The Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (N.I. 19)

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Northern Ireland Orders in Council

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Exclusion from registers of certain confidential information
36. - (1) No information relating to the affairs of any individual or business shall be included in a register maintained under Article 34 (a "register"), without the consent of that individual or the person for the time being carrying on that business, if and so long as the information -

but information is not commercially confidential for the purposes of this Article unless it is determined under this Article to be so by the Department or, on appeal, by the Planning Appeals Commission.

(2) Where information is furnished to the Department for the purpose of -

then, if the person furnishing it applies to the Department to have the information excluded from the register on the ground that it is commercially confidential (as regards himself or another person), the Department shall determine whether the information is or is not commercially confidential.

(3) A determination under paragraph (2) shall be made within the period of 14 days from the date of the application and if the Department fails to make a determination within that period it shall be treated as having determined that the information is commercially confidential.

(4) Where it appears to the Department that any information (other than information furnished in circumstances within paragraph (2)) which has been obtained by the Department under any provision of this Part might be commercially confidential, the Department shall -

and, if any representations are made, the Department shall, having taken the representations into account, determine whether the information is or is not commercially confidential.

(5) Where, under paragraph (2) or (4), the Department determines that information is not commercially confidential -

and, where an appeal is brought in respect of any information, the information shall not be entered in the register until the end of the period of 7 days from the day on which the appeal is finally determined or withdrawn.

    (6) Part II of Schedule 2 shall have effect with respect to appeals under paragraph (5).

    (7) On receipt of an appeal under paragraph (5) the Planning Appeals Commission shall give notice of the appeal to the Department.

    (8) Regulations may make provision with respect to appeals under this Article and in particular as to the period within which and the manner in which appeals are to be brought.

    (9) The Department may specify information, or descriptions of information, which the public interest requires to be included in the registers notwithstanding that the information may be commercially confidential.

    (10) Information excluded from a register shall be treated as ceasing to be commercially confidential for the purposes of this Article at the expiry of the period of 4 years from the date of the determination under which it was excluded; but the person who furnished it may apply to the Department for the information to remain excluded from the register on the ground that it is still commercially confidential and the Department shall determine whether or not that is the case.

    (11) Paragraphs (5) to (7) shall apply in relation to a determination under paragraph (10) as they apply in relation to a determination under paragraph (2) or (4).

    (12) The Department may, by order, substitute for the period for the time being specified in paragraph (3) such other period as the Department considers appropriate.

    (13) Information is, for the purposes of any determination under this Article, commercially confidential, in relation to any individual or person, if its being contained in the register would prejudice to an unreasonable degree the commercial interest of that individual or person.

Annual reports
     37. - (1) The Department shall, for each financial year, prepare and publish a report on the discharge by the Department of its functions under this Part or under any relevant instrument.

    (2) A report under paragraph (1) shall include information as respects -

(a) the licences respectively applied for, granted, in force, modified, revoked, suspended, surrendered or transferred during the year and the appeals made against decisions taken in respect of them;

(b) the exercise by the Department of its powers under Article 16 or 30 or any relevant instrument;

(c) the implementation by district councils of plans under Article 23, with particular reference to recycling waste;

(d) the number and description of prosecutions brought under this Part; and

(e) the cost incurred, and the sums received, by the Department in discharging its functions under this Part.

    (3) The Department may require district councils to furnish the Department with the particulars necessary to enable it to comply with paragraphs (1) and (2).

    (4) The Department shall arrange for the report for any year under paragraph (1) to be published not later than the end of the period of 6 months following the end of the year to which the report relates.

    (5) In paragraphs (1) and (2) "relevant instrument" means any instrument under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 under which the Department has functions with respect to waste.

Registration of carriers of controlled waste
Offence of transporting controlled waste without registering
38. - (1) Subject to the following provisions of this Article, if any person who is not a registered carrier of controlled waste, in the course of any business of his or otherwise with a view to profit, transports any controlled waste to or from any place in Northern Ireland he shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) A person shall not be guilty of an offence under this Article in respect of -

(3) Regulations may provide that a person shall not be required for the purposes of this Article to be a registered carrier of controlled waste if -

(4) In proceedings against any person for an offence under this Article in respect of the transport of any controlled waste it shall be a defence for that person to show -

    (5) A person guilty of an offence under this Article shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

    (6) In this Article "emergency", in relation to the transport of any controlled waste, means any circumstances in which, in order to avoid, remove or reduce any serious danger to the public or serious risk of damage to the environment, it is necessary for the waste to be transported from one place to another without the use of a registered carrier of such waste.

