of a breach of any condition attached to the permit.

    (2) An operator may by notice surrender a permit granted to him.

    (3) A permit may with the consent of the Secretary of State be assigned to another person but where the Secretary of State consents to such assignment it shall not take effect until he has issued to the person to whom the permit is to be assigned a permit in that person's name.

Register to be kept by the Secretary of State
    
11.  - (1) The Secretary of State shall keep a register at a place in the United Kingdom in which he shall cause to be entered - 

    (2) The register referred to in paragraph (1) above shall be open to public inspection on business days between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Provision of information to the Secretary of State
    
12.  - (1) The operator shall forthwith provide to the Secretary of State details of any incident or accident involving a qualifying offshore combustion installation where there has been a significant negative effect on the environment.

    (2) The operator shall forthwith provide to the Secretary of State details of any planned changes in the nature or functioning or any planned extension of a qualifying offshore combustion installation which may have consequences for the environment.

    (3) For the purposes of the discharge by the Secretary of State of any obligation of the United Kingdom under Council Directive 96/61 of September 24th 1996[
10] concerning Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control, the Secretary of State may, by notice served on any person, require that person to furnish such information as may be specified in the notice, in such form and within such period following service of the notice or at such time as is so specified.

    (4) The information which a person may be required to furnish by a notice served under paragraph (3) above includes information on emissions which, although it is not in the possession of that person or would not otherwise come into the possession of that person, is information which it is reasonable to require that person to compile for the purpose of complying with the notice.

Appointment of inspectors
     13.  - (1) The Secretary of State may, if he thinks fit, appoint in writing any person as an inspector to report to him - 

    (2) An inspector appointed under paragraph (1) above may for any of the purposes mentioned in that paragraph - 

    (3) No answer given by a person in pursuance of a requirement imposed under paragraph (2)(i) above shall be admissible in evidence in England and Wales or Northern Ireland against that person in any proceedings, or in Scotland against that person in criminal proceedings.

    (4) Nothing in this regulation shall be taken to compel the production by any person of a document of which he would on grounds of legal professional privilege be entitled to withhold production on an order for disclosure or discovery in an action in the High Court or the High Court in Northern Ireland or, in relation to Scotland, on an order for the production of documents in an action in the Court of Session.

Enforcement notices
    
14.  - (1) If the Secretary of State is of the opinion that the operator of an installation has contravened or is contravening any condition of his permit, or is likely to contravene any such condition, the Secretary of State may serve on him a notice ("an enforcement notice") which - 

    (2) The steps that may be specified under paragraph (1)(c) above, in addition to steps that must be taken to remedy or prevent any contravention, may include steps that must be taken to remedy any pollution caused by a contravention.

    (3) Where the Secretary of State serves an enforcement notice on an operator it shall be the duty of the operator to comply with its terms unless the permit has been revoked or surrendered.

    (4) The Secretary of State may by notice revoke an enforcement notice.

    (5) The service of an enforcement notice shall be without prejudice to the exercise of any other power under any other provision of these Regulations.

Prohibition notices
    
15.  - (1) If the Secretary of State is of the opinion that the operation of a qualifying offshore combustion installation involves an imminent serious risk of pollution, the Secretary of State may serve a notice ("a prohibition notice") on the operator of the installation.

    (2) A prohibition notice may be served whether or not the manner of operating the combustion installation in question contravenes a condition of the permit and may relate to any aspects of the operation of the combustion installation, whether regulated by the conditions of the permit or not.

    (3) A prohibition notice shall - 

and where the direction applies to part only of the operation of the installation it may impose conditions to be observed in carrying on the part which is authorised to be carried on.

    (4) The Secretary of State may by notice withdraw a prohibition notice at any time and shall withdraw a notice when he is satisfied that the steps required by the notice have been taken.

    (5) It shall be the duty of the person to whom the prohibition notice is addressed to comply with its terms save to the extent that it is withdrawn wholly or in part.

    (6) The service of a prohibition notice shall be without prejudice to the exercise by any person of any power under any other provision of these Regulations.

Power of Secretary of State to take action
    
16.  - (1) Where a person to whom an enforcement notice or a prohibition notice is addressed has failed to take the action required by it within such time as may be specified in it or, in default of any time being specified, within a reasonable time of service of that notice, and such a notice has not been withdrawn, the Secretary of State may himself undertake any action required and the cost of so doing shall be recoverable from the person on whom the notice was served.

