Mines and Quarries (Tips) Act 1969
| Year | 1969 |
Mines and Quarries (Tips)Act 1969
10
An Act to make further provision in relation to tips associated with mines and quarries; to prevent disused tips constituting a danger to members of the public; and for purposes connected with those matters.
[27th March 1969]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Part I
and QuarriesSecurity of Tips Associated with Mines
1 Security of certain tips and application of Mines and Quarries Act 1954.
(1) Every tip to which this Part of this Act applies shall be made and kept secure.
(2) Provision may be made by regulations with respect to any matter or thing with respect to which it appears to the Minister requisite or expedient to make provision for the purpose of ensuring the security of tips to which this Part of this Act applies, for securing that land on which tipping operations are to be carried out is satisfactory for the purpose and otherwise for carrying this Part of this Act into effect.
(3) This Part of this Act shall be construed as one with the Mines and Quarries Act 1954 (in this Part of this Act referred to as ‘the principal Act’) and, without prejudice to the generality of this provision,—
(a ) except where the context otherwise requires, any reference in the principal Act to that Act includes a reference to this Part of this Act and expressions used in that Act have the same meaning in this Part of this Act as in that Act; and
(b ) the principal Act shall have effect subject to the modifications in Schedule 1 to this Act.
2 Tips to which Part I applies.
(1) In this Act, the expression ‘tip’ means an accumulation or deposit of refuse from a mine or quarry (whether in a solid state or in solution or suspension) other than an accumulation or deposit situated underground, and where any wall or other structure retains or confines a tip then, whether or not that wall or structure is itself composed of refuse, it shall be deemed to form part of the tip for the purposes of this Act.
(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4) below, a tip is one to which this Part of this Act applies if either—
(a ) the tip is on premises which are deemed to form part of a mine or quarry for the purposes of the principal Act by virtue of section 180(4) of that Act (which relates to premises for the time being used for the deposit of refuse); or
(b ) the tip is not on such premises but the mine or quarry with which it is associated has not been abandoned and the premises on which the tip is situated continue to be occupied exclusively by the owner of that mine or quarry;
and for the purposes of this Part of this Act a tip is an ‘active tip’ if it falls within paragraph (a ) above and a ‘closed tip’ if it falls within paragraph (b ) above.
(3) If part, but not the whole, of any premises on which a tip is situated is occupied exclusively by the owner of a mine or quarry and, by reason only that the whole of those premises is not occupied exclusively by the owner, the tip is not, apart from this subsection, one to which this Part of this Act applies (whether as an active tip or a closed tip) then,—
(a ) subject to any direction under paragraph (b ) below, the tip shall be deemed to be an active tip or a closed tip, as the case may be, and if an active tip, the premises on which it is situated shall be treated, for the purposes of the principal Act and this Part of this Act, as forming part of the mine or quarry with which it is associated; and
(b ) the Minister may by order direct that, as from such day as may be specified in the order, the whole or such part of the tip as may be so specified shall cease to be a tip to which this Part of this Act applies.
(4) If the whole or any part of a tip which, apart from this subsection, would be a tip to which this Part of this Act applies is appropriated to some use which, in the opinion of the Minister, is inconsistent with the resumption of tipping operations on the tip, or on a particular part of it, the Minister may by order direct that, as from such day as may be specified in the order, the whole or such part of the tip as may be so specified shall cease to be a tip to which this Part of this Act applies.
(5) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (3)(a ) above or in section 180(4) of the principal Act, where an order is made under subsection (3)(b ) or subsection (4) above in relation to a tip which, apart from the order, would be an active tip, then, for the purposes of the principal Act and this Part of this Act, the premises on which the tip, or the part thereof which is specified in the order, is situated shall cease to form part of a mine or quarry as from the day specified in the order; but where such an order relates to part only of the tip, then (subject to any subsequent order) the remainder of the tip shall, of itself, be treated as an active tip and accordingly the premises on which the remainder of the tip is situated shall continue to form part of the mine or quarry with which the tip is associated.
3 Duties of owners and managers and powers of inspectors.
(1) It shall be the duty of the owner and of the manager of every mine and of the owner and of any manager of every quarry to take such steps as may be necessary for securing that he is at all material times in possession of all information relevant for determining the nature and extent of any steps which it is requisite for him to take in order to discharge efficiently the duties imposed on him by or by virtue of this Part of this Act.
(2) Neither the manager of a mine as such, nor a manager of a quarry as such shall be guilty of an offence, by virtue of subsection (1) or subsection (2) of section 152 of the principal Act (which provides among other things that managers may be guilty of an offence where some other person contravenes a particular statutory provision) by reason of a contravention, in relation to a closed tip which is associated with the mine or quarry, of—
(a ) any provision of this Part of this Act, of the principal Act, of any order made thereunder or of regulations; or
(b ) a direction, prohibition, restriction or requirement given or imposed by a notice served under or by virtue of this Part of this Act or the principal Act by an inspector;
(c ) a condition attached to an exemption, consent, approval or authority granted or given under or by virtue of this Part of this Act or the principal Act by the Minister or an inspector.
(3) In subsection (2) above, the expression ‘the manager’, in relation to a mine, includes an under-manager of the mine and any person who is for the time being treated for the purposes of the principal Act as the manager or an under-manager of the mine, and the expression ‘manager’, in relation to a quarry, includes any person who is for the time being treated for the purposes of that Act as a manager of the quarry.
(4) For the purpose of determining whether a tip to which this Part of this Act applies is, or is likely to become, insecure an inspector shall have power to require the owner of the mine or quarry with which it is associated to furnish such information as the inspector may specify and may by notice served on the owner require him to carry out such procedures or conduct such tests as may be specified in the notice.
(5) In relation to an active tip, the powers of an inspector under subsection (4) above shall include power to require information from, or to serve a notice requiring the carrying out of procedures or the conduct of tests by, the manager of the mine or, as the case may be, a manager of the quarry, instead of, or as well as, the owner.
(6) The provisions of Part XV of the principal Act with respect to references upon notices served by inspectors shall apply to a notice served by an inspector under this section.
4 Notification of beginning and ending of tipping operations.
(1) If at any time tipping operations from a mine or quarry of a prescribed class or description—
(a ) are to be begun on premises which at that time are not the site of a tip to which this Part of this Act applies, or
(b ) are to be resumed at a tip which at that time is a closed tip,
the owner of the mine or quarry shall give notice to the inspector for the district of the intention to begin or resume the tipping operations not less than thirty days, or such shorter period as the inspector may permit, before the beginning or resumption of the operations.
(2) Not more than two months after the date on which tipping operations from a mine or quarry of a prescribed class or description cease at an active tip, the owner of the mine or quarry shall give notice to the inspector for the district that tipping operations have ceased at that tip.
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