Section 117N: Designation of strategic sewerage provision, Water Industry Act 1991

Subsection (2) applies if at any time the Authority determines that the removal of matter from a sewerage undertaker's sewerage system that the undertaker is required to permit under section 117C or 117D in accordance with a section 117E agreement constitutes strategic sewerage provision.

The Authority must designate the removal of matter as strategic sewerage provision.

Subsection (4) applies if—

a sewerage undertaker requests the Authority to make a determination that a particular removal of matter constitutes strategic sewerage provision for the purposes of subsection (1), or

the Authority otherwise proposes to make a determination that a particular removal of matter constitutes strategic sewerage provision for the purposes of subsection (1).

The Authority must give notice of the request or proposed determination to—

the Secretary of State;

the appropriate agency;

the other party or parties, or the parties, to the section 117E agreement; and

such other persons (if any) as the Authority thinks it appropriate to notify.

The Authority must consider any representations or objections which are duly made and not withdrawn.

If the Authority determines that a particular removal of matter designated under this section as strategic sewerage provision no longer constitutes such provision, it must cancel its designation.

If the Authority proposes to make a determination under subsection (7) that a particular removal of matter no longer constitutes strategic sewerage provision, it must give notice of the proposed determination to—

the Secretary of State;

the appropriate agency; and

the parties to the section 117E agreements in question.

Subsection (5) applies to a notice under subsection (8) as it applies to a notice under subsection (4), and subsection (6) applies accordingly.

For the purposes of this section, a removal of matter from a sewerage system is strategic sewerage provision if, without that removal of matter, there is a substantial risk that the sewerage undertaker would be unable—

to maintain its services to its own customers, and

to fulfil its obligations under section 117B to deal with matter in its sewerage system.

In this section and section 117O "the appropriate agency", in relation to a determination in respect of the removal of matter from a sewerage undertaker's system, means—

the Environment Agency, in a case where the undertaker's area is wholly in England;

both the Environment Agency and the NRBW, in a case where the undertaker's area is partly in England and partly in Wales.

Section 117N: Designation of strategic sewerage provision

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