    (2) The person to whom such a notice as is referred to in paragraph (1) above has been addressed shall afford such assistance as the Secretary of State may reasonably require for the purpose of facilitating the exercise of any powers conferred on the Secretary of State by that paragraph.

    (3) The exercise by the Secretary of State of any power conferred on him by paragraph (1) above shall be without prejudice to any consequences that may arise in respect of any non-compliance with an enforcement notice or a prohibition notice.

Appeal to High Court, Court of Session or High Court in Northern Ireland
    
17.  - (1) Subject to paragraph (6) below, any applicant for a permit or any operator aggrieved by a decision of the Secretary of State made under these Regulations may appeal to the court.

    (2) Subject to paragraph (4) the expression "the court" means - 

    (3) In this regulation the expressions "the English area", "the Scottish area" and "the Northern Irish Area" shall have the same meaning as in the Civil Jurisdiction (Offshore Activities) Order 1987[11].

    (4) Where the combustion installation is situated in more than one of the areas referred to in paragraphs (2) and (3) above, any of the courts having jurisdiction in those areas shall have jurisdiction in relation to the decision in question.

    (5) Unless the court otherwise orders, any decision of the Secretary of State which is the subject of an appeal under paragraph (1) above shall remain in force pending the final disposal of that appeal.

    (6) An appeal under this regulation shall be made within 28 days of written notification of the decision in question.

Offences
     18.  - (1) Subject to paragraph (2) below, a person is guilty of an offence if he - 

    (2) It shall be a defence to a charge under paragraph (1)(b) or (1)(c) above if the person charged with an offence shows that the contravention - 

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

    (4) Where an offence under this regulation 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 any such capacity, he as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

    (5) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, paragraph (4) 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.

    (6) Where the commission by any person of an offence under this regulation is due to the act or default of some other person, that other person may be charged with and convicted of the offence by virtue of this paragraph whether or not proceedings for the offence are taken against the first-mentioned person.

    (7) Proceedings for an offence under this regulation may be taken, and the offence may for all incidental purposes be treated as having been committed, in any part of the United Kingdom.

    (8) Section 3 of the Territorial Waters Jurisdiction Act 1878 (restriction on prosecutions)[
12] shall not apply to any proceedings for an offence under this regulation.

Service of notices
     19.  - (1) Any notice or other document required or authorised to be given to, or served on, any person under these Regulations may be given or served by - 

    (2) Any notice or other document required or authorised to be given to or served on any body corporate or unincorporated association other than a partnership shall be duly given to, or served on, the secretary or clerk or other similar officer of that body.

    (3) Any notice or other document required or authorised to be served on, or given to, any partnership (including a Scottish partnership) shall be duly given to or served on, a partner or a person having the control or management of the partnership business.

    (4) For the purpose of this regulation, the proper address of any person on whom or to whom any such notice or document is to be served or given shall be his last known address except that such address shall be - 

and for the purposes of this paragraph the principal office of a company registered outside the United Kingdom or of a partnership carrying on business outside the United Kingdom shall be its principal office within the United Kingdom.


Peter Hain
Minister for Energy and Competitiveness in Europe Department of Trade and Industry

18th March 2001



SCHEDULE 1
Regulation 2


MATTERS TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT WHEN DETERMINING BEST AVAILABLE TECHNIQUES BEARING IN MIND THE LIKELY COSTS AND BENEFITS OF A MEASURE AND THE PRINCIPLES OF PRECAUTION AND PREVENTION


     1. The use of low waste technology;

     2. the use of less hazardous substances;

     3. the furthering of recovery and recycling of substances generated and used in the process and of waste, where appropriate;

     4. comparable processes, facilities or methods of operation which have been tried with success on an industrial scale;

     5. technological advances and changes in scientific knowledge and understanding;

     6. the nature, effects and quantity of emissions concerned;

     7. the commissioning dates for new or existing installations;

     8. the length of time needed to introduce the best available technique;

     9. the consumption and nature of raw materials (including water) used in the process and their energy efficiency;

     10. the need to prevent or reduce to a minimum the overall impact of the emissions on the environment and the risks to it;

     11. the need to prevent accidents and to minimise the consequences for the environment; and

     12. the information published by the Commission of the European Communities pursuant to Article 16(2) of Council Directive 96/61/EC of 24th September 1996 concerning integrated pollution prevention and control[
13] or by international organisations.