Registration of carriers
     39. - (1) Subject to Article 40, regulations may make provision for the registration of persons with the Department as carriers of controlled waste and, for that purpose, for the establishment and maintenance by the Department, in accordance with the regulations, of such registers as may be prescribed.

    (2) Regulations under this Article may -

(a) make provision with respect to applications for registration;

(b) impose requirements with respect to registers of carriers of controlled waste;

(c) provide for the issue of a certificate of registration free of charge to a registered carrier of controlled waste both on his registration and on the making of any alteration of any entry relating to him in a register of such carriers;

(d) provide for such a certificate to be in such form and to contain such information as may be prescribed;

(e) provide that the provision to a registered carrier of such copies of a certificate of registration as are provided in addition to the certificate provided free of charge in pursuance of provision made under sub-paragraph (c) is to be made subject to the payment of a charge imposed under the regulations.

(3) Provision contained in any regulations under this Article under paragraph (2)(a) may, in particular, include provision which -

(a) prescribes the form on which and other manner in which an application is to be made;

(b) prescribes the period within which an application for the renewal of any registration which is due to expire is to be made;

(c) imposes requirements with respect to the information which is to be provided by an applicant;

(d) requires the imposition of charges in respect of the consideration of applications.

(4) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (3)(a) and (c) -

(a) the power to prescribe a form under sub-paragraph (a) includes power to require an application to be made on any form of any description supplied for the purpose by the Department; and

(b) the power to impose requirements with respect to information under sub-paragraph (c) includes power to make provision requiring an application to be accompanied by such information as may reasonably be required by the Department.

(5) Provision contained in any regulations under this Article under paragraph (2)(b) may, in particular, include provision -

(a) specifying or describing the information to be incorporated in any register maintained under any such regulations;

(b) requiring a registered carrier of controlled waste to notify the Department of any change of circumstances affecting information contained in the entry relating to that carrier in that register;

(c) requiring the Department, to such extent and in such manner as may be prescribed, to make the contents of any such register available for public inspection free of charge; and

(d) requiring the Department, on payment of such charges as may be imposed under the regulations, to provide such copies of the contents of any such register to any person applying for a copy as may be prescribed.

    (6) Paragraphs (2) to (5) are without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1).

    (7) Article 35 shall apply in relation to a register maintained under this Article as it applies in relation to a register maintained under Article 34.

Restrictions on power under Article 39
     40. - (1) Nothing in any regulations under Article 39 shall authorise the Department to refuse an application for registration except where -

(a) there has, in relation to that application, been a contravention of the requirements of any regulations made under Article 39(2)(a); or

(b) the applicant or another relevant person has been convicted of a prescribed offence and, in the opinion of the Department, it is undesirable for the applicant to be authorised to transport controlled waste.

(2) Nothing in any regulations under Article 39 shall authorise the Department to revoke any person's registration as a carrier of controlled waste except where -

(a) that person or another relevant person has been convicted of a prescribed offence; and

(b) in the opinion of the Department, it is undesirable for the registered carrier to continue to be authorised to transport controlled waste;

but registration in accordance with any regulations under that Article shall cease to have effect after such period as may be prescribed or if the registered carrier gives written notice requiring the removal of his name from the register.

(3) Regulations under Article 39 may require every registration in respect of a business which is or is to be carried on by 2 or more persons in partnership to be a registration of all the partners and to cease to have effect if any of the partners ceases to be registered or if any person who is not registered becomes a partner.

(4) any regulations under Article 39 shall have the effect of bringing the revocation of any person's registration as a carrier of controlled waste into force except -

(a) after the end of such period as may be prescribed for appealing against the revocation under Article 41; or

(b) where that person has indicated, within that period, that he does not intend to make or continue with an appeal.

    (5) Article 3(6) shall apply for the purposes of any provision made under paragraph (1) or (2) as it applies for the purposes of Article 3(3)(a).

