Each relevant undertaker must, before 1 April in each calendar year, prepare and publish a pollution incident reduction plan.
A pollution incident reduction plan is a plan for how the undertaker intends to reduce the occurrence of pollution incidents that are attributable to its system.
For the purposes of this section, references to pollution incidents that are attributable to the system of an undertaker—
A pollution incident reduction plan must address in particular—
The Minister must consult the appropriate agency before giving directions under subsection (4)(g).
A relevant undertaker must have regard to any guidance given by the appropriate agency about the preparation and publication of a pollution incident reduction plan.
The appropriate agency must consult the Authority and the Minister before giving guidance of the kind mentioned in subsection (6).
A pollution incident reduction plan must include, or be published with, a statement by the chief executive of the undertaker that the chief executive has personally approved the plan.
The first pollution incident reduction plan required by this section must be published by a relevant undertaker before 1 April in the calendar year after the one in which this section comes into force.
In this section—
"appropriate agency" means—the Environment Agency, in relation to relevant undertakers whose areas are wholly or mainly in England, andthe NRBW, in relation to relevant undertakers whose areas are wholly or mainly in Wales;
"chief executive", in relation to an undertaker, means an employee of the undertaker who, alone or jointly with one or more others, is responsible under the immediate authority of the board of directors for the conduct of the whole of the business of the undertaker;
"environmental permit" means a permit granted under Chapter 2 of Part 2 of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016;
"the Minister" means—the Secretary of State, in relation to relevant undertakers whose areas are wholly or mainly in England, andthe Welsh Ministers, in relation to relevant undertakers whose areas are wholly or mainly in Wales;
"system", in relation to a relevant undertaker, means—in the case of a water undertaker, its supply system within the meaning of Chapter 1A of Part 2 (see section 17B);in the case of a sewerage undertaker, its sewerage system within the meaning of that Chapter (see section 17BA(7)).
In the case of a relevant undertaker that is both a water undertaker and a sewerage undertaker, the duty in subsection (1) is to be discharged in respect of both of its systems in a single plan.