SCHEDULE 2
Regulation 2


MAIN POLLUTING SUBSTANCES


SUBSTANCES AFFECTING AIR
     1. Sulphur dioxide and other sulphur compounds;

     2. oxides of nitrogen and other nitrogen compounds;

     3. carbon monoxide;

     4. volatile organic compounds (including methane);

     5. metals and their compounds;

     6. dust;

     7. asbestos (suspended particulates, fibres);

     8. chlorine and its compounds;

     9. fluorine and its compounds;

     10. arsenic and its compounds;

     11. cyanides; and

     12. substances and preparations which are capable of passing through the air and which have been proved to possess carcinogenic or mutagenic properties or properties which may affect reproduction.

SUBSTANCES AFFECTING WATER
     1. Organohalogen compounds and substances which may form such compounds in the aquatic environment;

     2. organophosphorus compounds;

     3. organotin compounds;

     4. substances and preparations which have been proved to possess carcinogenic or mutagenic properties or properties which may affect reproduction in or via the aquatic environment;

     5. persistent hydrocarbons and persistent bioaccumulable organic toxic substances;

     6. cyanides;

     7. metals and their compounds;

     8. arsenic and its compounds;

     9. biocides;

     10. materials in suspension;

     11. substances which contribute to eutrophication (in particular, nitrates and phosphates); and

     12. substances which have an unfavourable influence on the oxygen balance (and can be measured using parameters including Biological Oxygen Demand or Chemical Oxygen Demand).



EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)


These Regulations are made under section 2 of the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999. They establish a pollution control regime for the purpose of implementing the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (Council Directive 96/61 EC) in relation to offshore qualifying combustion installations (defined in regulation 2). Regulations have already been made (the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations (England & Wales) 2000, S.I. 2000/1973) which implement the Directive in relation to activities carried out onshore as referred to in those Regulations.

The Regulations apply in relation to the sea adjacent to England and Wales, to the United Kingdom territorial sea apart from those areas comprised in Scottish controlled waters and to those areas of sea in any area for the time being designated under section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 1964.

Regulation 2 (and Schedule 1 to the Regulations) deals with definitions. Regulation 3 deals with the need for a permit in order to operate a combustion installation covered by the Regulations; regulations 4 to 9 deal with the procedure for granting permits, the content of permits, the publication of the grant of a permit and also make provision for the variation, reconsideration and updating of permit conditions. Provision is made for the revocation, surrender and assignment of permits by regulation 10. Under regulation 11 the Secretary of State is required to maintain a public register of the provisions of permits and of certain information required to be supplied to him under those provisions. Regulation 12 imposes obligations upon operators of combustion installations to provide information to the Secretary of State. Regulations 13 to 16 deal with enforcement and give the Secretary of State power to appoint inspectors, to serve enforcement and prohibition notices and to take further action in the event of a failure to comply with such a notice.

Regulation 17 gives a right to appeal to the court against the Secretary of State's decisions under the Regulations. Regulation 18 creates offences. Regulation 19 deals with the service of notices and other documents.

Coming into force and transitional provisions
These Regulations come into force on 19th March 2001. After the prescribed date (regulation 2) a permit will be required in order to operate an offshore combustion installation with an input of more than 50 megawatts (regulation 3). An existing qualifying combustion installation (defined in regulation 2) will not require a permit until 30th October 2007 unless, prior to that date, it is subject to a change which is a substantial change in the opinion of the Secretary of State (regulation 3(2)).

A regulatory impact assessment has been prepared and copies can be obtained from Oil and Gas Directorate, Department of Trade and Industry, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET (Tel. 020 7215 5151).


Notes:

[1] 1999 c. 24.back

[2] 1971 c. 80.back

[3] Cm 2703 and Cm 2183.back

[4] 2000 c. 7.back

[5] S.I. 1998/968.back

[6] S.I. 1999/360. These latter Regulations revoke S.I. 1998/968 although S.I. 1998/968 remains in force for certain transitional cases (see regulation 2 of S.I. 1999/360).back

[7] 1998 c. 17.back

[8] 1964 c. 29.back

[9] 1974 c. 40; the provisions of section 30A(1) were inserted into the 1974 Act by section 169 of, and Schedule 23 to, the Water Act 1989 (1989 c. 15).back

[10] OJ No. 257, 10.10.96, p. 26.back

[11] S.I. 1987/2197.back

[12] 1878 41 & 42 Vict. c. 73.back

[13] OJ No. L257, 10.10.96, p. 26.back



ISBN 0 11 029093 3


 © Crown copyright 2001

Prepared 28 March 2001


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