    (6) In determining for the purposes of any provision made under paragraph (1) or (2) whether it is desirable for any individual to be or to continue to be authorised to transport controlled waste, the Department shall have regard, in a case in which a person other than the individual has been convicted of a prescribed offence, to whether that individual has been a party to the carrying on of a business in a manner involving the commission of prescribed offences.

Appeals against refusal of registration, etc.
     41. - (1) Where a person has applied to be registered in accordance with any regulations under Article 39, he may appeal to the Planning Appeals Commission if -

(a) his application is refused; or

(b) the relevant period from the making of the application has expired without his having been registered;

and for the purposes of this paragraph the relevant period is 2 months or, except in the case of an application for the renewal of his registration by a person who is already registered, such longer period as may be agreed between the applicant and the Department.

    (2) A person whose registration as a carrier of controlled waste has been revoked may appeal against the revocation to the Planning Appeals Commission.

    (3) Part I of Schedule 2 shall have effect with respect to appeals under paragraph (1) or (2).

    (4) On receipt of an appeal under paragraph (1) or (2) the Planning Appeals Commission shall give notice of the appeal to the Department.

    (5) Where, on such an appeal, the Planning Appeals Commission confirms the decision of the Department the Department shall not register the appellant or, as the case may be, cancel the revocation.

    (6) Where, on such an appeal, the Planning Appeals Commission determines that the decision of the Department shall be altered the Department shall register the applicant or, as the case may be, cancel the revocation.

    (7) Regulations may make provision with respect to appeals under this Article and in particular as to the period within which and the manner in which appeals are to be brought.

    (8) Where an appeal under this Article is made in accordance with regulations under this Article -

(a) by a person whose appeal is in respect of such an application for the renewal of his registration as was made, in accordance with regulations under Article 39, at a time when he was already registered; or

(b) by a person whose registration has been revoked,

that registration shall continue in force, notwithstanding the expiry of the prescribed period or the revocation, until the appeal is disposed of.

(9) For the purposes of paragraph (8) an appeal is disposed of when any of the following occurs, that is to say -

(a) the appeal is withdrawn;

(b) the appellant is notified by the Department that the decision of the Department has been confirmed; or

(c) the Department complies with any determination made by the Planning Appeals Commission to renew the appellant's registration or to cancel the revocation.

Duty to produce authority to transport controlled waste
42. - (1) If it reasonably appears to any authorised officer or to a constable that any controlled waste is being or has been transported in contravention of Article 38(1), he may -

(a) stop any person appearing to him to be or to have been engaged in transporting that waste and require that person to produce his authority or, as the case may be, his employer's authority for transporting that waste; and

(b) search any vehicle that appears to him to be a vehicle which is being or has been used for transporting that waste, carry out tests on anything found in any such vehicle and take away for testing samples of anything so found.

    (2) Nothing in paragraph (1) shall authorise any person other than a constable in uniform to stop a vehicle on any road.

    (3) Subject to the following provisions of this Article, a person who is required under this Article to produce an authority for transporting controlled waste shall do so by producing it forthwith to the person making the requirement, by producing it at the prescribed place and within the prescribed period or by sending it to that place within that period.

    (4) A person shall be guilty of an offence under this Article if he -

(a) intentionally obstructs any authorised officer or constable in the performance of his functions under paragraph (1); or

(b) subject to paragraph (5), fails without reasonable excuse to comply with a requirement imposed under paragraph (1).

(5) A person shall not be guilty of an offence under paragraph (4)(b) unless it is shown -

(a) that the waste in question was controlled waste; and

(b) that that person did transport it to or from a place in Northern Ireland.

(6) For the purposes of this Article a person's authority for transporting controlled waste is -

(a) his certificate of registration as a carrier of controlled waste or such a copy of that certificate as satisfies prescribed requirements; or

(b) such evidence as may be prescribed that he is not required to be registered as a carrier of controlled waste.

(7) A person guilty of an offence under this Article shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

(8) In this Article and Article 43 "authorised officer" means an officer of the Department who is authorised in writing for the purposes of this Article and Article 43.

Prepared 20 January 1998

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URL: http://www.bailii.org/nie/legis/num_orders/1997/19972778(g).html

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	Northern Ireland Orders in Council
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Northern Ireland Orders in Council >> The Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (N.I. 19) URL: http://www.bailii.org/nie/legis/num_orders/1997/19972778(g).html