Dumping at Sea Act 1974
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1974 c. 20 |
| Year | 1974 |
Dumping at Sea Act 1974
1974 CHAPTER 20
An Act to control dumping in the sea.
[27th June 1974]
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:—
1 Restrictions on dumping in the sea.
(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, no person, except in pursuance of a licence granted under section 2 below and in accordance with the terms of that licence—
(a ) shall dump substances or articles in United Kingdom waters; or
(b ) shall dump substances or articles in the sea outside United Kingdom waters from a British ship, aircraft, hovercraft or marine structure; or
(c ) shall load substances or articles on to a ship, aircraft, hovercraft or marine structure in the United Kingdom or United Kingdom waters for dumping in the sea, whether in United Kingdom waters or not; or
(d ) shall cause or permit substances or articles to be dumped or loaded as mentioned in paragraphs (a ) to (c ) above.
(2) Subject to subsections (3) to (5) below, substances and articles are dumped in the sea for the purposes of this Act if they are permanently deposited in the sea from a vehicle, ship, aircraft, hovercraft or marine structure, or from a structure on land constructed or adapted wholly or mainly for the purpose of depositing solids in the sea.
(3) A discharge incidental to or derived from the normal operation of a ship, aircraft, vehicle, hovercraft or marine structure or of its equipment does not constitute dumping for the purposes of this Act unless the ship, aircraft, vehicle, hovercraft or marine structure in question is constructed or adapted wholly or mainly for the purpose of the disposal of waste or spoil and the discharge takes place as part of its operation for that purpose.
(4) A deposit made by, or with the written consent of, a harbour authority or lighthouse authority, for the purpose of providing moorings or securing aids to navigation, does not constitute dumping for the purposes of this Act.
(5) A deposit made by or on behalf of a harbour authority in the execution of works of maintenance in their harbour does not constitute dumping for the purposes of this Act if it is made on the site of the works.
(6) Subject to subsections (7) to (9) below, any person who contravenes subsection (1) above shall be guilty of an offence and liable—
(a ) on summary conviction to a fine of not more than 400 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months or to both; or
(b ) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for not more than five years, or a fine, or to both.
(7) It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (6) above to prove—
(a ) that the substances or articles in question were dumped for the purpose of securing the safety of a ship, aircraft, hovercraft or marine structure or of saving life; and
(b ) that he took steps within a reasonable time to inform the Minister that the dumping had taken place and of the locality and circumstances in which it took place and the nature and quantity of the substances or articles dumped.
unless the court is satisfied that the dumping was not necessary for any of the purposes mentioned above and was not a reasonable step to take in the circumstances.
(8) It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (6) above to prove—
(a ) that he acted under instructions given to him by his employer, or
(b ) that he acted in reliance on information given to him by others without any reason to suppose that the information was false or misleading,
and in either case that he took all such steps as were reasonably open to him to ensure that no offence would be committed.
(9) It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (6) above in relation to substances or articles dumped outside United Kingdom waters from a British ship, aircraft or hovercraft to prove that they were loaded on to it in a Convention State and that the dumping was authorised by a licence issued by the responsible authority in that State.
2 Licences.
(1) In determining whether to grant a licence a licensing authority shall have regard to the need to protect the marine environment and the living resources which it supports from any adverse consequences of dumping the substances or articles to which the licence, if granted, will relate; and the authority shall include such conditions in a licence as appear to the authority to be necessary or expedient for the protection of that environment and those resources from any such consequences.
(2) The licensing authority may revoke a licence if it appears to the authority that the holder is in breach of a condition included in it.
(3) The licensing authority may vary or revoke a licence if it appears to the authority that the licence ought to be varied or revoked because of a change of circumstances relating to the marine environment or the living resources which it supports, including a change in scientific knowledge.
(4) The licensing authority may require an applicant for a licence to pay such fee on applying for it as may be determined by the authority with the consent of the Treasury.
(5) The licensing authority may require an applicant to supply such information and permit such examination and sampling of the substances or articles which he desires to dump, or of similar substances or articles, and to supply such information about the method of dumping which he desires to use, as in the opinion of the authority is necessary to enable the authority to decide whether a licence should be granted and the conditions which any licence that is granted ought to contain.
(6) The licensing authority may require an applicant for a licence to pay such amount, in addition to any fee under subsection (4) above, as the licensing authority may, with the consent of the Treasury, determine, towards the expense of any tests which in the opinion of the authority are necessary to enable the authority to decide whether a licence should be granted and the conditions which any licence that is granted ought to contain, and in particular expense incurred in connection with any monitoring to determine the effect that dumping may have or has had on the marine environment and the living resources which it supports.
(7) A licence—
(a ) shall specify the person to whom it is granted;
(b ) shall state whether it is to remain in force until revoked or is to expire at a time specified in the licence;
(c ) shall specify the quantity and description of substances or articles to which it relates; and
(d ) may make different provision as to different descriptions of substances or articles.
(8) The licensing authority may transfer a licence from the holder to any other person on the application of that person or of the holder, but shall have power to include additional conditions in a licence on transferring it.
(9) Any person who for the purpose of procuring the grant or transfer of a licence, or in purporting to carry out any duty imposed on him as a condition of a licence, knowingly or recklessly makes a false statement or knowingly or recklessly produces, furnishes, signs or otherwise makes use of a document containing a false statement shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 400.
(10) A person who at the passing of this Act is authorised in writing by a licensing authority to dump substances or articles in the sea may continue to do so, so long as he complies with any conditions subject to which the authorisation is given, until the authorisation expires or is revoked, as if the authorisation were a licence under this Act.
3 Right to make representations.
(1) Where a licensing authority proposes—
(a ) to refuse a licence; or
(b ) to include a condition in a licence, whether on granting or transferring it; or
(c ) to require a payment under section 2(6) above; or
(d ) to vary or revoke a licence,
it shall be the authority's duty, when notifying the applicant for or holder of the licence of the proposal, also to notify him—
(i) of the reason for it; and
(ii) of his right under this section to make written representations relating to it.
(2) A notification of a proposal to vary or revoke a licence shall also include a notice that any written representations must be received by the licensing authority within 28 days of the receipt of the notification.
(3) A person who receives a notification of a proposal such as is mentioned in subsection (1) above may make written representations about it to the licensing authority.
(4) If a licensing authority receives such representations, and in the case of a proposal to vary or revoke a licence receives them within 28 days of the receipt of the notification of the proposal, the authority shall constitute a committee to consider the representations and shall appoint one of the members of the committee to be its chairman.
(5) Each licensing authority shall draw up and from time to time revise a panel of persons who are specially qualified in the authority's opinion to be members of such committees, and any such committee constituted by a licensing authority shall be drawn from members of the authority's panel.
(6) It shall be the duty of the chairman of a committee—
(a ) to serve upon the person who made the representations under subsection (3) above a notice in writing requiring him to state within 14 days of the receipt of the notice whether he wishes to make oral representations to the committee; and
(b ) to give him, not earlier than the date of the notice under paragraph (a ) above, notice in writing of the place, date and time of the meeting of the...
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