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Seizure and disposal of vehicles used for illegal waste disposal
43.
- (1) A justice of the peace may issue a warrant in writing to the Department for the seizure of any vehicle if he is satisfied, on complaint on oath, -
(a) that there are reasonable grounds for believing -
(i) that an offence under Article 4 or under Article 5 of the Pollution Control and Local Government (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 (prohibition on unlicensed disposal of waste) has been committed; and
(ii) that that vehicle was used in the commission of the offence;
(b) that proceedings for that offence have not yet been brought against any person; and
(c) that the Department has failed, after taking the prescribed steps, to ascertain the name and address of any person who is able to provide the Department with the prescribed information about who was using the vehicle at the time when the offence was committed.
(2) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), where a warrant under this Article has been issued to the Department in respect of any vehicle, any authorised officer or any constable may stop the vehicle and, on behalf of the Department, seize the vehicle and its contents.
(3) Nothing in this Article shall authorise any person other than a constable in uniform to stop a vehicle on any road; and an authorised officer may not seize any property under this Article unless he is accompanied by a constable.
(4) A warrant under this Article shall continue in force until its purpose is fulfilled or for a period of one month from the date on which it was issued, whichever first occurs; and any person seizing any property under this Article shall, if required to do so, produce both the warrant and any authority under which he is acting under the warrant.
(5) Where any property has been seized under this Article on behalf of the Department, the Department may, in accordance with regulations, remove it to such place as the Department considers appropriate and may retain custody of it until either -
(a) it is returned, in accordance with the regulations, to a person who establishes that he is entitled to it; or
(b) it is disposed of by the Department under a power conferred by the regulations to sell or destroy the property or to deposit it at any place.
(6) Regulations under this Article shall not authorise the Department to sell or destroy any property or to deposit any property at any place unless -
(7) Regulations under this Article may -
(a) impose obligations on the Department to return any property which has been seized under this Article to a person who claims to be entitled to it and satisfies such requirements for establishing his entitlement, and such other requirements, as may be prescribed;
(b) provide for the manner in which the person entitled to any such property is to be determined where there is more than one claim to it;
(c) provide for the proceeds of sale of any property sold by the Department under the regulations to be applied towards meeting expenses incurred by the Department in exercising its functions under this Article and, in so far as they are not so applied, to be applied in such other manner as may be prescribed;
(d) make provision which treats a person who establishes that he is entitled to a vehicle as having established for the purposes of regulations under this Article that he is also entitled to its contents.
(8) Subject to regulations under this Article making provision for the sale or destruction of any property or for the disposal of it by depositing it at any place, the Department shall, while any property is in its custody by virtue of a warrant under this Article, take such steps as are reasonably necessary for the safe custody of that property.
(9) Any person who intentionally obstructs any authorised officer or constable in the performance of any function conferred under a warrant under this Article shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
Miscellaneous
Obtaining of information
44.
- (1) For the purpose of the discharge of its functions under this Part the Department or a district council may, by notice in writing served on him, require any person to furnish such information specified in the notice as the Department or, as the case may be, the council reasonably considers it needs, in such form and within such period following service of the notice, or at such time, as is so specified.
(2) Aperson who fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a requirement to provide information imposed under paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable -
(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;
(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, or to a fine or to both.
Provisions relating to legal proceedings and civil liability
45.
- (1) Where a person appeals against a decision of a court of summary jurisdiction dismissing an appeal against any requirement imposed under this Part which was suspended pending determination of that appeal, the requirement shall again be suspended pending the determination of the appeal.
(2) Where an appeal against a decision of a district council lies to a court of summary jurisdiction under any provision of this Part, the council shall include in any document by which it notifies the decision to the person concerned a statement indicating that such an appeal lies and specifying the time within which it must be brought.
(3) Where on an appeal to any court against or arising out of a decision of a district council under this Part the court varies or reverses the decision the council shall act in accordance with the court's decision.
(4) Where any damage is caused by waste which has been deposited in or on land, any person who deposited it, or knowingly caused or knowingly permitted it to be deposited, in either case so as to commit an offence under Article 4(1) or 31(2), is liable for the damage except where the damage -
(a) was due wholly to the fault of the person who suffered it; or
(b) was suffered by a person who voluntarily accepted the risk of the damage being caused;
but without prejudice to any liability arising otherwise than under this paragraph.
(5) The matters which may be proved by way of defence under Article 4(7) may be proved also by way of defence to an action brought under paragraph (4).
(6) In paragraph (4) -
"damage" includes the death of, or injury to, any person (including any disease and any impairment of physical or mental condition); and
"fault" has the same meaning as in the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (Northern Ireland) 1948.
(7) For the purposes of the following statutory provisions -
(a) the Fatal Accidents (Northern Ireland) Order 1977,
(b) the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (Northern Ireland) 1948; and
(c) the Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989,
any damage for which a person is liable under paragraph (4) shall be treated as due to his fault.
Supplementary provisions relating to pipes
46.
- (1) Where a district council provides pipes under Article 20(6) or 25(3), the council shall prepare a map showing the location of the pipes and shall secure that a copy of the map is available at its principal offices for inspection by the public free of charge at all reasonable hours.
(2) Section 29 of the Public Health (Ireland) Act 1878 (under which the erection of buildings over a sewer may be prevented or controlled by the Department) shall have effect as if the reference to a sewer included any pipe provided as mentioned in paragraph (1).
(3) References to pipes in this Article include associated works.
Transitional provisions with respect to licences
47.
- (1) This Article has effect for the purposes of the transition from the provisions of Part II of the Pollution Control and Local Government (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 ("the 1978 Order") to the corresponding provisions of this Part and in this Article -
"existing disposal licence" means a disposal licence under Article 7 of the 1978 Order subsisting on the day appointed under Article 1(2) for the repeal of Articles 5 to 12 of the 1978 Order and "relevant appointed day for licences" shall be construed accordingly;
"existing disposal plan" means a plan under Article 4 of the 1978 Order subsisting on the day appointed under Article 1(2) for the repeal of that Article and "relevant appointed day for plans" shall be construed accordingly;
"existing resolution of a district council" means a resolution under Article 13 of the 1978 Order in force on the day appointed under Article 1(2) for the repeal of that Article and "relevant appointed day for resolutions" shall be construed accordingly.
(2) An existing disposal licence shall, on and after the relevant appointed day for licences, be treated as a site licence and shall continue in force for a period of 3 years from the relevant appointed day for licences; and accordingly it shall be variable and subject to revocation or suspension under this Part and may not be surrendered or transferred except under this Part.
(3) An existing resolution of a district council shall, on and after the relevant appointed day for resolutions, have effect as if it were a waste management licence subject to the conditions specified in the resolution pursuant to Article 13(3)(d) of the 1978 Order and shall continue in force for a period of 3 years from the relevant appointed day for resolutions; and accordingly it shall be variable and subject to revocation or suspension under this Part and may not be surrendered or transferred except under this Part.
(4) An existing disposal plan of a district council shall, on and after the relevant appointed day for plans, be treated as the plan of that council under Article 23 and shall continue in force for a period of 3 years from the relevant appointed day for plans; and accordingly that Article shall have effect as if references in it to "the plan" included the existing disposal plan of that council.
This Part and radioactive substances
48.
Except as provided by regulations under this Article, nothing in this Part applies to radioactive waste within the meaning of the Radioactive Substances Act 1993; but regulations may -
(a) provide for prescribed provisions of this Part to have effect with such modifications as the Department considers appropriate for the purposes of dealing with such radioactive waste;
(b) make such modifications of the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 and any other statutory provision as the Department considers appropriate.
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